Folks that know me know that I've been playing and enjoying padel (a lot) lately. At first, for many months, I struggled with getting back in shape, with doing motions that at one time were seamless, with the discrepancy of what I KNEW my body could do (at some point at least) and what it was doing.
If you didn't know me from before, it was probably a weird experience to see someone try things and fail, SO often and yet, continue to fail and continue to try. In short, that's how I go about life, so far at least. There are no plans on changing this either. It's what made me have the amazing things I've gotten so far in my life.
I was fortunate, VERY fortunate to have folks that knew me from before that would celebrate the small wins (better failures) with me. Whether it was celebrating losing some weight I had put on (heaviest ever in my life) or talking about how things were starting to fall into place, or just asking me to try something to see how it felt.
Honestly, it was a tough time. Mentally. On top of everything else that was going on in life, one of the things that I just knew how to do just wasn't there anymore. There is getting old, indeed. But there is also not being where you CAN do (even with your old body) at all. Just so distant from being able to execute things. If you just can't because you are old, that's one thing. Sometimes, life puts you all the way down in the hierarchy of needs and skipping any level is just not prudent, not something I'd do. The amazing thing now is that I'm back at getting to focus on cool things like Padel. Let's GOOOOO!
It's not perfect though. There is still a lot to do physically to feel at ease and comfortable but I got somewhere where I'm at least happy and enjoying racket sports again. I'm at a point now where I can look forward and not just backwards. There is no reason to learn how to run in different ways if you can't even walk anymore. I'm back walking, even better, jogging. I'm very happy to be here.
Now that we know I'm interested in Padel, let's dive deeper into a VERY important attribute of the game: the balls and how often they are changed. It turns out this matters quite a bit in the sport as some shots are much harder if to hit with older (more used) balls in certain conditions and moments in a match. It's fascinating, honestly.
I went directly to one of the most active (and best) players here in the US, Luis Estrada, and asked him about his experiences with ball changes in tournaments. If you haven't followed him on his Instagram, do it now :). Per Luis:
| Tour | How often are balls changed |
|---|---|
| Premier Padel | Every 9 and 11 games. Warm up counts as 2 games |
| FIP (with lots of sponsors) | Every 9 and 11 games. Warm up counts as 2 games |
| FIP (with fewer sponsors) | 1 can of balls per match until second round (including quali), then, every 9 games |
| RedPadel | 1 can of balls for first 2 sets, new balls for 3rd set |
| USPA | 1 can of balls per match |
Here is what FIP had to say about it in their regulations (section 5.1.3):
Remember to use Pista to follow all the professional tours!
Here are some highlights from the Padel tournament final I played this weekend:
Try to not stop. Try to continue. Sometimes you need to stop and that's ok. Try to continue when you can.
Folks are doing a great job at keeping the sport viewer friendly by changing balls frequently, even at smaller (yet professional) tours like FIP. Amazing!
Oh, and play padel!
--------------Thanks for reading, PDG
Home