How much difference can a ball make?

[kickingbird]

Sorry if this is the inappropriate board but I thought I'd probably get more responses from here than anywhere else.

Anyway, what I want to ask is, how much difference does a ball (especially its size) make on your game? I'm asking this because 2 nights ago I was using slightly old Wilson US Open balls when practicing my serves, and I was getting most in with good speed. I felt really good about it so I tried it again last night, but this time using new Slazenger Wimbledon balls. And guess what, yep, I wasn't serving nearly as well as the night before. No where near as fast, no where near as accurate.

Now, there is a notable difference in size (diameter) and probably weight between these two. Could this be a significant factor?? I suppose using old balls and new balls makes a difference too, but... which ball should I get used to using? Wouldn't using different balls ruin everything?? Eg. let's say you practice using heavy Slaz balls, and some tournaments use the same balls and some use lighter balls. Would this change significantly affect your game? Cos I'm thinking yes. And isn't that the case with pros? Use heavy balls to slow down grass court games and smaller balls to speed up clay court games?

Maybe those days that you think: 'what's wrong with me today??' is a day where you're using different balls than you're used to?

Interested to hear everyone's thoughts...

 

[skuludo]

Every ball is the same size I think. Unless marked oversize.
Check to see if the balls are certified and your guranteed that they will perform about the same when new. The clay court balls have less fuzz on it. The hard court balls have more fuzz which will last a bit longer than a clay court ball used on hard court. Also all the standard size tournament quality balls should all weigh the same too. I think you should use new balls to practice as that will show how you would really play like if you are in a tournament. If it costs too much then stick with presurless balls. Just change them when they run out of fuzz.

 

[RedKat]

The difference between old and new ball is that the old ball is softer. This means that it will stay longer on the stringbed upon the contact. This results in more power, spin and control. New balls are harder and springier, therefore you will need to have better technique to control them, for ex. more explicit and longer follow-through.
My advise to play with new balls as much as possible depending on your budget, of course. Then you will have less troubles playing competitions; there you play normally with new balls.

 

[doubletrouble]

kickingbird I have got to agree with you. Different brands of balls play differently. And most notably on my serve. I hit with a lot of spin on both first and second serve and I can tell the difference even during the match as the balls wear. I get less bite on the ball as the fuzz wears off. Ground strokes .. I don't know there it is not too noticeable.

Or maybe its all in my psychological ... the guys I play with always try to get in my head by pulling out some old practice balls I wouldn't give to my dog and play with them. So what do I do ??? I go up Tennis Warehouse buy a case balls and pop open a can :lol:

 

[kevhen]

Yes balls make a lot of difference. Old ones usually move slower for me. Penns seem to come out flatter and play slower too. I like Dunlop and then Wilson. I only use old balls for a week or two and just as practice balls for groundstrokes or serving but throw them out when they go too flat.

 

[papa]

Actually all balls are not the same size and weight - there is an acceptable range for both - look in the rule book.
Not talking about new vs old, I'm referring to new balls. There is also the "oversize" ball which is significantly larger - 5%?

 

[lendl lives]

Great question. With new balls either Wilson US open or Penn's. I feel i get much more power and feel on my serve. The penns seem to provdie more pop than the wilsons if i remember correctly. i hate playing with old balls their is no feel and they float a lot. So far i've noticed the wilsons fluff up way more.

I always feel i have the advantage with new balls. I serve better and return serve better. My groundstrokes have more pop than my opponents usually, too.

 

[Camilio Pascual]

The difference between old and new ball is that the old ball is softer. This means that it will stay longer on the stringbed upon the contact. This results in more power, spin and control.

There's a few mistakes in that statement. I suggest you find out what resiliency and elasticity mean for starters.

 

[skuludo]

I've noticed when someone hits really hard with old balls and I hit it back harder the ball just doesn't seem to pop out of my strings. And then I net the ball. Kind of annoying.

 

[TwistServe]

With new balls I can really kick my serve up towards shoulder height at times.. With old balls, my kickserves usually land down to striking zone..

After playing lots of sets and not knowing why certain days my serves were really great and other days they were just gettin nailed back.. it was the ball (hehe partial)

 

[kickingbird]

Wow, what an overwhleming response! Thanks everyone.

I hit the courts yesterday and served for about an hour using different balls, and I found that the heavy, new balls seemed to hurt my arm more than the old ones.. which does make sense, but the new balls were travelling faster, which seems odd for someone like me who doesn't know much about physics. If it's heavier/bigger wouldn't it travel slower? I guess it's something to do with the pressure inside the ball.

 

[RedKat]

The difference between old and new ball is that the old ball is softer. This means that it will stay longer on the stringbed upon the contact. This results in more power, spin and control.

There's a few mistakes in that statement. I suggest you find out what resiliency and elasticity mean for starters.

Hey Camilio, can you explain, please, what mistakes are in the statement. I am not sure that the statement about power is 100% correct but it is much easier to spin a softer ball because it stays longer on the stringbed. And it is easier to control it. For this reason there are special soft balls developed for the beginners - much easier to control, more fun to play, less frustration.

 

[Cypo]

I think the soft balls are easier to control because they simply don't fly as far - so if a beginner takes a wild stroke that is somehow in the right direction, it may still come down in the court. They don't fly as far because soft ball absorbs much of the energy of impact. It's the same reason they don't bounce as high. The absorbed energy is dissipated and does not contribut to the acceleration.

(hope you don't mind my jumping in Camilio - I'm jumping out again)

 

[Camilio Pascual]

Older balls have less resiliency. Once it deforms, it will not return the stored energy as efficiently. I also dispute that old balls are "softer", they are less elastic and a good way to hurt your arm if you play with them. Take a wood ball and a rubber ball of equal size and mass and bounce them against a solid object such as a wall. The rubber ball, which has more resiliency and elasticity will be much more lively. Also, old balls have less fuzz, this is what aids in spin production. There is not as much surface area to an old ball as a newer one for the aerodynamics of spin production to work. I doubt you can hit an old ball with more power, my doubt coming from the fact that it does have less fuzz and mass. And I am sure you could hit a ball that has just been used for a half hour faster because of the less amount of fuzz, but is that an old ball?

 

[RedKat]

I think the soft balls are easier to control because they simply don't fly as far - so if a beginner takes a wild stroke that is somehow in the right direction, it may still come down in the court. They don't fly as far because soft ball absorbs much of the energy of impact. It's the same reason they don't bounce as high. The absorbed energy is dissipated and does not contribut to the acceleration.

(hope you don't mind my jumping in Camilio - I'm jumping out again)

I think here the effect of soft balls is somewhat different. Indeed, soft balls absorb much of the energy of impact. According to physics laws a ball hitting the stringbed must bounce back at the same angle but in a mirrored direction. Soft ball will bounce back less. This means that the incoming angle of the soft ball will affect your stroke direction to lesser extent. You have to use less effort to counteract that bounce. In case of the soft ball, the racket has to move in the direction of a shot shorter distance. Maybe 4 balls instead of 7. That what I meant by saying that with new balls you need more pronounced follow-through.

 

[kevhen]

I started serving with some flat balls the other night and they were coming off with no pop but making a weird noise as they compressed and just sat on the strings instead of exploding forward like a new ball would. These practice serves were moving like 70mph instead of 100mph and were taking a different trajectory and almost messing up my arm and timing since they were hanging on my strings. I hit like 3 in a row before getting rid of those balls.

New balls seem lighter to me than old ones but they probably all weigh about the same.

 

[RedKat]

Older balls have less resiliency. Once it deforms, it will not return the stored energy as efficiently. I also dispute that old balls are "softer", they are less elastic and a good way to hurt your arm if you play with them. Take a wood ball and a rubber ball of equal size and mass and bounce them against a solid object such as a wall. The rubber ball, which has more resiliency and elasticity will be much more lively. Also, old balls have less fuzz, this is what aids in spin production. There is not as much surface area to an old ball as a newer one for the aerodynamics of spin production to work. I doubt you can hit an old ball with more power, my doubt coming from the fact that it does have less fuzz and mass. And I am sure you could hit a ball that has just been used for a half hour faster because of the less amount of fuzz, but is that an old ball?

Camilio, you probably play on hard courts. Here, in Europe, we play mainly on clay and the old ball becomes rather soft then bald. It retains most of its fuzz and the mass. Moreover, on a beaten up ball the fuzz tend to become messy (what is the right word for this? but you understand what I mean) and creates even more air resistance. Yet, to my experience it is still easier to spin the older ball (2-3 hours played) and overall control it. That is why it is advisable to play with new balls as much as possible. Playing with old balls may result in developing some "laziness", and later you'll be caught off guard on a tournament with new balls.

 

[kevhen]

I would agree that old balls would be easier to spin and easier to get to land in the court because you can take a full swing and they don't move very fast so they have little chance of going long as gravity and the extra spin take effect. I like playing a more aggressive game though especially on hardcourt. I would hate to lose my usual serve advantage with soft balls and always go get new balls in tournaments after the second set.