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This is correct.  You can alter a ball path in open space on a real table, and the reason why is these subtle dynamics of table flex and ball spin.

TPA doesn't remotely attempt to simulate any of that, though.  It treats a nudge in open space as if you somehow physically poked the ball directly.  Obviously this is impossible unless you're telekinetic.

But TPA does that because the average player thinks that's how it really works.  Because that's how Microsoft did it in Space Cadet and they don't know anything about real machines to know otherwise.

The maximum possible effect on a real machine is about what TPA does on every nudge.  But this is a crude approximation reached by plugging in parameters for TPA's nudge strength, not any kind of actual simulation.

A real machine can yield about the same emergent results as a TPA-style nudge by sliding the machine several inches underneath the ball.  Whether that is possible obviously depends on the environment of things like floor surface and space around the machine and even the player's physical strength.