Tennis Balls (Tennis balls - General Comments & Tips)

Member Name: thespurs

Product:	Tennis balls - General Comments & Tips
Date:	17/10/04 (2964 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Should help you play better

Disadvantages: Could make you play worse

If you play a lot of tennis and you play it for a bit more than just a bit of fun, then it is important that you choose the correct equipment. You must make sure that you have the correct footwear, clothing, racquet and also tennis balls. After all, it is ultimately the natural ability that will make a good tennis player, but the things that you use to play will go some way to helping you become a much better player.


All of the major tennis brands produce their own lines of tennis balls. They include names such a Wilson, Penn, Slazenger, Dunlop and Tretorn. They type of balls that each of the companies do actually vary quite dramatically in both the quality, their price and how and where they should be used. It is important to know all of the different characteristics of tennis balls, when choosing the right ones for you.


Slazenger - The most popular and well known balls that they produce are the Wimbledon Ultra Vis. These are very brightly coloured to give you the best look at the ball against the background. These balls seem to be every so slightly bigger than any other ball, this is because they wanted to stop the big servers hitting so many aces. These balls do tend to 'fluff up' very quickly, they material is slowly pulled out and it distorts the shape of the ball. Also, if you play in slightly damp conditions, these tend to hold the moisture more than most balls and become very heavy. These balls cost around £7 for a tube of four. The Australian Open balls are quite a lot better and I find that they are very good for serving with. They also produce Hydroguard balls which are meant to be very good on damp or wet surfaces, again around £7 for a tub of four.


Wilson - This is probably the most widely used and known tennis ball producer in the world. The commercial produced US Open balls are probably the most popular line and they are the balls that I use. They tend to be very cheap, I got a dozen for £10. They are great balls to play with and you get around 10-12 hours of hard use out of them before the start to bald. Although they are cheap, the felt is of the highest quality and it tends to stay on the ball for a lot longer. There is a new range of balls that have been produced called DoubeCore. These balls last a lot longer because the inner core has a coating on which prevents the air escaping. It will also remain like new for a lot longer so you get two or three sessions before you notice and deterioration. These balls cost around £16 a dozen.


Penn - These balls tend to be quite cheap and are widely used by tennis coaches. The ATP tour balls are the most used line and they have a special water repellent felt which means they last for a long time. They aren't ideal for matchplay because they do tend to be a little inconsistent off the surface and racket head at times. In coaching, where a mistake won't matter they are fine. You can pick them up for around £1 per ball which is very good as tennis balls go. The Pro Penn range are those that you would use for matchplay as they have very good playability and are very steady, however they tend not to last as long. They cost around £12 for eight.


Dunlop - I'm not really a fan of these balls for some reason they just seem a little odd. They are widely used on the European continent, on the clay courts of Spain, France and Belgium. They tend to reflect clay court conditions in their bounce and when you hit them. They also tend to just drift through the air, making judging the flight very difficult. The most well known balls are Dunlop Fort. In general, they are awful balls to play with unless you do play regularly on the clay. They tend to be quite cheap and many people are tricked into buying them. They are in the same sort of price range as the Penn tennis balls.


Some of the tennis ball produces supply the major tennis tournaments with their own balls. Slazenger provide the tennis balls for both the Wimbledon and Australian Open grand slam tournaments and Wilson make the balls used at the US Open. Rolland Garros use their own specially produced balls. Penn tennis balls are used in the day to day tournaments and events on the ATP tour.


So as you can see, the balls do have very different qualities and very different prices. Having played with all of these balls at one time or another and being a pretty good tennis player, I feel that I am qualified enough to pass judgement on the balls. As I have said, I use the Wilson US Open balls and I would reccomend them. They are fairly priced, last for a long time and they really to play well. They feel good on the racket and you can tell instantly whether the shot you hit was good or not. At the end of the day you must find a ball that suits you, but I would urge you to try the US Open, or Wilson balls in general.

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