Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Objectives: This study compared landing dispersion between 36‑hole and 40‑hole pickleballs, focusing on directional stability and two‑dimensional distribution patterns. Design: A novel 36‑hole ball based on regular polyhedron geometry was developed. Both ball types were launched 120 times each using a ball launcher under controlled conditions, with landing positions captured by high‑speed camera system. Methods: 240 trials (120 per type) were conducted at 50.0±0.2 km/h, 0±0.1°angle. Landing positions recorded by stereovision (300 fps, ±9 mm accuracy) under wind‑controlled conditions (mean ≤2.0 m/s, gusts ≤3.0 m/s). Stability assessed via X/Y dispersion and 95% bivariate confidence ellipse. Results: The 36‑hole ball exhibited lower dispersion in both directions. Its 95% ellipse area (22,411 cm²) was 29.3% smaller than the 40‑hole ball (31,707 cm²), with a lower eigenvalue ratio (1.95 vs. 2.81), indicating more isotropic distribution. Conclusions: Hole configuration significantly influences landing dispersion. The 36‑hole design demonstrates more compact and directionally consistent behavior, providing quantitative evidence for enhanced flight stability.</p>