Practicing with flat tennis balls?

[lidation]

Me and my hitting partner were both around 3.0 level and the other day we found out that if we use flat tennis balls to play we can sustain long time rally and the game is a lot more fun because we can keep the ball in play much longer. We can do baseline rally more than 10 times easily, sometimes more than 20. And I feel that I can whip at the ball a lot harder without worrying it will go off court.

Compared to a relatively newer ball, the flat ball is a lot less bouncy and the speed is slower and I think that will make you easier to hit.

Right now, both me and my partner love this idea, which makes our game so much more fun.

So my question is: is this a good way to practice with a flat ball to groove our strokes and footwork?

 

[Djokovicfan4life]

It sounds like a good way to hurt your arm and then hit everything into the fence when you play an actual match!

Just saying.......

 

[Korangster]

yah, i think it might be good for developing strokes, but your match play and tourney play will really suffer. it might be good if your trying out something new though

 

[WBF]

Fun? If your nuts.

Good for tennis? **** no.

 

[lidation]

Fun? If your nuts.

Well, maybe for you it's not fun. But for my level, I think it is.

I had never been able to use that much force and speed to whip at a ball and still keep the ball in the court. Now I simply feel great.

 

[Vision84]

Yeah I think it is fine for grooving strokes and gaining confidence in them. Just be aware that you could get lazy with your footwork and possibly develop some bad habits.

 

[Bottle Rocket]

It depends on your goals. If all you care about is your current enjoyment of the game, do whatever you want.

If you want to improve, give it up. Use new balls and learn how to control the ball. Learn proper footwork patterns and strokes with balls that bounce properly. The way the ball bounces is a crucial aspect of the game... Don't learn bad habits that will hurt you down the road.

I can't stand watching people hit with flat balls, let alone when I have to.

New balls!

 

[snvplayer]

It can be fun, I agree.
But it can be pretty bad for your timing once you start using new balls.

New balls will bounce a lot faster, harder to control..It will take time to adjust..

 

[YonexFanatic21]

Yea using new tennis balls are better i try as much as possible to use tennis balls that bounce above my knee

 

[Fay]

What everyone else said -- especially about hurting your arm/elbow. Put a lot more top spin on your ground strokes.

 

[LanEvo]

i dont like to hit with flat balls because i cant hit topspin, but when i hit topspin with a new ball i can hit balls that jump 10ft in the air

 

[Sentinel]

NO.
Pls do a search on "dead balls" on this forum. Will answer all your doubts.

 

[lidation]

NO.
Pls do a search on "dead balls" on this forum. Will answer all your doubts.

Thanks! The thread is here: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=160948&highlight=dead+ball

 

[vince916]

Its night and day when using flat balls. My friends use flat balls and when I rally with them I bring my new balls into the mix.

They tend to hit balls out when its new and I end up being out of position when the flat balls bounce lower and shorter then I expected. I guess it makes it more interesting in a way.

 

[Barca tennis]

it is a very good thing to do, we do it a lot in training over here,

 

[Sentinel]

Dead/old balls travel slower, in addition to bouncing low.
That means you will be setting up slowly. And moving slowly across the court.

When you have to move to new balls, your setup will always be late and you will be hitting wildly if not mishitting.

You will not reach balls on time.

You will hit out since they have higher pressure.

You will not be able to take high balls.

Dead balls all will have varying bounces so again you will land up hitting off the sweetspot and jarring your arm/elbow.


Due to low bounces, dropshots will almost always be winners. You will not be able to get practice in killer short balls. You will have to lift them up, if you get there in time.

I could go on and on, but eventually it takes a lot of time to move to newer balls when you do.

 

[NotAtTheNet]

i only use flat balls when practicing against the wall or playing fetch with my dog. flat balls in real rallying and practice just throws off my game when we switch to real ones.

 

[slice bh compliment]

It's so funny, they actually SELL low-bouncing balls for children and beginners. I think they cost a little more than fresh, good balls, hahahha! Plus, they come two-toned (orange and yellow).

 

[Sentinel]

i only use flat balls when practicing against the wall or playing fetch with my dog. flat balls in real rallying and practice just throws off my game when we switch to real ones.

I believe I read somewhere long back that the paint on tennis balls could have some lead on it. So playing fetch may not be such a great idea.

 

[tennisdad65]

It's so funny, they actually SELL low-bouncing balls for children and beginners. I think they cost a little more than fresh, good balls, hahahha! Plus, they come two-toned (orange and yellow).

Nothing wrong with using these balls if you are a beginner or kid. I have a hopper full of these which cost me about $100. They are perfect for 4-7 yr olds. They are soft, low bouncing, and this is the only way I can rally with my 5 yr old and keep the ball between his shoulder and knees consistently.

 

[Bungalo Bill]

Me and my hitting partner were both around 3.0 level and the other day we found out that if we use flat tennis balls to play we can sustain long time rally and the game is a lot more fun because we can keep the ball in play much longer. We can do baseline rally more than 10 times easily, sometimes more than 20. And I feel that I can whip at the ball a lot harder without worrying it will go off court.

Compared to a relatively newer ball, the flat ball is a lot less bouncy and the speed is slower and I think that will make you easier to hit.

Right now, both me and my partner love this idea, which makes our game so much more fun.

So my question is: is this a good way to practice with a flat ball to groove our strokes and footwork?

Here is the deal with using older or deader balls.

1. If you are playiing matches or are competing, it is not a good idea to practice with them all the time. On occasion to groove strokes, work on your conditioning, work on your footwork or footspeed, that is fine.

2. You can mix in a dead ball with good balls and be alert for their different play and feel.

3. If you are not playing competively, you can use them more knowing that your timing will be off when you pop open a new can!

However, in any case, I would not recommend using them all the time for your regular practice. They should be used for specific reasons.

 

[Bagumbawalla]

If you have no further asperations than going out a few times a year and batting the ball, then why not?

If you are a beginning player who is intent on improvement, and simply need extra time to get to the ball to practice correct stroking, I would advise opening the can a day (up to two days) before your practice. This will slow the ball down a bit and yet give you some semblence of control.

As you improve your timing and anticipation, discard the old balls and use new balls.

 

[ufg8r]

Not a good idea

 

[tennisdad65]

What about COST :shock:

It is easier for folks in the 'richer' countries to break out a new can every time we play. Out here it is $2 for a dunlop/penn can of balls. At 5 times a month, this does not dent my wallet. However, US $10-$12 a month in many parts of the world is ~10% of their monthly income.

I doubt I would play with new balls every time, if they would end up costing me ~$500 per month.

 

[r2473]

When I play old guys in the park, they will pull old ball out of their bags. They can block balls back all day long (I pretend I don't know what is going on).

 

[vince916]

What about COST :shock:

It is easier for folks in the 'richer' countries to break out a new can every time we play. Out here it is $2 for a dunlop/penn can of balls. At 5 times a month, this does not dent my wallet. However, US $10-$12 a month in many parts of the world is ~10% of their monthly income.

I doubt I would play with new balls every time, if they would end up costing me ~$500 per month.

if someone is making $100-$120 a month I don't think they could afford a racket let alone balls. Also most likely they wouldn't even have decent free courts to play on.

 

[paulfreda]

Nothing wrong with it at all IMO.

A dead ball will travel slower and give you time to setup and hit a good shot.
And it will also bounce lower so you do not face high balls which are a problem for most players under 4.5 level.

Good idea.

At some point it will get boring and you will want to move to another level. So just get some livlier balls.

Much easier than having to pay a pro to hit balls to you or if you do not have access to a ball machine.

 

[paulfreda]

Tennis costs

if someone is making $100-$120 a month I don't think they could afford a racket let alone balls. Also most likely they wouldn't even have decent free courts to play on.

Not true !

I live in Thailand and these numbers are dead on correct for most Thais.

I am, American and use new balls every other hit and almost no one at the courts I play on can afford to do this. They use the pro's [called knockers here] ball basket.

Court time here is $2 / hour and it is mostly foreigners that pay to use the courts.
So even a Thai can play twice a week for $16/month. But not a Thai making $100/month.

Tennis can be a very inexpensive game.

 

[BeHappy]

DON'T!!!!!!!!!

 

[xpaulinabearx]

same thing happens to me.
i hit longer rally's with flat balls.
-_-

 

[Cindysphinx]

Here's a suggestion for the OP.

I have four big foam balls (Gamma). I like to use these for volley practice, in particular. You have a bit more time to split and set up and volley properly. You spend less time chasing errant shots. You can watch the ball easier. You have less fear of getting hit, if that is an issue for you.

Then for groundstrokes, you can both stand in the service boxes and really focus on hitting a full swing. In fact, if you don't hit a full swing, the ball won't go anywhere.

In practicing with foam balls with friends, however, I've noticed one problem. Since many of my friends don't have good footwork/volley technique, they use the slow pace of the balls to take huge volley backswings rather than volleying correctly. This is unhelpful for them because they learn nothing, and it is annoying for me because they are trying to blast a foam ball at my feet. I've stopped suggesting that we use them because if you don't know what good technique is, a foam ball won't help you at all.

But if you and your buddy get some foam balls and actually work on your technique, it's a good way to practice.

[edit: Oh, and I can't take credit for this idea. My pro used the foam balls in a clinic once, and the results were so good that I bought my own.]

 

[GuyClinch]

I get this - what the OP is saying about dead balls. But if you like that I recommend soft tennis balls. They are TONS of fun - you can like slug balls really hard and feel it and they stay in. And although some people say you can't add topspin to them I think you can..