Which of the 3 big equipment rule changes had the biggest effect?

Do the following experiment: play a few loop to loop with a 38mm ball using a modern rubber like T05 and then switch to a 40 cell or 40+ plastic. My guess is that any of 40mm balls will give you an experience that you’re playing in slow motion after having played with a 38mm ball. It’s all about air resistance. This is at least my experience after messing around a few times.

Just HAD to be Aspect ratio of pips... why else would S-Jan sustain a multi forum decades long campaign of official state information...

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Speed glue ban: new rubbers (Tenergy especially) and boosting Chinese rubbers (which obviously all pro‘s do) did totally overcome this ban. Rackets nowadays are definitely not slower/less spin/ etc compared to speed glued rubbers, if used with same ball

38 -> 40 mm celluloid: speed and spin was lowered, but the style of play did not change at all. Playing style was mostly about spin, not speed

celluloid to plastic ball: absolute gamechanger! Tabletennis was all about spin, not speed since the invention of inverted rubbers. The plastic ball totally changed this! It is now all about speed and just a fraction about spin compared to former times. Rallies are much longer now, since it is more about the quick reaction on quicker balls than on tiny adjustments of bat angles to cope with incoming spin.
if you doubt that: look at some videos...
Waldner era with 38mm and speed glue... few rallies... most ended after hidden serve, return and smash. People being able to play FH only because it was so slow (but spinny!). Those games mostly look so damn slow and boring to watch nowadays...
ma Lin / wang liqin era with 40 celluloid with and without speed glue: same thing but a tiny bit slower. No long rallies, still FH only players like Ryu seung min.
plastic ball era: everything is much faster, although ittf intended to slow down the game with all changes, because there is no spin anymore. 90% of the balls can be topspinned fast instead of slow heavy spin looping. Everybody needs to play FH and BH because the game is too fast for FH only now.

so for me it is no question: plastic ball was the most massive change beside not hiding serves anymore

I think Der is right. The Aspect Ratio rules that made certain kinds of pips against the rules had a giant impact.

I think the ball size and material changes are things that, over time you get used to. Liu Gouliang retired when they made his pips against the rules. And San-J seems never to have recovered since that change in 1998.

It may be the other way around. ITTF did not like how it looked to have so many "win ugly" high level pips players so they regulated and got the numbers to go down.

Balls to 40+

Was the change towards foam/sponge in the 50s related to a rule change? If so, then I’d say that must’ve been the big one. Marty Reiss might concur.

Ball material is the worst change
Why?
You can see how table tennis lost popularity

Here is the video that shows all the important rule change information since the 1990s.

I was joking of course, but when ITTF did that, then later frictionless pips banb, which national associations rubber stamped sight unseen... now THAT really pissed off large numbers off very old Geezer crowd.

Why was that bad? ITTF or Natl associations shouldn't worry about that crowd, they do not represent the modern game or could compete at the elite level... right?

Wrong. ITTF did TT a REAL BAD turn doing that. The elderly LP crowd (who back then could be competitive to a certain level in amateur TT) was much more numerous than they considered and financially propped up many associations. A goodly number of that crowd got the azz and left the sport... most nations already needed every active player they could mobilize... this was real bad for amateur TT.

Anyone remember the endless threads of people complaining about losing to the SKILLESS 1900-2000 level old dude who for the most part, just stuck out his bat and let the ball come back... and won just one more point than the athletic, fast-heavy topspinning young whupper-snapper? Anyone remember those days?

Was over a decade or so ago.

Anyone remember the long line of promising lightning quick junior kids who made it to the semis or finals of such an event, only to see their best, well trained perfect looking strokes and fast topspins easily returned and kid would not be able to attack 3x in a row without missing?

Anyone remember those threads where the parents were crying 100 rivers complaining of bloody unfair? Why should someone who cannot take 2 steps and has nothing resembling what Pro TT coaches call FOOTWORK be able to to easily defeat a kid with great footwork and years of warrior training???!!!

NO FAIR !!!!

Everyone, THAT is why I feel this was the biggest change. I was joking about S-Jan, but the effects the frictionless ban had on amateur TT were real serious and impactful.

- MANY players left the sport
- Many players went on endless EJ search and destroy purchasing missions to find the perfect replacement for Super-Block
- HOARDS of topspin attacking players who SHOULD have been motivated to figure out how to remember their own spin and play tactics got weakened
- Hundreds of parents shifted their shameless complaining from the No-Skill/No-Footwork crowd to the other parents who were SANDBAGGING THE HECK out of the ratings system all for the glory of winning the U1100 at the nationals
- Equipment makers had a decades long FIELD DAY as new and new EJs popped up like crab-grass with an underground rabbit reproductive system
- The forums got 10x more boring (There was actually the BEST TT FORUM EVER created from privately laughing at these antics on the other forums)

Der_Echte said:

I was joking about S-Jan....

Click to expand...

Well, yes and no. You were joking but it was also serious. The guy obviously never recovered from this.....But, I fear we are treading on sacred grounding bringing him up. Because, while I think he had some points, he is just too crazy to have to deal with.

So, hopefully he does not see that he has been mentioned.

UpSideDownCarl said:

Here is the video that shows all the important rule change information since the 1990s.

Click to expand...

To this day, I cannot understand why only a few thousands have seen Greg's vids that are LEGEND.

Ban the JUNK RUBBERZ !!!

In before the Goon Squad tosses me down the ramp to Carl's Crackhouse Basement Septic Tank for a one week free stay...

SPARTANS ???!!!!

What is THE RIGHT KIND OF SKILL ???!!!

In before Next Level and his MyTT signature.

Der_Echte said:

Ban the JUNK RUBBERZ !!!

In before the Goon Squad tosses me down the ramp to Carl's Crackhouse Basement Septic Tank for a one week free stay...

Click to expand...

When I’ve trapped you, I will lock you in with my ferocious Krooklyn Penthouse Rats:










Sent from my NSA SpyPhone from Sector 13D-SR13Z74 Sub Level 29X Fort Meade, Maryland

definately the ball change from 38mm to 40 mm. I know people who were set on becoming profesionals, but when the rule change hit them, their feeling and technique just couldn't adapt and they slowly fell out of the competition. The 40mm to plastic didn't help either. I bet there are many players like my friend who had their careers ruined from this change and it was really sad to see it.
Table tennis equipment also must've had too change and adapt to the new ball.
Another thing with the ball change is that clubs would have to buy new balls!!! Balls are already a big expense for clubs, but having to adjust must've been really financially difficult. And at the end, what do we do with the old balls? I still have a whole box of them lying around in my house, what a waste.