tennis ball

A green Penn tennis ball.

A tennis ball is the green, yellow, or white bouncing ball designed for the sport of tennis, designed similarly to a baseball, though they differ in color, weight and composition. Modern regulation tennis balls are kept under pressure (approximately two atmospheres) until initially used. This is one of the pieces of equipment used in tennis and can vary in size, colour and weight. It can be also used for playground games for children such as four square or wall ball.

History

In the early days of tennis were often made of green leather stuffed with hair or wool. Early tennis balls were made by the esteemed Scottish craftsmen. These tennis balls were commonly made 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 King Henry VIII. 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. 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. String was then tied in many directions around the ball and a white cloth covering sewn around the ball. This type of ball, but with a rubber 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 NOT with the name of the brand. Contrary to popular belief, the French had nothing to do with the invention, making, or history of the tennis ball.

Modern Tennis Balls

Modern tennis balls are generally made in a green or white color, which are the only colors approved by the USTA and ITF. Tennis balls must conform to certain criteria for size, weight, deformation, and bounce criteria to be approved for regulation play.

The most important test for amateur players is the bounce test, as tennis balls begin to lose their bounce as soon as the the tennis ball can is opened. To test a tennis ball for bounce, it is dropped from a height of 100 inches (2.5 m) onto concrete and must bounce back up between 53 and 58 inches (1.35 - 1.47 m). This test is assumed to take place at sea-level and 20° C / 68° F (high altitude balls have different characteristics when tested at sea-level).

Non-Tennis Uses

Because tennis balls lose their bounce quickly and require a new can to be opened each time a player plays, all tennis players quickly build up a collection of old tennis balls. This has resulted in dead tennis balls being used for many non-tennis uses. Among the many uses are:

• Dog toy - One of the most common items used to play fetch with a dog.
• Car stop indicator - A hole is drilled through the tennis ball and it is hung from the ceiling of a garage so that it will just touch the windshield of an automobile when the driver has put the car in the optimal parking position.
• Walker skids - A hole is drilled on one side of the tennis ball and it is placed over the end of a leg on a walker (an apparatus used to aid the elderly in walking).
• Brännboll

Safety Issues

Even though, as the name suggests, the ball is used primarily in tennis, it can be used as a safe substitute for games where a solid ball is necessary, for example, to replace a cricket ball, which can inflict damage or injury if not used correctly.

Tennis balls 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

Footnotes

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