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they are supposed to be slightly lighter I think. I haven't found them to be much better.

The Corny Keg is being repurposed for tennis balls, but that's not what its sold for, right?

Tretorn Serie? It says it's longer lasting pressurized ball so maybe that would be worth a try.

It's just weird that you can buy lots of balls that are slower than regulation (pressureless, high altitude, junior) but you can't buy any tennis balls faster than regulation.

Nobody needs a Bugatti either

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 course new rackets are better. I have five different Yonex's and the new Yonex obviously play better than the old Yonex. It's ridiculous to think that you could play just as well with a 25 year old racket. I've play tested scores of rackets and there is no comparison. It's true that old...

The new rackets are better. Sampras has said that he should've changed rackets sooner. It's true that pros play with old rackets under paint jobs but that's just what they're comfortable with, not what's the best racket.

I used to be able to find a decent used Yonex for less than $100 on eBuy and now I can't find anything for less than $150. I think Covid has turned everybody into a tennis player.

Tommy Paul has a very simple motion.

So I read Chasing Points, by Gregory Howe, who made it into some ATP qualifying tournaments after winning a few points at ITF level. His first point was in Tunisia where he got a bye, won his final qualifying match, then Malek Jaziri pulled out with an injury so instead he got to face a LL in...

THere was a guy who did this at 34, Gregory Howe. He wrote a book about it, Chasing Points. I think he started in ITFs in Africa. I'll read it and report back.

Yonex marketing is so confusing (all racket marketing is confusing) so I can't figure out what a good replacement racket for my Ezone Ai98 would be and I don't want to spend $175 on a used racket.

But if you stand closer you always have to hit the ball on the rise. It's more like half-volley practice.

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...

I hit against the wall a lot and I've been looking for a faster tennis ball but can't find any. Do you know of any? I'm thinking of a ball somewhere between a black racquetball and a regular duty tennis ball.

"Extra duty" hard court balls have more felt. But what happens if you use regular duty balls on a hard court? Will they lose their felt faster? Is the felt the only difference, or do extra duty balls also have less rebounce? I'm looking for high rebounce, low felt balls and I think Wilson...

You know another sport where the champions are getting older and older? Arm wrestling.

Players today hit harder, run faster, are bigger and taller . . . and the combined age of the two FO finalists was 68. Combined age in last Wimbledon final was almost 70. How do you reconcile those two things?

The net clearance is 5 feet and the ball lands well within the lines most of the time. It's the spin that keeps the opponent pinned behind the baseline.

If it was one of the big 3 who dominated, then I would concede that it was probably not the rackets. But all three? It's more likely a common factor.

Like I say upthread, it's not the pace it's the accuracy. If you hit with a bigger racket head and stiffer frame, yeah you are going to hit hard. But can you hit the corners? Or does the ball land at the service line?

His forehand is somewhere between Kyle Edmund and Steve Johnson.

so WHAT ?

Agassi hit his biggest forehands when he was a 150 pounder. The forehand seems to disappear early in a lot of careers. Roddick and Ryan Harrison come to mind as players that never got their forehand back.

As you can see player age declined in the 80s? Any theories? Chang won FO in 1989 at 17. And why did it rise so fast in the 2008-2018 era?

The internet says that Delpo uses a Wilson Hyper ProStaff 6.1 with 65 stiffness rating and Nadal uses a Babolat Aero Pro Drive Original with 72 stiffness rating. The Delpo racket is a 95 and Nadals is a 100. Small racket, smaller sweet spot. (BTW it's amazing I hit with a softer racket than Delpo).

It's not just pace it's accuracy. If you use spin you don't need to be accurate. Most balls will land well inside the line. The older players learned to hit with both pace and accuracy. My whole argument is not only that the older players hit harder it's that they hit with more accuracy. Second...

The stiffer the frame the harder you're going to hit. The older players didn't need stiff frames to hit hard. They used bamboo reeds and hit harder than these soy boys.

How do you explain that nobody today can hit as hard and as accurately as Gonzalez or Delpotro or even prime Roddick? The reason is that they all learn to hit with spin from a young age. Go watch Soderling beat Nadal. He is hitting hard and flat winners from deep behind the baseline. If prime...