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56 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | DECEMBER 2020 Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time. Tennis balls generally are rather inexpensive, costing about $2 per can, so we usually don't think twice about buying them. But have you ever stopped and thought about little known facts behind those little fuzzy yellow balls other than hitting them around on the tennis court? Here are just a few of many tidbits about tennis balls: 1. Prior to 1972, tennis balls were white in color. They were changed to "optic yellow" for better visibility, especially for home viewers on their TV screens. Can you even imagine playing with white balls nowadays? 2. The fuzzy surface on tennis balls is there for specific purposes. It slows down the velocity of the ball because every fiber can act as an obstacle traveling through the air. On the other hand, the fuzz can also increase the spin on the ball, making it harder for an opponent to return a shot. 3. The average number of balls used each year in the US Open, Wimbledon, French Open, and Australian Open are about 70,000, 54,000, 50,000, and 48,000, respectively. That's a total of about 222,000 balls used in the 4 grand slam tournaments. This enormous number of balls used in just 4 tournaments is simply mind boggling. 4. In ATP and WTA tournaments, six tennis balls are used for each match, and they are changed every nine games due to serious wear on the balls. However, the first change occurs only after seven games because the first set of balls is also used for the pre-match warm-up. That just shows how hard the pros pounce on those poor little balls. 5. Professional tennis players will generally inspect and choose the balls with the "smoothest" surface for their first serve. The "smooth" surface could give them a faster serve and a quicker bounce. They also tend to choose the balls with the "fluffier" surface for their second serve. The "fluffy" surface could give their serve more spin and may also help to minimize the possibility of a double fault. At the pro level, every little bit counts between winning and losing. So, there you have it. Next time you play tennis, you might just feel like you know those little yellow fuzzy things a tiny bit better. See you all at The Courts! Visit our website at https://sites.google.com/view/tennis- fourseasons/home. ~ Stan Lam, (714) 757-2141, slamcpa@gmail. com Tennis Club Oct. 27 was a cool and sunny day, perfect for paddle tennis. Before the tournament started there were some strong gusts of wind but at 2 pm when the tournament started the winds died down. Somebody up there must also like paddle tennis. We had to be mindful of the ongoing pandemic and before the tourney, players were reminded about social distancing and wearing of masks whenever possible. There were a total of eight teams and each team had to play with every other team and the whole process took over three hours. Despite not playing for several months, Richard and Shau showed that they have not forgotten the game, with Shau clinching the runner up award. Augie, a new member, showed that he is a fast learner. Vito, also a new member, showed that he is a natural. Play was fast and furious, and after three hours the winning team of Alex and Augie emerged. As there were two runner-up teams of Shau/Perry and Stan/Vito, there was a play off. Since Perry was not available, Padoo was the substitute. The team of Shau/Padoo showed that woman power can prevail. The teams were evenly matched but most important was that everyone had a good time, lots of exercise, and paddle tennis friendship. For more information, contact Alan at (310) 251-9269. ~ Alan Chan Paddle Tennis Augie and Alex, winners Shau and Padoo, runners up Basketball Everyone is welcome. We meet at the basketball court Fridays starting at 4 pm. Bring your energy and be prepared to have some fun. ~ Richard Hoffman

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