Plastic balls delayed?

During my last two outings to local clubs I have introduced players to the Xushaofa balls from ttnpp. So far I've had the following players try it out:

Edited by the_theologian - 04/02/2014 at 11:55pm

To be honest I think the only drawback from the new ball will be the price. Most people in the clubs are not athletes and play for fun and this ball is just easier for everybody to play. I can see how the reliance on kill-shots will decrease. You will need to use strategy to get a point, you cant just drill one right in the middle of the table and get away with it. You will need better placement and combinations to get your opponent to open the table enough. I am a little excited actually. I think the rallies are gona become much more interesting now. 

assiduous wrote: To be honest I think the only drawback from the new ball will be the price. Most people in the clubs are not athletes and play for fun and this ball is just easier for everybody to play. I can see how the reliance on kill-shots will decrease. You will need to use strategy to get a point, you cant just drill one right in the middle of the table and get away with it. You will need better placement and combinations to get your opponent to open the table enough. I am a little excited actually. I think the rallies are gona become much more interesting now.  Another side effect - the nastyness of illegal serves is greatly reduced. I can see how a lot of people who relied on illegal serve + 3rd ball kill will lose points with the new ball. With the new ball, you will have to rally your way out of a point, no more tricks.  Still have no clue how it will affect pips. On one hand, LP will not be as deceptive any more, will be much easier to read. On the other, the defenders will be able to reach absolutely everything now. Those rallies against a quality defender may become TOO LONG because attacking player will make less errors but defender will have more time to reach the ball. As for chinese national team -- lets be honest, they don't care. Listen to their feedback - they don't praise the ball, they don't complain either, they don't give a sh1t. How will you win a point against ZJK with the new ball now is something we will have to see.

All of my yes.

Well put, this is also how I feel.

assiduous wrote: To be honest I think the only drawback from the new ball will be the price.

  Maybe that's a feature, not a bug.

slevin wrote: So, Sharara got this change right?!!

no. He's still guilty of deception and profit schemes. We're just making the most of what's been dealt

smackman wrote: I don't like the false title of the tread, (you were going off hearsay so I know this has been posted elsewhere I just want your information correct

How would you like me to change the thread title? I'll do it.


Edited by seguso - 04/03/2014 at 4:36pm

I think he just missed the "?" 

Tinykin wrote: Assisduous and company like the ball because it is easier to play. That is, the sport has been further dummed down (like Baal and Wiggy said) so players like Assiduous and co can feel that they are better players.

My concern about dumbing down the game has always been more about serve rules than anything else (some members obviously have major problems returning serve) and I am going to wait and see what the new balls are like before saying anything much more about whether they have much impact on how we all play.  In general there are ups and downs to every change.  I have had really deep misgivings about the motivations for this change because I have never for a second believed in the "impending global ban on celluloid production".  Also there is the little issue about immediate family of an ITTF equipment committee member holding a patent on a plastic ball manufacturing process.  The higher price of the new balls does not surprise me (and is to be expected shortly after the commercial release of something made by a new manufacturing process).  I don't think it's fair to say that Assiduous likes the ball because it makes him feel like a better player -- or alternatively that some of us who have been playing a lot longer would not like that too.  My main wish is for the game to change as little as possible with the new balls.  More generally, I would like a moratorium on rules changes that actually do dumb down the game and worse, are impossible to enforce and give us nothing but trouble.

Jot down the names of the inventors for the celluloid-free ball patent. Compare with the picture below. Behold yourself asking the question "what's wrong with the picture?"

seguso wrote: Easier to play.

A slower ball with less spin and a higher bounce feels easier to play only at the very beginning. It is a delusion.

Go to the page 1 and read again the Roundrobin's comments and mine.




Edited by Mastermind - 04/03/2014 at 7:39pm

igorponger wrote: My life's hot desire -- some voluntary universal Treaty signed at goodwill base for all the manufacturers to discontinue their persistent, insane rush for more speedy rubbers, blades.

Igorponger, my guess is that you do not really understand the game, you are probably a low level universal backhand pips pusher.

I guess you've never seen how fast a good chopper with a slow racket can attack.

The difference is that a faster racket makes it easier and as a result there are less injuries. On the other hand, when low level players can not block or return services reasonably because their rackets are too fast, it is ridiculous, but it is their own business. They could buy slower rackets easily.

even up to now i think ESN has not produced a pvc ball - viable rubber

I don't get the logic of this 'dummed down' argument. So longer rallies that require strategy and placement is dumb. But serve off the tip of your fingers and smack a popup is the mastery of the sport? 

Edited by assiduous - 04/04/2014 at 1:47am

Mastermind wrote: The difference is that a faster racket makes it easier and as a result there are less injuries.

(Please note that the emphasis is Mastermind's not mine.)

There are videos as well:

zjk vs fzd:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3HThZptd_c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmaikc8JCNA

ma long vs xu xin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38Rofx2Xyso

First impression: I was expecting longer rallies. I can see some difference but if you hadn't told me those were the new balls I wouldn't have noticed.


Edited by seguso - 04/04/2014 at 9:39am