Confused

[Guy]

Not being an accomplished player as most of you are I am seeking knowledge on the issue of ball size.
Back when I first learned about ping pong the ball was .38mm and it was a challenge to get the hand-eye co-ordination coupled with the agility to be able to move and hit the ball. Now if I have my facts right the larger ball was to slow the play down and also make it spectator friendly.
First question: before the larger ball was introduced to slow play, were there different types of rubber that made the ball travel faster? Was that one of the reasons for going to the .40mm larger ball?
With my limited knowledge of the different rubber that is available my next questions are. Is the sport of tt and the use of the .40mm ball getting into the same situation? And if so. Do you think a larger ball (.44mm) is really going to slow the game down to the point a spectator will be able to see the difference?
Now last question. If it were possible to use whatever rubber you use and a .40mm tt ball could be hit with the same force and technique yet yielding a slower bounce thus a slower game would this be too strange to play?
Personally I think keeping the ball small is part of the challenge of this sport.

[MK Chris]

Back when I first learned about ping pong the ball was .38mm
Seriously? I'd struggle to even see something that small!

[Belisar]

As far as I know the larger ball was introduced to slow the speed down and thus extend some rallys. The idea to be to make it more spectator friendly.

I suspect the effect of the larger ball has been more than matched by equipment changes such as faster rubbers and oversized blades. I would love to know if the ITTF feel that increasing the ball size has had the effect they hoped.

One downside seems to be less spin and thus less effect for defenders. Less defenders means less variation and I guess that is not good for the game in general.

I hear rumours of some consideration being given to increasing the ball size again. There must be a point in time when the game becomes so slow it turns back into a parlour game rather than a sport and I wonder whether there would be a way of restricting rubber/blade speed rather than increase the ball size.

As for spectators, the issue for them, especially if they do not play the game, is realising quite how much spin is put onto a ball and what the impact of that spin is. Seeing a backspin serve and the ball hit straight into the net is not much of an exciting prospect for someone who does not know the game.

[Desmond]

I belong to the group that has gone through the change in size of balls and i have to admit that it does slow down the game a little. Rallies are longer and more challenging. I guess its good for both spectators and to a certain extent players as well. The fact that we get to play more rallies actually make the games more enjoyable. I also get to improve my thinking process as you need to plan more balls in advance compared to last time where one deadly swing usually ends the game. With the change in size of tt balls, there is also a slight shift from a more agressive game to a more tactical and technical kind of strategy. Hope i make some sense here... :taz:

[Moggy]

Just after we changed to 40mm balls, someone counted the average rally length. With the 38mm ball the average rally was 3.2 hits, with the 40mm it was 3.4!
I'm not sure if these are the exact figures - but I do remember the benefit was minimal.
I'm all for longer rallies, after all, which TT points get downloaded to Youtube the most - only the enjoyable long ones.
Anyone care to count the rally count on Youtube :covereyes:

[Belisar]

Just after we changed to 40mm balls, someone counted the average rally length. With the 38mm ball the average rally was 3.2 hits, with the 40mm it was 3.4!


In other words the increased ball size and changes in equipment have pretty much cancelled each other out.

I still wonder if it is possible for the ITTF to liaise with equipment manufacturers to agree some parameters. It would seem that would have more of an effect than the size of your balls.

[Guy]

To me it seems that with the advancement of equipment making the ball go faster and the ball getting larger is just a crazy circle. The manufactures wants you to play faster and the ITTF wants larger balls to slow the game down. If the ITTF really wants to slow down the play to make it a truly spectator sport they could make players use a whiffle golf ball. This would create a slower bounce and no matter what type of rubber you use it has little to no effect on the ball that I know of.
Seriously maybe the ITTF should just consider having different ball size categories for players that want to stay with the .40mm ball or the .44mm or maybe even the beach ball size for the spectators.

[HarryBelafonte]

nice one moggy,thanks for that,aLL THIS CHANGE FOR 0.2 EXTRA OF A RALLY..
what was the point?...
I think there was more variation with the old ball,better lobbing rallies,more swerve etc,
The only advantage is probably easier to see on tv.
Any ideas?
:tomato:

[Guy]

"The only advantage is probably easier to see on tv"

Harry I don't know if that's really a good arguement the cameramen at golf events don't seem to have a problem following the ball.

[Blocking Ace]

The point about greater 'swerve' etc. is correct.

It is blatantly abvious when comparing video of pre-40mm watershed.
38mm produces greater discernible arc [loops], swerve [hooking, fading, and serves], and touch play. In short, distinct subtlety.

40mm ball requires, at times, too much extra effort, so bludgeoning strikes are resorted to. Bludgeon, smack, wallop. Lack of subtlety in favour of direct approach - bang, smack -- get the point over with. Less craft, less guile, less creativity and thought.
This is not conjecture, this is fact.

Have i mentioned that 38mm was better?

[Belisar]

40mm ball requires, at times, too much extra effort, so bludgeoning strikes are resorted to. Bludgeon, smack, wallop. Lack of subtlety in favour of direct approach - bang, smack -- get the point over with. Less craft, less guile, less creativity and thought.


Hmm that's why I winning all these games now - hit em flat and hit em hard.

[HarryBelafonte]

well said blockie....
:happy:

[Annie]

Fly by the seat of yer pants is what I say! :dance3: