Roddick complains about tennis balls.

bdawg

Semi-Pro
Is this a tenable argument on Roddick's part? He was the only one who complained about it.


Q. Talk about just coming from Washington, couple of days, how difficult is it to start first round again, although it's a Masters Series, a big week?
ANDY RODDICK: It's tough. I actually did the same thing in '05 and wasn't able to get past the first round. It's different. They use a different ball for whatever reason. It's a little tough to get used to conditions, especially on a day like today where the wind is a little gusty and stuff. You don't really feel like you played your cleanest tennis.
You know, I was able to get through.



http://www.rogerscupmen.com/2/fr/draws/interviews/roddick.asp
 

Marius_Hancu

Talk Tennis Guru
While I don't understand why Montreal uses Penn when every other tourney in the US series uses Wilson, that shouldn't be an excuse for Roddick.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
That's no excuse...everyone plays with the same ball on the same courts at each event. It's not like they are picking on Roddick. They do control the speed of the ball, and they have slightlhy different feels and sounds to them, but certainly nothing you cant quickly adjust to. especially Roddick who wasnt in the finals and had time to practice at the site using the same balls
The WTAers use a faster ball in general than the ATPers
 
Hmmm....it's funny, when I am at a tennis lesson with my local pro, he has a basket of a balls from a variety of companies. However, I can never tell when he has hit me a Wilson ball or a Penn ball specifically.
 

TennezSport

Hall of Fame
US Open Series Balls

All of the US Open Series events use the USPTA ProPenn Encore ball, as part of their contract with Head/Penn. We sell and use this ball here and it is a little heavier than the Wilson ball, but not that much. It also does not fluff up as quick as the Wilson ball, so I am not sure what the complaint is.

For HC play, I think the Penn ball is a little better than the Wilson US Open ball. (I, in no way mean to say I know more about these balls than Roddick, just my opinion).

TennezSport :cool:
 

fastdunn

Legend
I don't know. I can't play with regular Penn.
I like ProPenn, Wilson US Open, Dunlop but just can't play with regular Penn.
When even amateurs like me have problem with balls,
at the top echelon of tennis, small difference in balls
could make pretty big differences.
BTW, Roddick is not the 1st person who complained on tennis balls used
in ATP.
 
I feel a big difference between regular (and crappy) Penn balls and Wilson Championship balls. Penn goes with the wind more and is lighter than the Wilson Championship balls.
 
Gamma Pro Tour is where it's at. Roddick should keep a couple in his pockets when he plays Federer. That way he won't get bageled.
 

fastdunn

Legend
I feel like regular "Penn"(both heavy duty and regular duty) is made out
of plastic. It has plastic bounce. I can't feel the ball.
 

Fee

Legend
Did I miss something? Where is Roddick 'complaining' about the balls and where does he make any kind of argument? He made an observation about the transition in conditions between Washington and Montreal (after a match he won), so why is this worthy of a thread?
 

ChipNCharge

Professional
Did I miss something? Where is Roddick 'complaining' about the balls and where does he make any kind of argument? He made an observation about the transition in conditions between Washington and Montreal (after a match he won), so why is this worthy of a thread?

No kidding. It doesn't take much to get the Roddick haters fired up.
 

The tennis guy

Hall of Fame
All Master Series use same brand balls, while slam events choose their own balls. Regular ATP events use either same balls or different balls from Master Series and slams.
 

AJK1

Hall of Fame
Where in the article does Roddick complain about the balls?
Some Op's are just idiots flaming.
 

Mad iX

Semi-Pro
Hmmm....it's funny, when I am at a tennis lesson with my local pro, he has a basket of a balls from a variety of companies. However, I can never tell when he has hit me a Wilson ball or a Penn ball specifically.

Probably because they've all gone flat.
 

DashaandSafin

Hall of Fame
Where in the article does Roddick complain about the balls?
Some Op's are just idiots flaming.

Quoted for the truth.

Bdawg can you read? Hes not complaining, hes only stating that there were diffent balls. Big whoop.


What are you trying to start with this thread? Honestly...another Roddick troll flame fest?
 

EliteNinja

Semi-Pro
Hmmm....it's funny, when I am at a tennis lesson with my local pro, he has a basket of a balls from a variety of companies. However, I can never tell when he has hit me a Wilson ball or a Penn ball specifically.

Then you really need to concentrate on looking at the ball better...:p
 

AngeloDS

Hall of Fame
I have the same complaint; I prefer Wilson or Dunlop. Dunlop over Wilson for me =).

Penn tennis balls are really... hard, dead and feel heavy. I don't like it at all--especially here in the North West where conditions get cold. The ball feels even more dead.

It's terrible and I haven't adjusted to it ever since I started playing. Penn should stop making tennis balls.
 

Zets147

Banned
Hmmm....it's funny, when I am at a tennis lesson with my local pro, he has a basket of a balls from a variety of companies. However, I can never tell when he has hit me a Wilson ball or a Penn ball specifically.

get a pro who actually spends some money buying new balls.
 

AJK1

Hall of Fame
I like Slazenger Grass and Hardcourt balls the best.
I played in a Tournament that used Head Grass balls and they became so fluffy that it became a joke. Worst balls i've ever had to use.
Wilson seem good too.
 

J-man

Hall of Fame
Quoted for the truth.

Bdawg can you read? Hes not complaining, hes only stating that there were diffent balls. Big whoop.


What are you trying to start with this thread? Honestly...another Roddick troll flame fest?
Sersiouly he said one sentence stating that the balls are different. Big deal
 

volleyandfun

Hall of Fame
Sersiouly he said one sentence stating that the balls are different. Big deal

It does make a difference which balls you use, on which type of surface etc.

i noticed once my game was way off with Penn balls, and when we switched to Wilson (red can) it was all of a sudden better.

As many people mentioned here (in a tread about balls) it may be sometimes necessary to make tension adjustment to compensate for different balls, temp or humidity

I personally was never fond of Pen neither, Dunlop are the best
 
That's no excuse...everyone plays with the same ball on the same courts at each event. It's not like they are picking on Roddick. They do control the speed of the ball, and they have slightlhy different feels and sounds to them, but certainly nothing you cant quickly adjust to. especially Roddick who wasnt in the finals and had time to practice at the site using the same balls
The WTAers use a faster ball in general than the ATPers

Good point. And that's all AR was saying, but really, I think it's pretty obvious to anyone in tennis (certainly a tour veteran) that all the Masters Series events are obligated to trot out those crap Penns.

Hmmm....it's funny, when I am at a tennis lesson with my local pro, he has a basket of a balls from a variety of companies. However, I can never tell when he has hit me a Wilson ball or a Penn ball specifically.

That is because you are not taking his coaching advice. Watch the ball and try to read which brand it is as it crosses the net.;)

Kidding. Blake all the way, I like that. Good luck at the Open, JB.
 

bdawg

Semi-Pro
Did I miss something? Where is Roddick 'complaining' about the balls and where does he make any kind of argument? He made an observation about the transition in conditions between Washington and Montreal (after a match he won), so why is this worthy of a thread?

I thought it was an interesting topic because this is his second time . In 2005, he lost in the first round and made a similar comment. Maybe "complaining" is too harsh, but it does seem like Roddick dislikes the choice of tennis balls.

"“It just felt totally different out there than it did two days ago,” he said. “The court, the balls, they're all a little bit different. I just didn't adjust. It's a different ball. I just didn't feel like I was doing anything real comfortably out there.”

http://www.rogerscupmen.com/5/en/news/2005/tuesday2.asp


If I start any post about Roddick, then I'm automatically trolling?
 
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edmondsm

Legend
That's no excuse...everyone plays with the same ball on the same courts at each event. It's not like they are picking on Roddick. They do control the speed of the ball, and they have slightlhy different feels and sounds to them, but certainly nothing you cant quickly adjust to. especially Roddick who wasnt in the finals and had time to practice at the site using the same balls
The WTAers use a faster ball in general than the ATPers

You are the one picking on Roddick. He didn't complain about anything, all he said was it is tough because the balls are different. They asked him a question and he answered it.
 

bdawg

Semi-Pro
He's the only one who commented on the balls, and he's done it twice. I think that's worth a mention. It's not a personal attack on Roddick or his game. It's up to you to decide if his argument is valid or not.

He was never explicitly asked about the balls either-- he made a point of bringing that up.
 

origmarm

Hall of Fame
Did I miss something? Where is Roddick 'complaining' about the balls and where does he make any kind of argument? He made an observation about the transition in conditions between Washington and Montreal (after a match he won), so why is this worthy of a thread?

I have to agree with the above. I don't think he was so much complaining as saying the transition was difficult.
Given that the balls are the same for everyone I think its a minor
 

J-man

Hall of Fame
It does make a difference which balls you use, on which type of surface etc.

i noticed once my game was way off with Penn balls, and when we switched to Wilson (red can) it was all of a sudden better.

As many people mentioned here (in a tread about balls) it may be sometimes necessary to make tension adjustment to compensate for different balls, temp or humidity

I personally was never fond of Pen neither, Dunlop are the best
No I understand that. Trust me try playing on har tru with AO open balls. It's immposible, lol.

What I was trying to say is that he said one little sentence about the balls and I don't think it was enough to start a topic about it. I mean look at the quote. He said like 5 words about it.
 

Fee

Legend
He's the only one who commented on the balls, and he's done it twice. I think that's worth a mention. It's not a personal attack on Roddick or his game. It's up to you to decide if his argument is valid or not.

He was never explicitly asked about the balls either-- he made a point of bringing that up.

Yes, twice he made a comment about the transition from Washington to Canada. He did not make an 'argument' and he did not 'complain.' For some reason he is sensitive to the ball change in Canada (where he has made the final twice, winning it all once). You started a thread about a trivial comment from a tournament that is over a week old, so yeah, it does look like you were fishing for something to pick on. Just my opinion.
 

NoBadMojo

G.O.A.T.
Good point. And that's all AR was saying, but really, I think it's pretty obvious to anyone in tennis (certainly a tour veteran) that all the Masters Series events are obligated to trot out those crap Penns.



That is because you are not taking his coaching advice. Watch the ball and try to read which brand it is as it crosses the net.;)

Kidding. Blake all the way, I like that. Good luck at the Open, JB.

You are the one picking on Roddick. He didn't complain about anything, all he said was it is tough because the balls are different. They asked him a question and he answered it.

I didnt read the article. I wrongly assumed that if the dude took the time create a thread that said Roddick was complaining about the balls, that he was actually complaining about the balls...I should have known better ;)
 

coloskier

Legend
Compared to 20 years ago, there is a HUGE difference in balls. But of course, that is not what Roddick is complaining about. If they played all the slams with the balls used 20 years ago, Roddick might actually have 2 or 3 more slams under his belt. His serve would be unreturnable, even by Federer, because the balls would skip and slide a good 6 inches even on hardcourts, and especially on grass. This is because those balls were smaller in size, lighter in weight, and did not fluff up EVER. The big topspinners would be watching their balls hit the fence instead of landing inside the baseline because there was not nearly the "bite" compared to present balls. I actually had a case of balls that were 20 years old and 2 years ago took them out (they still were completely pressurized) and had some top ranked juniors who hit with heavy topspin try to hit with them. It was hilarious!!! They couldn't keep anything in the court. The only ones who did well hit basically flat shots.
 

superstition

Hall of Fame
Aside from quality control issues (dead balls out of cans, fuzz balls, bare patches), the Penn Championship regular duty balls are quite good, in my opinion. Wilson balls tend to be heavier, so I try to avoid them. Even the US Open regular duty tends to be heavier. Penn ATP regular duty balls, though, feel really light. I have trouble controlling them. Heavy balls (the worst is Wilson's Titanium) ruin gut string jobs quickly, so I usually play with Penn Championship regular duty. I used to like the Penn Centre Court balls, but I haven't seen those in a long time.
 

superstition

Hall of Fame
Compared to 20 years ago, there is a HUGE difference in balls. But of course, that is not what Roddick is complaining about. If they played all the slams with the balls used 20 years ago, Roddick might actually have 2 or 3 more slams under his belt. His serve would be unreturnable, even by Federer, because the balls would skip and slide a good 6 inches even on hardcourts, and especially on grass. This is because those balls were smaller in size, lighter in weight, and did not fluff up EVER. The big topspinners would be watching their balls hit the fence instead of landing inside the baseline because there was not nearly the "bite" compared to present balls. I actually had a case of balls that were 20 years old and 2 years ago took them out (they still were completely pressurized) and had some top ranked juniors who hit with heavy topspin try to hit with them. It was hilarious!!! They couldn't keep anything in the court. The only ones who did well hit basically flat shots.
Navratilova said the balls used in the late 70s and early 80s bounced less, which helped serve and volley players because the bounce was lower. Sometime in the early 20th century, tennis balls were shrunk to cut costs.
 

fastdunn

Legend
Canada and Cincy use Penn balls because all Masters events are contracted with Penn.

Penn has multiple prodcts. Regular Penn(chamionship), Penn ATP, and ProPenn...

What I heard is they use ProPenn Encore at ATP Masters.
4-5 years ago they used Penn ATP.

AFAIK, Penn used to be official ball of many tennis organization
but I don't think regular Penn is being sponsored in any tennis organization
right now.

USTA dropped sponsorship on regular Penn while back(in fact USTA do not have any official balls).
USPTA endorse ProPenn, AFAIK.
I think USA tennis league still sponsors regular Penn.

To me, regular Penn is a thing of past (or at least becoming one, especially
after Head took over Penn).
 
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coloskier

Legend
Aside from quality control issues (dead balls out of cans, fuzz balls, bare patches), the Penn Championship regular duty balls are quite good, in my opinion. Wilson balls tend to be heavier, so I try to avoid them. Even the US Open regular duty tends to be heavier. Penn ATP regular duty balls, though, feel really light. I have trouble controlling them. Heavy balls (the worst is Wilson's Titanium) ruin gut string jobs quickly, so I usually play with Penn Championship regular duty. I used to like the Penn Centre Court balls, but I haven't seen those in a long time.

See what I mean about lighter balls. :p Try hitting heavy topspin with those and see how long you stay in the match.
 

coloskier

Legend
Navratilova said the balls used in the late 70s and early 80s bounced less, which helped serve and volley players because the bounce was lower. Sometime in the early 20th century, tennis balls were shrunk to cut costs.

Yes, they were. They had thinner walls, which caused them to skid a little more, thus causing lower bounces. I don't know if it is just me, but have you seen in the past two years that balls bounce even higher now than they used to? I am 6'4" and I almost never had a ball bounce shoulder height unless it was a lob until a few years ago.
 
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