Can too many tennis ball changes cause injuries? Players think so. The tours are checking

In the run-up to the Australian Open, defending champion Novak Djokovic's right wrist was sore — hardly ideal for a tennis player who swings his racket primarily with that arm.

Cam Norrie, the tournament's 19th-seeded man, has been dealing with wrist pain, too. As has Brenda Fruhvirtova, one of a trio of 16-year-olds who reached the second round of the women's bracket at Melbourne Park.

Djokovic, Norrie and Fruhvirtova were not prepared to blame the ever-changing types of tennis balls used year-round at the sport's highest levels, but they weren't necessarily ready to absolve that issue completely, either. For a while now, some players have wondered aloud whether their wrists, elbows, shoulders and other body parts involved in propelling rackets to strike shots at speeds regularly topping 100 mph (150 kph) are at greater risk because of a constant need to adjust to projectiles that are heavier or lighter, slower or speedier, fluffier or more consistent than the ones they were hitting a week or two or three earlier.

The WTA and ATP professional tours are finally ready to look into the matter, announcing right before this week's start of the year's first Grand Slam tournament they are conducting “a strategic review” of tennis balls, although they don't envision any changes before 2025.