I find it annoying when you are getting into a tennis match, when the guys (men especially) mess around with their balls before serving? Im not really bothered about mine but does anyone know if it makes a difference if the tennis balls are smooth/clean/whatever? Sampras was the worse for it, he would inspect like 3 or 4 balls before he served with one of them. Does it make the ball move faster or something because the women don't seem to care which balls they play with :shrug:

:blink:

:o

Oh, you mean the *tennis* balls. :D

I always assumed it was due to one of two things:

1) As balls are only exchanged every few games, and the way they get whacked in today's tennis matches, some balls still have more bounce left than others.

2) It's just a tic, like Nadal touching his bum all the time, or a superstition, like his water bottles :D :D :D

Anyone who can enlighten us further, please go ahead!

roflmao

That hasn't been my experience . . . .

But I don't really know the answer to your question, of how much difference the smoothness/cleanliness of the tennis balls makes.

I noticed Murray doing it last night, inspecting a few balls before he chose which one to serve with. It slows the points down and the fluency of the game imo, but if there is a good reason for it then you can't argue. When i play, i just use any ball that hasn't been hit out the park

A cleaner ball (i.e. one that hasn't 'fluffed up') will go through to the air slightly quicker, because it has a smaller surface area and thus there's less resistance on the ball during its flight. :)

roflmao
I thought Centre Court had gone all X-rated there for a moment!! ;) :P

roflmao roflmao

soooo on my wavelength hun!

It has, according to Chairman we're setting up a sex forum :o

it was a well-written post, and could be read in 2 different ways, depending on your train of thought.

Nadal really is taking that timewasting between points too far... :D

I thought that he wasn't too bad in his match earlier today/(last night if you're in Oz!)

but when he is serving on break point against him, he does take that little bit longer over his serve, it seems..

Mind you, the pickiness of ATP players isn't always about the type of ball. Some players want back the ball that they have just used to serve an ace. Can't remember who.. maybe Goran? :shrug:

If it was, he would have needed a lot of balls back :P

This is true! :lol:

There are a few players who are like this though.. and I just can't remember exactly who. Maybe it is quite a common thing amongst the players? And it most defiinitely is far more prevalent amongst the ATP players rather than WTA players..

I never saw the match (unfortunately my manager has this picky obsession with me actually turning up to work between 9 and 5 :D ) but from the commentary I heard, and the Beeb website he did apparently get warned at one point about the time he was taking between serves.

Oh, ok :unsure:

I did have the volume off for part of the match, so may have missed that bit. Maybe it happened early on in the match and might explain why he didn't seem to delay so much for the rest of it? :shrug:

Smooth balls travel through the air faster - not hugely faster, but even 5 miles an hour is pretty significant. The reason men seem more bothered about getting a clean ball is because if they can boost an extra few mph onto their serve, that's a great chance of making it unreturnable or in some way advantageous. In women's tennis, the serve as a killer weapon in less prevalent, which is why they're not fussed. The great Pete Sampras often used to discard any balls he didn't like the look of. It all ties in with the 'new balls' advantage.

Beautifully worded opening post by the way ;)2

roflmao roflmao

Well we now know which train you jumped on Dinky. ;)

Thanks guys, it's just i was a bit unsure why the girls weren't bothered about which balls they played with, so i figured it really didn't make a difference to the game. But if Sampras was picky about only playing smooth balls, then i might take a leaf out of his book. Does Momo look at the balls before she plays with them?

I'm sure you are giggling your head off while you write Mr Valid... ;)


Smooth for the record.

shouldn't we have a testes case...?

:huh:

One of my balls is plastic :yikes: I dont like playing with that

I dont recall thinking it was a badly written post, just that it made me giggle when I read it.

Im glad my balls have given you a chuckle Pebs ;)

:blink: they were yours??? I thought it was a general observation ;)

:yikes:

Yeah, I laughed so hard that I had to turn my head and cough . . .

Originally it was supposed be serious, i really did want to know why they just didn't use the first ball like the women. But my seaside humour saw an opportunity....

suppose we could really bring it down a peg by asking

waxed, shaved or just worn out

B)

the again...

:blink:

From personal experience Liam, I've found the smoothest balls travel fastest, like golf balls almost! It makes sense aerodynamically that smooth ball should travel faster than roughed up balls!

certainly, if you try and serve a roughed up ball and a smooth new ball, you feel much better hitting the smooth one, and it flies!

I hate playing with really old hairless balls... the ones that have been used that much, they shoot like a rocket when you hit them...


(ahem) :P

:rolleyes:

roflmao

you've given me a lovely visual first thing in my morning :whistle: :whistle:

Quote of the year roflmao :D

Vaidisova was messing about with hers quite a lot last night. Not that it helped her like

I personally like to shave mine. Just to be sure...about the uhm....friction roflmao

Smooth balls are always better for finishing off :)

:blink:

roflmao

i thought i'd contribute to the thread where tennis phrases are misinterpretaed rudely :P

I thought it was entirely to do with the fluff getting rubbed off

:o