Friday, May 6, 2011

Altitude adjustment

Tennis has been a struggle since moving to Vegas. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. At first I thought I was having problems with the wind... but I have played in the wind in San Diego and don't remember having the same problems. The ball seems to sail out a lot more, bounce a lot higher off topspin shots, and skid a lot lower on slices or flat shots. Everything just seems sort of exaggerated. I mentioned something to a few of the guys that I have been hitting with and they didn't really have much to offer. I think they thought I was making lame excuses for not hitting well.

Then it struck me. I'm 2400 feet above sea level. I did some looking on the internet and all the symptoms fit. Apparently at really high altitudes they even use a different, heavier kind of ball to compensate. I guess knowing is half the battle. Baseline rallies aren't wise... the ball is gonna sail too often. To the net!