How to Choose the Right Tennis Ball - By: Den Pas

If you are like most inexperienced tennis players, you probably think that a tennis ball is a tennis ball — much like the ones you might use to play catch with your dog. Well, you would be wrong — very wrong. What makes them so different? The main differences are found in speed, felt, and pressure.

Speed

Speed is how fast the tennis ball will bounce and return. Medium speed balls are considered traditional, as is their size. Slow speed balls are larger and may be used to make the game easier, and are often used in beginner games. Fast balls are rarely used, and only by experienced players wanting a good work out.

Felt

Felt of course refers to the felt covering on the ball; different types are used for different types of tennis courts. Regular duty felt is generally used on clay and indoor courts. Extra duty felt is for hard courts, as hard courts wear down less resilient felt. Heavy duty balls would get dirty and have less bounce on clay and indoor courts. A third type of felt, often overlooked, is grass court felt; these balls are regular duty, but are also stain resistant.

Pressure

There are pressurized and unpressurized tennis balls. The pressurized ball is the most common type of tennis ball. The pressurized tennis ball plays very well at first, with good bounce. However, it quickly loses its bounce, often within a couple weeks. Some players only use these balls for one match before throwing them out; thus you could say these balls are disposable. Unpressurized balls have a solid core, and thus they rely on the material they are made out of to give them their bounce. These balls take a little while to break in, but their bounce and performance increases with use. They are generally used until they start losing a lot of felt and become too bouncy.

Other Types

There are a few types of tennis balls that are not considered common. They are often made for special circumstances. There are balls made specifically for high altitudes and thin air. As normal balls would have too much bounce to them, these balls are pressurized at a different intensity. There are also balls made for “elbow ease” which are made to reduce impact on the arm for those with tennis elbow.

The Best Tennis Ball

With this guide, you should always have the best type of tennis ball for your game. Just keep in mind the type of court you will be using, and be sure to adjust your ball type to match. Enjoy your game!

About the Author

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