How about the balls?

[gzhpcu]

We talk a lot about strings and rackets, but how about the balls? Pressurized, non-pressurized, the age of the balls, etc. Not being pros, we rarely have the luxury of playing with new balls all the time. Many of us play quite some time with a can of balls. We notice the difference between new balls and old balls very much.
Isn't this why for club players, the equipment mods make less of an impact? Especially the finetuning....?

[tennis_chiro]

Clay vs Hardcourts

We talk a lot about strings and rackets, but how about the balls? Pressurized, non-pressurized, the age of the balls, etc. Not being pros, we rarely have the luxury of playing with new balls all the time. Many of us play quite some time with a can of balls. We notice the difference between new balls and old balls very much.
Isn't this why for club players, the equipment mods make less of an impact? Especially the finetuning....?

Phil,
when we were kids, we might have used a can of balls for more than 2 sets, but these days, any serious player is almost always breaking out a new can for the third set on hardcourts. They just eat the balls so much more than soft courts. The last 20 years, I have always opened two cans at the beginning of a practice session or had another can for the second set in a practice match.

don
PS (on the other hand, I try to get two or three rounds out of a sleeve of NXT Tours!)

[gzhpcu]

It is a different story on clay courts... Balls last much longer...

[don_budge]

Balls...

Question: What did the Queen say?

Answer: If I had balls I'd be King.

In 1905 in the Sears catalogue (no Geoff, I wasn't alive then)...a can of three tennis balls sold for 1.50 dollars. Can you still buy a can of balls for 2.00 dollars in the States? Of any item in that catalogue tennis balls were the least affected by inflation.

Balls in Europe are different from the balls being played in the States. They last longer and are much more expensive. They call them "gas" balls and keep them in vacuum containers in between play so that they keep their pressure. If only everything were so simple. In Sweden they are just getting around to switching out the old carpet courts to hard courts...the balls can last several times on the carpet. We are using the Tecnifibre ball in our program which I believe they use at the French Open.

I get a real kick out of making one Titleist ProV1 last 6 or 7 rounds. Talk about keeping the ball in play. I hate losing balls. It makes me crazy! (Golfer mentality)

[GeoffWilliams]

First balls I ever hit with were the white Slazengers. Then the tretorn ping pong metallic sounding balls, and then the purple/orange balls. I've played with wilsons, penns, tretorns, Slazengers, many other types of balls. Hard wearing, clay court, us open, etc. There are differences.

[don_budge]

You've got 'em!

I will say one thing about you...Equipment Guy. You've got balls! From one tennis player to another.

[GeoffWilliams]

This is going to make you laugh....
I gave a nick name to a guy in Berkeley once. He was fond of telling us at the Rose Gardens, that, "I had an operation. They had to remove a testicle."

I said, "From now on, you are to be called, Left Handed One Testicle Johnny.", since he was left handed. I played him about 50 tie breakers. He won one of them 7-5. Had no answer to my serve to his back hand, and my attacking game in general.

Some other nick names I coined: Job man (always was looking for a new job.) Mark Sobelson

Cowboy: self explanatory
Wasp Johnny: diva spoiled brat type of guy, who wouldn't pick up balls on his side of the court or at the net, until they were all over there.
The nude one: never wore a shirt
Cunta pathetica: eggbert woman who insisted on hitting with people above her level.
The cow:50 yr. old who had large drooping, hanging, dragging, benippled breasts and didn't believe in a jog bra, ala Julia Georges.
Fagmouth wristy: walked with a bit of a swish.
Dr. DAve: Cardiologist David Weiland
Solly: Saul Rubinger
Andogi: Andy Robbins, who loved to hear himself talk.
Cheese steak: Phil peterson
Minkster: Jeff Mink
Stiff Ken: olive oil selling Ken, who hit with stiff armed shots.
The Meat: herman bauer, from bull durham.
Eggberts: all the crappy players who hog the courts over us.