Ball girls, ball boys, ball men and ball women at the United States Open will have a very different job, starting with this summer’s tournament. They now must roll balls on the ground rather than exchange them in the air around the court because, in simplest terms, too many just cannot throw the ball overhand well enough.
Throwing — not even catching — is the toughest part of the job to master, tournament officials said, the one skill that has eliminated the most candidates who were otherwise qualified.
“By rolling between positions, we are putting less emphasis on a single skill-set, in this case throwing, and instead looking at the importance of slotting more well-rounded athletes at the positions,” Tina Taps, director of the tournament’s ball people, said in a news release.