The talks about the new beach tennis ball started a long time ago, but due to the pandemic, the first big tournaments that were played with the new balls were the ITF50 and ITF100 in Gran Canaria at the end of 2020. 

Here we played with Sandever balls purple/orange color, which was very different from the balls we used to play before. So I decided to ask the players, how they like the new balls.

Michele Cappelletti:

“In general I like the ball. It’s pretty similar to the normal Sandever, talking about materials especially. And about the color, I don’t think it was the right ball for this tournament because in Gran Canaria we have dark sand and in my opinion, with dark sand, you need another color of the ball. So let’s call it a negative first test of the ball because it was not the right place to do it. It’s hard to find the perfect color. I know that Sandever and Sexy are testing some other new combinations, so we need to test more”.

Nina Djordjevic:

“The color didn't make a difference to me playing, but when I watched live videos, it was impossible to see, so I don't think that the color solved that problem.

I liked that the ball is slower when playing, but it gets dead too fast, less than a set and the ball is already dead, so this should be improved. 

So all in all - I like the ball, but on TV it's really hard to see and the quality is too low, as the ball gets bad too fast”.

Saulo Tejada:

“I love it. Balls are very slow, which is perfect for me”.

Castellano Hugo:

“For sure I like these balls! I have only played two times with them and have reached two times the final so I think they are good. I don't give too much importance to the ball. I am happy to play and I didn't really realize that the colors changed. All balls are different so you have to adapt. I think that these balls are good for the game as you can make a strong smash and it's not too hard to make a good défense. Also on the return, you can have a lot of control with these balls. Even if the balls look really tired after thé warm up it's totally fine to play with”.

Julia Chubarova:

“If we compare these balls with Quicksand, I would say that Quicksand balls are better controlled. But with the new balls, it’s easier to defeat a hard smash so the rallies can be longer. Which is worse for me, but better for the game. 

The disadvantage of these balls is that they become soft and fluffy really fast. And the difference between the new ball and the same ball after 10 minutes is very big. It’s like you start to play the match with Babolat Orange and finish with old Artengo. 

About the color. I don’t know if it changed anything. During the day it’s quite the same, at twilight the orange/yellow ball is more visible. And on TV translation you don’t see the ball at all. I think it’s because of the dark sand in Gran Canaria. So maybe we need balls of different color depending on the sand color”.

Antomi Ramos:

“I didn’t like the ball at all. Very very difficult to see this ball during the rallies. I prefer the normal ball”.

Sabrina Lopez:

“Color is fine. It looks good, but the quality is not very good, it wears out very soon”.

Manela Cunha:

“For me personally I like the balls. I think they are not too soft or too hard. They are well balanced. But the color I don’t like

I think it is harder to see them if the light is not perfect. I don’t know if it is because of the 2 colors combined or if it is because of the color choice, but for me, I think, the color is worse.

Manuel Ringsletter:

“Comparing the changes the ball is good. Color has no effect on the game, not negative and not positive, visibility from outside is a bit better. It feels softer and heavier/bigger slowing down the game which is good. General feeling with the ball is good, still takes the spin, etc. One big problem is that it lasts only 2 games. After an extremely short time, the ball pressure goes down and the felt opens, changing the ball a lot. Quality in this case is poor and needs to improve while keeping the rest the same.

When it's dark you see the ball a lot worse and I heard with lights it's impossible to see the ball when you play a high Lob. So color does do something and normal lighting will not be enough. Lights like in Aruba would be the minimum for night games