Actually I meant something more complicated than most people in the US would assume; I meant the technique used in Europe. A template is placed on the table. It has holes in a rack pattern slightly closer to each other than the diameter of a ball. A ball is placed into each hole in turn and tapped into place. I think sometimes the cloth is dampened to make the tapping last longer. To rack, the balls are simply rolled into the craters. Very fast and very tight.
I think the Sardo rack required such table preparation.
As far as trying to fix lumpy, pitted cloth in the rack area by smashing a ball into the cloth with the cue ball, the WPA rules/regulations say, in part:
Players must never tap balls; only tournament officials should tap or re-tap (if needed) the racking area.
