Tennis ball

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A standard "yellow-green" tennis ball

A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis, approximately 6.7 cm (2.7 in.) in
diameter and is usually bright green-yellow, but in recreational play can be virtually any
colour. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous fluffy felt which modifies their aerodynamic
properties.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History
• 2 Standardization
• 3 Pressureless balls
• 4 Packaging
• 5 Disposal
• 6 Slower balls
• 7 Other uses
• 8 Tennis ball in literature
• 9 References

• 10 External links

[edit] History
In 1480, Louis XI of France forbade the filling of tennis balls with chalk, sand, sawdust,
or earth, and stated that they were to be made of good leather, well-stuffed with wool.[1]
Other early tennis balls were made by Scottish craftsmen from a wool-wrapped stomach
of a sheep or goat and tied with rope. Those recovered from the hammer-beam roof of
Westminster Hall during a period of recent restoration were found to have been
manufactured from a combination of putty and human hair, and were dated to the reign of
Henry VIII.[citation needed] Other versions, using materials such as animal fur, rope made from
animal intestines and muscles, and pine wood, were found in Scottish castles dating back
to the 16th century.[citation needed] In the 18th century, ¾" strips of wool were wound tightly
around a nucleus made by rolling a number of strips into a little ball.[citation needed] String was
then tied in many directions around the ball and a white cloth covering sewn around the
ball.[citation needed] This explains why modern rubber tennis balls still have a cloth covering
(in the early days of lawn tennis, it proved quite difficult to get the cloth to adhere very
well to the rubber).[citation needed] This type of cloth ball, with a cork core, is still used for the
original game of tennis, today called real tennis. With the introduction of lawn tennis in
the 1870s, vulcanized rubber was first used to manufacture balls, often in tubes of four
with a package, but not with the name of the brand.[citation needed]

[edit] Standardization
Tennis balls must conform to certain criteria for size, weight, deformation, and bounce
criteria to be approved for regulation play. The International Tennis Federation (ITF)
defines the official diameter as 65.41-68.58 mm (2.575-2.700 inches). Balls must weigh
between 56.0g and 59.4g (1.975-2.095 ounces). Yellow and white are the only colours
approved by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and ITF, and most balls
produced are fluorescent yellow (known as "optic yellow") the colour first being
introduced in 1972 following research demonstrating they were more visible on
television. Tennis balls are filled with air and are surfaced by a uniform felt- covered
rubber compound. The felt traps the air flow boundary layer which reduces aerodynamic
drag and gives the ball better flight properties.[2][3]

Often the balls will have a number on them in addition to the brand name. This helps
distinguish one set of balls from another of the same brand on an adjacent court.[4][5]

Tennis balls begin to lose their bounce as soon as the tennis ball can is opened and can be
tested to determine their bounce. A ball is tested for bounce by dropping it from a height
of 100 inches (2.54 m) onto concrete; a bounce between 53 and 58 inches (1.3462 -
1.4732 m) is acceptable (if taking place at sea-level and 20°C / 68°F; high-altitude balls
have different characteristics when tested at sea-level). Modern regulation tennis balls are
kept under pressure (approximately two atmospheres) until initially used.

[edit] Pressureless balls

Traditional pressureless balls usually have a stiffer, woodier feel than pressurized balls
and do not bounce as high as brand new pressurized balls.[6] Unlike pressurized balls,
though, they do not lose bounce over time. In fact, they get bouncier as they get lighter,
due to fuzz loss. The balder they get, the more their flight, bounce, and spin responses
change from what you would expect of tennis balls.[6]
More advanced pressureless balls, such as the TreTorn MicroX, are more similar to the
feel and play of pressurized balls, and last many times longer than traditional tennis balls.
The TreTorn Serie+ ball is currently the official ball of the ATP Challenger series.[7]

[edit] Packaging
Before 1925, tennis balls were packaged in wrapped paper and cardboard boxes.[8] In
1925, Wilson-Western Sporting Goods Company introduced cardboard tubes.[8] In 1926,
the Pennsylvania Rubber Company released a hermetically sealed pressurized metal
tube[8] that held three balls with a churchkey to open the top.[9] Beginning in the 1980s,[10]
plastic (from recycled PET)[11] cans with a full-top pull-tab seal and plastic lid fit three or
four balls per can. Pressureless balls tend to come in nets or bags (since they do not need
to be pressure-sealed).

[edit] Disposal
Each year approximately 300 million balls are produced, which contributes roughly
20,000 metric tons of waste in the form of rubber that is not easily biodegradable.
Historically, tennis ball recycling has not existed and the most common use has been to
cut a hole in the ball and attach the ball to the bottom of chairs in schools, nursing homes
and the like to prevent scuffing or scraping the floor.[citation needed] Balls from The
Championships, Wimbledon are now recycled to provide field homes for the nationally
threatened harvest mouse.[12] Tennis balls can also be rejuvenated or recycled using
commercial services from reBounces. The BNP Paribas Open partnered [13] with
reBounces and FedEx Ground in 2010 to collect 15,000 tennis balls from tournament
patrons from over 25 US States and six countries.

[edit] Slower balls

The ITF Play and Stay campaign[14] aims to increase tennis participation worldwide, by
improving the way starter players are introduced to the game. The campaign promotes the
use of slower red, orange and green-yellow balls,which are usually called Spongebob
balls, that give players more time and control so that they can serve, rally, and score (play
the game) from the first lesson.[14]

By using slower balls the starter players have more time and more control to make the
game more fun for them at the introductory stage. The ITF Intro to Tennis Task Force
recommends the red, orange, green progression for starter players.[14] This progression
focuses on a range of slower balls and court sizes to introduce the game effectively to
both adults and children.

Using these slower balls will help the players to develop the most efficient technique and
to be able to implement tactical situations in matches that, in most cases, could not be
performed using the normal ball on a full court.
The ITF recommends that, except for exceptional players, all players aged 10 and under
should use a slower red, orange or green ball in training and competition.[14]

[edit] Other uses

Other games such as matkot, Irish handball, non-professional hurling, and two square use
this ball. It is also popularly used in the Indian subcontinent and the West Indies for
cricket due to its good bounce. In India, most of street cricket is played with Tennis balls.
There are "Tennis-ball cricket" tournaments at school/college level. Tape ball is a
variation of cricket that uses a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape. In Canada, tennis
balls are often used to play field hockey.

Many public schools utilize old, used tennis balls as a cushion for each chair leg of the
students chairs and desks.[citation needed] This is a great way to prevent scuffing up floors and
extends the useful life of the tennis ball.[citation needed] Tennis balls can also be used to make
juggling clubs.

Some words of caution: tennis balls should not be used as dog toys. The felt that covers
them can wear down a dog’s teeth. Larger dogs can choke on tennis balls.[15]

[edit] Tennis ball in literature

The gift of tennis balls offered to Henry in Shakespeare's Henry V is portrayed as the
final insult which re-ignites the Hundred Years' War between England and France.

When we have match'd our rackets to these balls,

We will, in France, by God's grace, play a set

John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi

We are merely the stars' tennis balls, struck and banded

Which way please them

[edit] References
1. ^ Morgan, Roger (1995): Tennis, The Development of The European Ball Game, ISBN 0-
95012517–1
2. ^ "Golf Balls, Cricket Balls and Tennis Balls". Princeton University. 5 October 2005.
http://www.princeton.edu/~asmits/Bicycle_web/sportsballs.html. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
3. ^ Dr. Rabi Mehta of NASA-Ames, entitled Aerodynamics of sportsballs, Annual Review of Fluid
Mechanics, 17:151--189, 1985.
4. ^ What do the numbers on tennis balls mean and stand for?, Yahoo! Answers
5. ^ Why are tennis balls numbered?, Jeff Cooper, About.com
 6. ^ a b Are as good as regular, pressurized balls?, Jeff Cooper, About.com
7. ^ http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tournaments/Challenger/Tretorn-Serie.aspx
8. ^ a b c What manufacturer made the first pressure packed can of tennis balls?, VintageTennisBalls.com,
retrieved 21 July 2010
9. ^ Vintage Tennis, tennis ball can images, retrieved 21 July 2010
10. ^ Tennis Equipment, Tennis History Museum
11. ^ Recycling, PETRA (PET Resin Association), retrieved 21 July 2010
12. ^ "New balls, please" for mice homes
13. ^ BNP Paribas Sponsors Tennis Ball Recycling Program
14. ^ a b c d International Tennis Federation
15. ^ http://lifehackery.com/2008/03/22/50-great-things-you-never-knew-you-could-do-with-tennis-balls/

[edit] External links

• International Tennis Federation's history of the rules of the tennis ball
• ITF Grand Slam Rules:Section I:The Ball

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