Tables at U.S. Nationals
Matt F. Cary
The tables that were used at the Nationals were Stiga Expert Rollers
with blue tops set up on concrete. We have good Stigas at our club
in Palo Alto that have a green surface, and we set them up on wood,
so they play very differently. The tables in Vegas felt like playing
on glass. They were extremely smooth and fast.
I have a serve down the line that I can make bounce 3-4 times on the
tables in the club and on my Detroiter (on concrete) at home the serve
will not even leave the table. On the Expert Rollers it was very
difficult to make the serve bounce even twice and I had to give it up.
Fast long serves down the line were great though.
Other people had the same problem. I am a looper, so people try to
serve short to me, but their short serves consistently failed to bounce
twice and I felt it was a big advantage.
The other effect the tables had was that a fast spinny loop would hit
the table and barely bounce. I saw Eric Owens miss a block by 6 inches
because he was too high on the ball and as he walked by he said
(approximate quote). "Remember a ball that spinny doesn't come up on
these tables".
It was definitely interesting to play on these tables and you could
see who was adjusting and who wasn't. This is not a complaint, just
some observations. As a looper, I'd like to see these table every
year.
Matt Cary Bat: Butterfly Oberon
ca...@nas.nasa.gov Rubber: Apex Lightspeed Attack 2.0
Style: Looper/All-around
Scott L. Burson
>
> The tables that were used at the Nationals were Stiga Expert Rollers
> with blue tops set up on concrete. We have good Stigas at our club
> in Palo Alto that have a green surface, and we set them up on wood,
> so they play very differently. The tables in Vegas felt like playing
> on glass. They were extremely smooth and fast.
>
> I have a serve down the line that I can make bounce 3-4 times on the
> tables in the club and on my Detroiter (on concrete) at home the serve
> will not even leave the table. On the Expert Rollers it was very
> difficult to make the serve bounce even twice and I had to give it up.
> Fast long serves down the line were great though.
>
> Other people had the same problem. I am a looper, so people try to
> serve short to me, but their short serves consistently failed to bounce
> twice and I felt it was a big advantage.
... a big advantage for the receiver, I assume you mean. I don't entirely
agree. The flip side of the ball's path being affected less by the spin is
that (a) it loses less backspin from the bounces it takes and (b) the degree
of spin is harder to read, because the ball's deceleration is normally one of
the cues we use to read it.
So yes, it is more difficult to serve short on a surface with less friction,
but if you can manage to do so, your serve will be more effective. I made
generous use throughout the tournament of my short serve to the forehand
corner, and was amply rewarded.
At my club they have Butterfly tables that, if I understand correctly, came
from one of the previous Nationals or perhaps an Open. They also have less
friction than the older surfaces (though still a bit more, I think, than the
new Stigas they had in Las Vegas). So I'm more used to the slicker surface
than many people, perhaps.
Still, I have a mild preference for the older surfaces, and I kinda wish the
ITTF would constrain the allowable range of the coefficient of friction
between the table and ball (there are some technical problems in specifying
this, but I don't think they're insurmountable) so that at the very least,
tables could not differ so much from one another.
-- Scott
Alexander J. Chien
>agree. The flip side of the ball's path being affected less by the spin is
>that (a) it loses less backspin from the bounces it takes and (b) the degree
>of spin is harder to read, because the ball's deceleration is normally one of
>the cues we use to read it.
>
>from one of the previous Nationals or perhaps an Open. They also have less
>friction than the older surfaces (though still a bit more, I think, than the
>new Stigas they had in Las Vegas). So I'm more used to the slicker surface
>than many people, perhaps.
>
>Still, I have a mild preference for the older surfaces, and I kinda wish the
>ITTF would constrain the allowable range of the coefficient of friction
>between the table and ball (there are some technical problems in specifying
>this, but I don't think they're insurmountable) so that at the very least,
>tables could not differ so much from one another.
>
>-- Scott
Hi -
My major problem with slicker, faster tables is that becuase the
spin dosen't bite on th table as much, not as much spin comes off the ball,
therefore making it more difficult to loop against heavy chops/pushes.
I frequent 3 different clubs - 2 of which have slower/tackier conditions
while the third is faster and slicker. It always requires a mental
adjustment - 'hey remember these pushes are going to be a little heavier'
before I get my offense going. But then I should remember - 'hey your
pushes should be heavier too - use it more.' I have one practice partner
who's primarily a hitter (Johnny huang wanna be) and he has absolute fits
with the slicker faster tables when people chop against him.
-Alex
Robert Shain
:
: The tables that were used at the Nationals were Stiga Expert Rollers
This is interesting because I have observed that on some concrete floors
old Nissen tables seem to play even slower. One would expect less energy
loss on concrete.
I don't think the spectators need to see three short pushes before the
real stuff starts do maybe this is not so bad.
I think it was in 1979 that the Hungarians surprised the then-dominant
Chinese in the Worlds. The conditions were fast and the long discuss-like
Hungarian style of the 70's was just too much for the Chinese under these
conditions. I talked to Klampar at the 77 worlds about the soft Halex
balls in use. I asked him if it affected outcomes and he said a
definite yes.
Clearly, humidity,atmospherics pressure, flooring etc can have a big
impact on what comes down in matches.
Sha-in
Harry Sideras
> My major problem with slicker, faster tables is that becuase the spin
> dosen't bite on th table as much, not as much spin comes off the ball,
> therefore making it more difficult to loop against heavy chops/pushes.
There's also the factor of the ball shooting through rather than being held
up by gripping the table a little more.
This has an affect on the timing of your stroke and I'd suggest the real
reason you perceive this as extra chop is because you're actually not
contacting the ball at the fastest/whippyest part of your own stroke. In
addition, the bounce will be lower so that you have to give some added
lift.
IMO of course 8^{)
--
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