(no subject)
My family, who can't figure out my tennis obsession, are always providing their opinion on this ball examination thing. Their responses often involve a lot of sarcasm, and 12 year old boy comments along the lines of "Gee, he really likes playing with his balls, huh?". Go figure. And since I don't actually play tennis, I've never really had a good response for them as to why the players do it. Now I do. XD
From Jon Wertheim's August 26th Mailbag:
A friend and I were wondering what exactly the player is looking for when he or she takes three or four balls from the ball kid, studies each one and then sends one or two of them back.
-- Lisa Sandberg, Columbus, Ohio
Apart from searching for balls, I think this is primarily a mental exercise, meant to let a player regroup and focus a bit between points. Most players will tell you they are looking for the freshest balls so they can impart the most "pop" on their serves. I've had other players, though, say they look for the used balls because the baldies have less fuzz and therefore less air resistance to slow down the ball. Go figure. Do we have a physics expert in the community?
From Jon Wertheim's August 26th Mailbag:
A friend and I were wondering what exactly the player is looking for when he or she takes three or four balls from the ball kid, studies each one and then sends one or two of them back.
-- Lisa Sandberg, Columbus, Ohio
Apart from searching for balls, I think this is primarily a mental exercise, meant to let a player regroup and focus a bit between points. Most players will tell you they are looking for the freshest balls so they can impart the most "pop" on their serves. I've had other players, though, say they look for the used balls because the baldies have less fuzz and therefore less air resistance to slow down the ball. Go figure. Do we have a physics expert in the community?