It is the ball for players playing at the recreational level who are primarily playing for exercise and socialization. I am identifying players are often older, physically limited, or beginners, and playing at 3.5 - 2.0 skill levels. It is the ball for environments in which noise levels are an issue and out of bounds barriers are an issue. We spread around a ball through a round robin of 7 games, changing, courts and players, indoors. There were more and longer volleys, better ball placement, and no balls hit out of bounds over the baseline. The overall consensus was that players liked the ball. It took a few serves to get sued to using it compared to the plastic ball. One could no longer rely on noise and a noise projection to gauge a ball origination or how hard one hit a ball, for those who were more inclined to want to be "bangers" and "slammers"," the ball minimized the velocity and skip often desired with that style of play. Other players noticed it had a more consistent bounce and was easier to control for placement and particularly lobbing and pickling shots. Other comments were that it was more friendly to the hands and wrist related to ball impact to the paddle, and less painful when hit with the ball. Several players commented that getting hit with the ball seemed to go down compared to playing with plastic balls! Concerns were the price, a single color of orange that does not work well in all environments, actual durability, and response to high winds. Overall, there was positive response to the ball and a couple of players planned to order a ball. It has an audience. I am waiting to see how it fares with upper-level players. I can hear complaints for lack of speed, restriction on spins, reduction in ability to physically intimidate opponents, complaints about color, and actual durability.
