Tennis Balls Replacement

[Tarboro]

Originally Posted by jc4.0

One more question - sometimes our league opponents bring hard court balls instead of clay court balls, even when playing on a clay court. Is there much of a difference - so should we insist on balls designed for that surface? We play on both clay and hard during the season.

If you win, it makes absolutely no difference. If you lose, it was the defining factor of the match.

[bodieq]

Originally Posted by Tarboro

If you win, it makes absolutely no difference. If you lose, it was the defining factor of the match.

/\ Very true.

In all the USTA tournaments I play, they always give you a new can of balls before starting the 3rd set. However, if the format is no 3rd set (i.e. super tie-break instead), then no new can.

[dizzlmcwizzl]

In almost every match I have ever played, I felt like new balls would be to my advantage. Every time we go to a 3rd set I always offer to crack a new can and I can count on one hand the numbers of times the opponent actually agreed. They realize new balls are in my favor as well and most folks are not that stupid.

I wish default of the rule was that a new can must be oppened to start set three unless both players agreed not to.

And as far as balls are concerned I love the slazenger wimbledon balls. I feel like they always kick up high on the serve and dont force me to bend my knees as much ... a win / win.

[amarone]

Originally Posted by jc4.0

One more question - sometimes our league opponents bring hard court balls instead of clay court balls, even when playing on a clay court. Is there much of a difference - so should we insist on balls designed for that surface? We play on both clay and hard during the season.

Who provides the balls in your leagues? In Atlanta the home team provides the balls and if the home team wins, they are given a new set of balls by the opponents. That way, the home team can ensure that they have the right type for the match. I don't have any clay-court balls, and most seasons I don't need them as there are not that many clay courts. If I lose at a clay venue and give them hard-court balls, it is not an issue as they will play most of their away matches on clay and so will have much more need of hard-court balls than vice versa.

[tennis tom]

Originally Posted by dizzlmcwizzl

And as far as balls are concerned I love the slazenger wimbledon balls.

I agree the Slazengers are a great ball, but, if I pulled them out, in my neck of the woods, known for it's "diversity", I would be looked at with suspicion. Instead of appreciating what a real tennis ball looks like, they are ball xenophobic, and demand to play with the Costco Penns.

I opened a can of Dunlop Gran Prix's, a couple of years ago, while playing with the heir to the club's ownership throne and, he flipped out demandeding we use Penn's. I told him, "If he didn't like mine he could open a can of his own". Of course, he didn't bring any balls, and was forced to play with the Dunlops, bytching the whole time about how heavy they were, (he should talk!).

I'm pleased to see that the in between grade Dunlops are starting to gain some acceptance as a compromise between the Penns and the Gran Prix's. They're the ones with the all black lettering.

I find most club players don't have any idea what number is on the balls they are playing with. When they hit them onto the neighboring court, they can't tell them which number ball is their's. They usually try their darndest not to have to open a can of balls, stalling around, by arriving late, or if shamed into supplying balls, pulling out some that have been open for months, they fished out of the recycling bin.

If someone is decent enough to open a new can of balls, I always try to make a point at the end of the match of thanking them. It's amazing what-cheap skates people can become over a can of balls that only costs $1.99 on sale. I have played with some players who become truly OCD if I open a 4-ball can which is the norm in Europe and just starting to take-off here.

If I'm playing with the Costco Penns, I often receive for Christmas or birthday presents, I'll open two cans with the same number just to get rid of them quicker, before they go stale. With six balls, we'll be able to hit balls rather than be picking them up all the time. The OCD types, who actually object to this, are the same "players" who spray the ball all over, and can't hit two balls to the same spot to save their life in the warm-up. Through some quirk of fate, those framers become winners when the score is being kept. These players are the same ones who quickly turn their back's on a ball they hit into the far corners of the universe, (in an act of denial that it was them), thus losing track of the ball. If they hit it over the fence, they never volunteer to retrieve it.

The Roland Garros balls are a great ball too!

Sorry for the rant on balls but I just got carried away, the thread had something to do with balls didn't it?

[bcart1991]

Originally Posted by amarone

Who provides the balls in your leagues? In Atlanta the home team provides the balls and if the home team wins, they are given a new set of balls by the opponents.

That's ALTA, not USTA.