Weight, pressure, hardness, etc. All of them could be components that could make some players, for physical or mental reasons, not achieve their goals; but in this case, we are not referring to that, but to the different balls that players, both at amateur and professional level, have to use every time they play a match or tournament.
We are at a time when padel is booming and more than ever we must give players accurate information to prevent them from getting injured more often in the future. We have been hearing for many years that physical problems come from the choice of the racket and, indeed, it is a point to take into account and the same happens with the different carpets that we usually find in the clubs. Normally we always play with the same sole, so that can also cause some kind of pain or injury.
It is true that in tennis we have heard complaints from players about the numerous ball changes that they have in tournaments and that cause them a greater number of injuries. And in padel, does the same thing happen?
A few years ago, professional players were used to always play with the official WPT – Head Pro ball, but now we come from a year 2023 where there were more professional circuits and we have seen different brands of balls depending on the tournament (Varlion, Head, Babolat, etc). Within these brands the balls have different behaviour depending on the type of court, the city/height of the sea, in order to give a greater spectacle to the fans who come to watch these events.
As for amateur padel, how many times have we seen a match in which different balls are used (different brands or even some more worn than others); padel teachers who, in order to have a full trolley, are even capable of taking balls that are only good for playing with the dog; or those ” geek ” players who, in order to play, don’t care if the court is soaked and the balls are impracticable in 2-3 games. There is also the “stingy” player who doesn’t want to buy balls and is able to use the same ones 4-6 games with the loss of pressure that this entails. These are just some of the cases where we do not realise that practising a sport with elements that are not in good condition will cause us to get injured.
The ball has a great influence on the development of the game, both when playing a match and when receiving or giving a lesson, and in this case, not only for the image you can give to your clients, but also for their health. The rules stipulate the parameters that a ball must meet:
- Diameter: min 6,35cm – max 6,77cm
- Weight: min 56gr – max 59,4gr
- Pressure: min 4,6kg – max 5,2kg per 2,54cm2
When you change brands or even between models within the same brand, they may have a different parameter and this is where the problems and injuries come in. A bad condition of the balls can lead to shoulder, knee, elbow, wrist, etc. injuries.
Premier Padel has signed with Wilson and will be the official ball of the circuit.
