In case you hadn't heard, the PPA tour has just announced their official tournament ball for 2024.  Wow, you would think that somebody just invented the very first non-wooden pickleball paddle.  Now that would be a big deal. Actually it was a big deal when Arlan Paranto came up with the idea.  A three piece paddle made up of a honeycomb core and a fiberglass or graphite face.  An idea that still works very well, and most paddle companies copy, today.

So people have been sitting on the edge of their keyboards waiting to see who guessed right.  Would it be Franklin or Onix or OSO or Selkirk or CORE of something else. 

Well they have chosen something else.  Congratulations to Vulcan.

Now people are making a huge deal out of the fact that PPA has selected the new Vulcan ball as its pro tournament ball. Some love the idea of a new ball hitting the market and others can't believe they chose a new unproven ball for the cream of the crop players to play with.

So is it really a big deal???  Depends......

Depends on whether you are a Pro player or not.

There are many balls on the market.  Some play well indoors, some play well outdoors, some stay round longer than others, some don't crack when the temperature is below 50 degrees, some crack like crazy when its above 70 degrees or 7000 feet above sea level. 

Do we know how the new Vulcan ball is going to play in the various conditions???  Nope.  Not yet.  

The fact is that the PPA has, as they should, chosen a ball that will be great for the pros to play with.  I'm sure it was tested extensively to see that the pros would like it for their tournament play.  And yes, most of their tournament play is in warm weather conditions.  

But what a pro plays a professional tournament match with, and what the rest of us play our day to day pickleball with are two very different things. 

The pros want/need a nice hard ball that they can put away.  And they need it to not crack or go out of round for one whole match.   That is a little different than our requirements.  We want our three dollar ball to last and not crack, as well as play consistently until next Christmas.  Preferably New Years!

So we are anxious to see how the new Vulcan ball meets "our" standards. But remember, our standards and that of the PPA or any pro event are very different.
It may be the most durable, consistently round ball to ever be made. But it doesn't have to be, to be a great pro tournament ball.  As Vulcan says on their website, "It is the choice of professionals, because it plays the best."

What more can we say at this point. :)

Again, congrats to the PPA for landing the Vulcan deal.  
The new ball will debut at the year's first PPA event at Mission Hills, California beginning January 9th.  

Looking forward to seeing the reviews, both pro and amateur on it.

Now let's grab a ball and play!