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I don't find this to be undeniably true, especially when there is a certified umpire around. Many amateurs can and will adjust in the face of criticism and feedback, even to the detriment of their game, if there is a 3rd party to call the serves or if their violation is obvious to everyone...

I would just prefer that the rules be simplified to include the changes that Larry Hodges has continually spoken about (and which are implied in Anders Lind's discussion of the issues) and enforced. I don't think a serve should be dependent of the receiver's point of view, it should be exposed...

Such value is in the eye of the beholder, I have never understood the black tag obsession of some people and I would never pay those prices.

These ideas have all been proposed and discussed in the past. I believe though I could be wrong that moat of the resistance has come from players.

The league seems to have doubled its talent.

Quality control of ESN usually much higher than Yinhe so it is a balancing act for sure.

Changing equipment at the beginner/intermediate level to blades within the same speed class is usually a waste of time. Table tennis, nothing ever quite feels or performs like what you are already used to, and you have to focus on doing things better and learning how to make the blade feel...

A better and still imperfect analogy is probably Masters 1000 events but I agree with you 100%. On the whole, I am not a fan of the exclusive nature of the Champions events, I think that events should not be limited to only top 32 or so players, there should always be an element of...

Yeah but these are precisely the issues that inform team selection with individual fairness vs team cohesiveness. TT IMHO needs doubles events and medals and not this team thing. A while back, Archana wasn't selected for the Indian team because of the criteria that was in place then...

Just watched the TTBL match: TSV Bad Königshofen - Borussia Düsseldorf (TTBL, 2023/24) and was looking at how loud the fans were at the end of the match and in between points and cheering for their players. How does the German League get so many people enthusiastic about live table tennis...

That is interesting - might just be to preserve energy for singles play though. I think we sometimes underestimate the toll playing in multiple events at once can have on players because they do it so relatively well.

Different continents, a lower tier that would historically have limited the top players who could play in either event if not for this Olympic year exemption, and Olympic qualification events on both continents that make the events more accessible to players already on those continents - to me...

Buy and use edge or gaffer tape on blades you really like. It really helps with the intensity of those dings. The blade will likely play fine unless the composite layer is cracked across the whole blade. So it is more aesthetic than anything else.

Stern I think has a hand in that so I get what you mean better now.

Michael Jordan is also debatable stats wise, it is his influence on popularity that isn't. I think Tom Brady is as close as it gets in the modern NFL stats wise. Still stats always need narratives. Ma Long still carries the Wang Hao and plastic ball monkey. But it is just hard to debate his...

Have always considered him to have one of the best forehands in the world even for a pro.

All you really need is a box of 3* balls from each of the brands that are used in the tournaments you play. And then the week of the tournament, use them. Thia was a problem in the celluloid ball days as well, just not as massive as the plastic ball early days. And of course now, so many...

The guy who won the A Event mentioned it as part of the reason he went down 0-2 before coming back. So no, it isn't in anyone's head, we all need to read the entry form and see what the tournament balls are and use them to practice when we intend to play.

I went to a club in Austin about 2.5 hrs from where I live to play a tournament. I got to town on Friday night but turns out the club closes early on Friday the night before an event so I couldn't play any matches or get good practice. Went in this morning but was too late to get good...

I actually find T05 best on outer carbon blades for rallying. Because the spin activates early, you know you will always get a quality shot, while a rubber that gives you more touch with slower bounce and less spin on softer shots might not get you quality if you don't get into position to play...