Tennis Balls

Tennis balls are one of the major elements of tennis. In a way, it’s even the center of the game, “keep the tennis ball on play and never let it out of your sight”. So let’s talk about tennis balls.

Tennis balls have uniform outer surface, no matter what the brand or who manufactures it, if there are any seams, they are stichless. The color of the ball is always either white or yellow, and the size is more than two and a half inches (6.35cm) and less than two and five –eights inches (6.67cm) in diameter. Its weight can be more than two ounces (56.7 grams) and less than two and one-sixteenth ounces (58.5 grams). They shall have a bound of more than 53 inches (135cm) and less than 58 inches (147 cm) when dropped 100 inches (245 cm) upon a concrete base, and shall have forward deformation of more than .220 (.56 cm) of an inch and less than .290 of an inch (.74cm) and return deformation of more than .315 of an inch (.80cm) and less than .425 of an inch (1.08cm) at 18 lb (8.165kg) load.

Tennis Balls Structure
Almost all tennis balls are made from inflated rubber covered with fabric and is hollow. The fabric which is called the “nap” or “felt”, is the ingredient that changes the most, mainly basing on what type of surface court the ball is intended for. Tennis balls that are designed for grass courts have different felt than those intended for play on asphalt or clay. Playing with the “wrong” ball may have performance difference on the surface courts that they are not intended for, like using grass court balls on hardcourt surfaces which will weigh them down and cause the felt to peel more quickly.

Tennis balls cans are almost always labeled so make sure you get the appropriate type of where you play:

Regular duty
Balls that are for indoor and clay courts
Heavy duty or Extra Duty
For outdoor hardcourts or grass courts
High Altitude or High-Altitude
If you play 4,000 feet more than sea level and for occasional tennis players

Titanium Balls
This type of tennis balls are recently innovated and are made with specially formulated rubber that is blended with powdered titanium. The metal strengthens the bonds in the core and increases the playable life of the ball. Like any other regular tennis ball, titanium balls will lose their vigor over time but they will take longer to wear out.

Air Inside Tennis Balls
As with the fabric “felt”, the air inside the ball can also be controlled. Some manufacturers would use nitrogen instead of regular air because these types of balls usually lose their pressure slower than other balls. But the long-lasting tennis balls are the “pressureless” balls which has solid, rubber cores. Since these tennis balls have no air inside them to escape, they are good for those who play occasionally, as they do not lose their liveliness over time.

“High Altitude” Balls
These tennis balls are for play above 4,000 feet in altitude above sea level, two additional types of ball may be used, the pressurized ball and the non-pressurized ball.

Numbers on Tennis Balls
Numbers on tennis balls can be found right under the logo, this is so to avoid a mix-up of someone’s ball when you are playing on adjacent courts and they’re using the same brand or type of ball as yours. The numbers make it easier to keep up with your tennis balls; you can tell which court to throw the extra ball to the same way they can get your ball to you easily. The colors are usually black numbers on hard court balls and red numbers on clay court balls.