says
ok, I will go back and make sure you have access.
Be...
Well-Known Member
But when are we going to get the levels of spin we had with the Cball? If ever?
THAT is a game changer. When people stop murdering a loaded backspin serve...
Never. Easy answer.
The reason is the slightly larger diameter (and with it the weight) of the 40+ ball compared to celluloid. It is just the physics of the thing. And you are right, it has definitely made it a lot easier to attack even very short serves, especially with the newest plastic balls that bounce higher (exactly the same as celluloid, now). Server has less of an advantage now than at any time in last 25 years.
By the way, that quite clearly was ITTF intention all along, even though they will never admit it. The switch to plastic away from celluloid was justified to players on the basis of issues surrounding celluloid production.
But ITTF could have left in place the ball size allowances for what they would approve (in which most 40 mm balls were actually only a little over 39 mm, whereas now they are all over 40, often between 40.1 and 40.5 mm). Most of the plastic balls now are around 2.76 grams (one very notable exception is Nittaku Premium, which is 2.68 grams). Nearly all of the celluloid balls were around 2.65 -2.68 grams. From those simple facts about size and weight, the 40+ balls will not spin as much as celluloid.
This is our new reality. We have to adapt to it.
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