If you hit against a wall, would you be interested in faster tennis ball?
- Thread starter bjk
- Start date
bjk
Hall of Fame
No interest at all? When you hit against a wall, you never have to handle pace because the ball loses so much momentum by the time it hits the wall. Faster ball means learning to handle pace even when you're hitting against a wall. If you ever get an old ball that's worn down but retains it's bounce, it's a lot of fun. I try to keep those balls around but only about 1/100 tennis balls is that special kind. But why couldn't tennis balls be designed to be high bounce, low felt wall balls? It seems like a good idea to me.
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
Lucky to have a cinderblock wall that extends the length of a court nearby. All the pace you can handle
Trinity110
Rookie
I'm no monster, but (if I so choose) I can easily hit hard enough that the pace can't be handled. I guess it is the distance I stand. Our local wall is lined (for handball, I guess) and I am not sure of the distance, but it feels like between baseline and service line distance.
Bagumbawalla
G.O.A.T.
Well...
When most people practice against a wall they try, as much as possible to recreate the feel, bounce and speed of
hitting against a partner- but some experimenting must be done to achieve something close.
I find that if you hang back behind the "baseline" then, yes, the the ball has lost some oomph and the bounce is
weak and unnatural. So, it makes sense to move up. I start somewhere between the "baseline" and the "service line"-
or where they would be if there were markings.
Now, when you stand close, the ball returns to you much sooner than if you were hitting baseline to baseline
with a partner- instead, you hit to where the net would be, and the ball rebounds in about half the time- which can
make for an awkward experience. So, I use a somewhat older ball that has lost its freshness (but is not dead)- this slows
down the rebound time and makes for a (more or less) normal practice experience.
Once you have warmed up and have your strokes in order and have a feel for the wall, you can try a new, fresh ball
and make changes, as needed, to adjust to its sprigier bounce.
When most people practice against a wall they try, as much as possible to recreate the feel, bounce and speed of
hitting against a partner- but some experimenting must be done to achieve something close.
I find that if you hang back behind the "baseline" then, yes, the the ball has lost some oomph and the bounce is
weak and unnatural. So, it makes sense to move up. I start somewhere between the "baseline" and the "service line"-
or where they would be if there were markings.
Now, when you stand close, the ball returns to you much sooner than if you were hitting baseline to baseline
with a partner- instead, you hit to where the net would be, and the ball rebounds in about half the time- which can
make for an awkward experience. So, I use a somewhat older ball that has lost its freshness (but is not dead)- this slows
down the rebound time and makes for a (more or less) normal practice experience.
Once you have warmed up and have your strokes in order and have a feel for the wall, you can try a new, fresh ball
and make changes, as needed, to adjust to its sprigier bounce.
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bjk
Hall of Fame
But if you stand closer you always have to hit the ball on the rise. It's more like half-volley practice.
Stan or Dennis?? I don't know many down there, but it's loaded with resort tennis, of course.
Didn't realize many tour players worked out there.
B Borg as well.
Subway Tennis
Legend
I don't get many chances to hit against a wall, but my impression is that it's definitely better than doing nothing.
Hitting against a wall does wash speed off the ball, and it might be hard to assess the type of shape you are getting on your shots. I'm assuming it gives you plenty of practice in generating your own pace, though, and it seems like it would be very good cardio if you did it for 45 mins - 1hr at a time without resting.
Hitting against a wall does wash speed off the ball, and it might be hard to assess the type of shape you are getting on your shots. I'm assuming it gives you plenty of practice in generating your own pace, though, and it seems like it would be very good cardio if you did it for 45 mins - 1hr at a time without resting.
dak95_00
Hall of Fame
Lesser known but fun guy, Tapi Hayrinen. He was at Palmetto Dunes. This was a couple of summers back.
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
I was about to say precisely this.
If you play against the wall (and I used to spend hours doing it) then already your time is taken away, so it forces you to have to adjust much quicker. It's almost like playing against an opponent that volleys every shot back to you and never misses. The only way you can beat the wall is if you lob over it, but that sort of defeats the purpose, because then you either lose the ball or have to walk outside the courts to retrieve it from the field or wherever.
Trinity110
Rookie
When I lob the wall, its shoulders slump, and it looks so overmatched
bjk
Hall of Fame
I figured out why some balls are faster. In balls where the glue that holds the two parts of the ball together is thinner , that makes the ball smaller and also the bond is stronger. If you could make more balls like that, you would have longer lasting, higher bouncing balls. It's a conspiracy of big tennis ball to deny us these superior balls. Few understand this.
D
Deleted member 776614
Guest
I guess I can see this being helpful. I hit low and with topspin, so balls generally return from the wall too close to the ground to be useful. Maybe with some more "penetration" before the bounce it would be better.
Everyone I see hitting against the wall this tells me they don't hit with much spin, so it's not a problem for them.
Everyone I see hitting against the wall this tells me they don't hit with much spin, so it's not a problem for them.
I don't know the name of the ball
But I recall that in order to boost our perception of speed, our coaches used some tretorn balls, that would bounce faster, and in this way, with all same swing & power, all of a sudden you have less time for movement, reaction, preparation
good training
D
Deleted member 776614
Guest
Aren’t clay court balls faster? Is there still such a thing? I did find a ball with a red label by the courts and it seemed like a rocket off the wall. I assumed that was a clay ball.
