In a move that shocked no one but probably made quite a few players (namely the Johns brothers) unhappy, Vulcan was just named the official ball of the Major League Pickleball.
If you remember, Vulcan was named the official ball of the PPA Tour in January of this year.
The results were mixed, but most pros expressed frustration with the ball because it fell out of round quickly and caused inconsistent bounces.
Collin Johns came on the PicklePod earlier in the year and discussed some of the issues:
Jason Flamm
A second iteration, the Vulcan VPRO Flight Generation 2, was recently introduced at PPA Tour San Clemente.
As MemesofPickleball captured in this Instagram post, the Johns brothers were not fans of this version either:
According to the press release:
The recently released “Generation 2” Vulcan VPRO FLIGHT ball was selected by MLP as the official ball after determining the design and specifications were ideal for elite play on acrylic surfaces, and it is the same ball used on the Carvana PPA Tour.
The VPRO FLIGHT is available for purchase now at vulcanpickleball.com and pickleballcentral.com and it will be released to pickleball retailers everywhere beginning next month.
“It is so important to have partners with whom we can meaningfully collaborate,” said MLP Chief Executive Officer Bruce Popko. “As this process has developed, Vulcan has taken feedback from our professional players and involved them in ongoing ball testing. We look forward to a great partnership starting in Utah on Thursday.”
Erik Tice
While this announcement is great for Vulcan and likely gives MLP a nice income boost, it’s not likely to do much to improve the fate of Ben Johns’ team – Carolina Pickleball Club – which has yet to register a regulation win this year.