New ball by ARD approved by APTA

(Note: The APTA’s rules and equipment committee had struggled with the tactical aspects of inspecting balls for some time. There were questions about how many balls to test, how to acquire the balls and where they come from, and who paid for the testing. None had simple answers.)

ARD has spent the last three years researching the creation of a strong ball. Over that time, we have expended a great deal of time, energy and money in studying different types of rubber, glue and flocking. We’ve also developed a number of sample balls during this research period, some of which would certainly have met the basic APTA standards for approval. But we held back, mainly on the recommendation of nine-time national men’s champion Rich Maier, who is ARD’s primary player/tester. His standard for the balls’ playability has been very demanding. Rich did not think it was fair or feasible to market to players a ball that he wouldn’t be comfortable playing with himself. He pushed for a ball that wasn’t too soft or too hard, and which consistently bounced true, with no wobble or wiggle when hit.