Talk:Tennis ball

old unsigned
I am curious about the date that tennis balls went from being white to being fluourescent yellow. I understand that this change was to enhance visibility, and that there have been experiments (none that have succeeded commercially, I believe) with other colors or combinations of colors. As a child I watched the U.S. Open at the Westside Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y. The balls were white (that would be in the 50's), and it was a prize to get a ball inadvertently hit into the stands with it's distinctive green stain from the grass surface. For years the U.S. Open has been played at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. where the hard surface gives the players more reliable bounces and the balls, of course, are fluourescent yellow.

Just so everyone knows, that's totally my tennis ball - Nick

Ball Color
Historically, balls were either black or white in colour, depending on the background colour of the courts. In 1972 the ITF introduced yellow tennis balls into the rules of tennis, as research had shown these balls to be more visible to television viewers. Meanwhile Wimbledon continued to use the traditional white ball, but eventually adopted yellow balls in 1986. ref= http://www.itftennis.com/technical/equipment/balls/history.asp

Just an interesting note: I have polled about 300 people about the color of the classic tennis ball, even showing many of them a picture, and it's split 50-50 as to whether it's green or yellow. I say yellow. --JohnLattier 00:45, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

How can anyone think the ball color is yellow? Can anyone actually look at the picture on the Tennis Ball page and tell me it's yellow with a straight face. What's next the recycling symbol is yellow? (Actually more yellow than Tennis Ball but it is even considered green). For the record I just arbitrarily changed it from yellow to green, then I get a message saying I gave false information. Then I stumbled upon this, and I'm happy to see people agreeing with me. Either 1. Find a picture of an incorrect yellow tennis Ball or 2. Do the obvious and admit the picture shown is green. By the way, who decides this? I thought wikipedia was open to change! Then (suddenly) I'm under the fear that I won't be able to make changes, because some admin thinks it's yellow. Doesn't this match the definition of fascism or will that be changed now too? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.36.66.188 (talk) 02:45, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Regardless of what historically is the classic color of a tennis ball, the article says, "Modern tennis balls are generally made in a fluorescent yellow color like the ball pictured above (called "optic yellow")." The ball pictured above is green. Surely they don't call that color "optic yellow", do they? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Albedoa (talk • contribs) 15:13, 28 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Tennis balls are generally a bright yellow, but they do seem to have a slight greenish tinge. I believe the image on the page looks extraordinarily green because of unnatural lighting conditions in the photo. Someone is welcome to produce a more clear image... Freedomlinux (talk) 01:23, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Unnatural lighting? That is the weakest excuse for denying facts. Here is a link to a correctly colored tennis ball picture. I have seen the yellow tennis balls people are referring to only once. This is not the correct color of a tennis ball, and I would be willing to pay someone if they could show me a tennis ball that looks like this.


 * The first picture you link to shows a color of tennis ball I have never seen. Go to the store, folks, and look at a can of brand new tennis balls.  You'll see that they are nothing like this odd ball and much closer to this.  Some even say "optic yellow" on the can.  As the balls get used, the color dulls, and it's my theory that since most are played on a surface that is painted green, the balls pick up some of that green color.  In any case, there is a very slight green tint to new tennis balls that somehow is enhanced as the balls are used.  See this image for an example. Matches10 (talk) 03:52, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Can we please just call them greenish-yellow? W0lfgangster (talk) 14:22, 1 March 2018 (UTC)

Most Tennis balls produced are a fluorescent yellow known as "optic yellow". In a 2018 Twitter poll, nearly 52% of 30,000 participants said a tennis ball is green, with only 42% saying it’s yellow. Six percent didn’t think it was either. Eliud Robles, Color Research & Development at Xerox measured the color and definitively stated, “We have been able to very quickly through science and color science understand and know that this color is mostly and mainly yellow with a very slight hue or hint of green.” The different cone cells of the eye register different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths of the light reflected by every object in the scene. From this information, the visual system attempts to determine the approximate composition of the illuminating light. This illumination is then discounted in order to obtain the object's "true color" or reflectance: the wavelengths of light the object reflects. This reflectance then largely determines the perceived color. Depending on how you perceive color, you might call it yellow, since it's mostly yellow; but if you're like me, the color yellow rests in a very small spectrum, and any deviation from it would change it's color from yellow to something else. Add a little red and yellow is now orange; light orange, but still orange. Add a little blue and yellow is now green; light green, but still green. Based on my perception of the world of color, I would describe "optic yellow" as green; a very light yellow shade of green, but green nonetheless. Achenar459 (talk) 16:56, 15 August 2020 (UTC)

Numbers on balls
Anybody know what those numbers on the balls mean?


 * I always thought it was simply to tell them apart from tennis balls used by those on adjacent courts.. -EdGl 21:43, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
 * The number on the tennis ball is used to tell them apart, so is the brand name, this is a go=;56kbne
 * This is correct. The number on the ball is simply to help you know which are yours and help prevent mixups.  The idea that the numbers stand for anything physical about the ball is absurd.  If there were any physical difference between tennis balls of the same brand that were numbered differently, the manufacturer would certainly do a better job of telling the purchaser what the difference is.  Tennis ball cans don't state clearly what number is on the balls in the can, and the cans are all together on the shelves.  Balls with "1" can be found in the same row as balls with "3" and "2", etc.

It's the number of times you need to bounce it before you serve. --OhNoPeedyPeebles 19:34, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

It's to do with the properties of the ball- I think higher numbers are bouncier, but I can't remember exactly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.21.224.201 (talk) 18:08, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

Low level players should use lower numbered balls (ie. 1 or 2), number 3 and above are more for intermediate-pro players. higher numbered balls up to 10 can be obtained from high-level grounds (sometimes available in shops and mob drops). 05 January 2008 - AsteroidS™

I've always thought they are to tell them apart from tennis balls used by those on adjacent courts. However, I have opened a can which had multiple numbers in it. This defeats the entire purpose of the reason. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.20.53.163 (talk) 13:38, 22 September 2014 (UTC)

Yes the numbers on the balls are simply to identify them as your court's (in high school I once served off the side of my racket at a tournament and it flew through six adjacent courts so it helps). The stuff about higher bounce is an internet invention. I can't imagine the cost additions to ball production if they took each individual ball, measured the internal pressure to within a fraction of an atmosphere (or better yet, took the the time to measure the height of a "bounce test" haha), separated and stamped them accordingly, and then packaged them in multiple separate lines. Also, the previous comment about getting multiple numbers in the same can seems questionable to me. Was it a new (unopened) can? I've been playing tennis for 25 years and there has never been such an occurrence. It would defeat the (actual) purpose of the numbering. Username4761 (talk) 00:54, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Manufacturing
Could we perhaps add a segment on how they are produced? 155.92.33.244 22:40, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

Is there any particular reason why we are told the ball is of the same size and shape as a baseball? I don't know how big a baseball is and have never come across one in my life.

Anyone could explain how to fill air inside the pressurized tennis ball? as far as I know, there are 2 methods, chemical and physical, but not in detail. please help...thanks in advance! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.116.198.71 (talk) 08:45, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

As far as I can tell, the chemical method means a pellet is inserted between the two halves of the ball. The two halves are sealed together and the pellet vaporises into a gas which creates pressure. The little rattle heard inside a ball sometimes is a pellet which didn't fully vaporise.

The physical method is the two halves are joined inside a pressurised chamber so the ball retains that pressure when it is sealed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.20.53.163 (talk) 13:52, 22 September 2014 (UTC)

Environmental issues related to tennis balls
Text was added as noted below:

by Soundgreen (Talk | contribs) at 18:23, 26 April 2008

"Each year approximately 300 million balls are produced, which contributes roughly 32.3 million pounds of waste. Historically, tennis ball recycling has not existed and the most common use has been to cut the ball into two semi-spheres and attach this to the bottom of chairs in schools, nursing homes and the like."

(Is that truly the most common use? Has this been verified?  I'd have thought the most common reuse of tennis balls was as dog toys, and I've seen far more split tennis balls as trailer hitch covers than as chair feet Jbrecken (talk) 21:05, 2 June 2008 (UTC)Jbrecken) Well, from what we have researched, the most common is to poke a hole in them and put them on the bottom of chairs/rockers. Even #s wise, we haven't found any "data" but there are only so many dog parks, etc. Most pros said they donate to schools, nursing homes, etc, while a few mentioned they donate to an animal shelter or dog park. I can site our research and interviews, but I doubt that is what you would likeSoundgreen (talk) 19:17, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm very interested in knowing more about waste issues related to: 1) Their being shipped in bulk in separate plastic vacuum sealed cans, 2) Their not being able to be reinflated, which results in their being thrown out when they no longer bounce well, 3) Any manufacturers that market decent tennis balls that are not preinflated and are, rather, inflated (and later reinflated) by the consumer, 4) Anything else.

So, if Soundgren, or others, can tell me where the currently cited info came from and/or where I might look to learn more.

Thanks! --Bkengland (talk) 16:56, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
 * The guy was linkspamming his recycling company on the article so it probably comes from his firm. Montco (talk) 02:49, 2 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Oh well! Still, I'd sure be interested in finding some solid information and stats on this, and then maybe that could be used, in part, in this article.--Bkengland (talk) 17:27, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

Montco - it isn't linkspamming if the company is legitimately a tennis ball manufacturer, which we are. So kindly allow the link to survive. Bkengland - re: your questions

1 - not sure how to quantify the shipping. The vast majority (>90%) are made in SE Asia due to the raw material input (rubber). They are then boat shipped to where ever. No ball manufacturer sells direct to consumer, rather they only ship to distributors who then ship to pro shops, stores, etc.

2 - there is only one viable, proven recharge technique... Rebounces, LLC holds the proprietary knowledge and has built a business around this technology. We have not had one pro disapprove of our recharged balls, nor have we found anyone who has another alternative method that works in bulk

3A- there are "pressurless" balls i.e. balls that aren't built in traditional manner, however there are several issues with these balls - different weight than approved balls (which is 2 ounces), the ball bounces differently, players say the balls feel "heavy on their strings", the balls wear out (i.e. lose pressure) around 90 days. Companies include Tretorn, Gamma, Dunlop and Penn. 3B - Rebounces.com is the only company that sells "reinflated" balls in bulk

4 - Rebounces.com cannot solve the initial shipping problem, however we have purchased Carbon Offsets for each of our shipments. Again, we are the only company that can reinflate a ball in bulk. The balls have the same bounce, feel, etc. They wear out the same - approximately 10-14 days after our process. We can reuse the same ball multiple times (4+) depending on the felt quality of the ball.

Cheers Soundgreen (talk) 19:17, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

Hairy Balls?
"This human hair is believed to have come from the enemies of the Scottish, and was harvested on one of their many conquests to Great Britain." Who are these enemies conquering Great Britain - the English? How did their balls get stuck in the roof? It's one to ponder. --OhNoPeedyPeebles (talk) 18:10, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

I have removed that sentence, its very dubious, and a little work revealed that it was added by a seemingly tennis ball obsessed vandal. Midlandstoday (talk) 23:20, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

Vandalism?
One section says "History of yo mama. This is vandalism, right? --72.136.31.208 (talk) 23:42, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

Pressureless Ball section is a mess
The narrative provided in the pressureless ball section is incoherent (to me). I recommend revision to cut out seemingly irrelevant and/or unsubstantiated information. — Preceding unsigned comment added by DotSlashSteven (talk • contribs) 00:21, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Spongebob balls
Classic case of Citogenesis. Google can only find two mentions of this, both are blog posts from after the content was inserted a while ago by an IP. I can't believe no one found and challenged this for four years!!!—Love, Kelvinsong talk 18:38, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Tennis ball disposal
Under the disposal section there is a link to a BBC webpage stating that tennis balls are now recycled to make homes for harvest mice. The BBC article referenced is from 2001 and doesn't suggest anything other than that a small number of the used balls that year would be used, it also doesn't indicate a regular or ongoing commitment to do so. In this respect the article entry is misleading as there doesn't appear to be any subsequent evidence to show that this has happened at all since 2001 with regard to tennis balls from Wimbledon. It is also likely that only a few hundred of the 36,000 balls used would have been used for this purpose too given the evidence from elsewhere, as in this example from 2013 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-22314712.

Andyh2o2 (talk) 13:31, 15 August 2021 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: English Composition 2
— Assignment last updated by ENCPROJ. (talk) 23:36, 19 February 2023 (UTC)

Original/Current method of creation
Hi! I added a couple of sentences explaining the original method of manufacturing tennis balls at the beginning of the history section. Don't know if that's the best spot to put it in or to create another subtitle named "Manufacturing Tennis Balls" or a simple way of saying how tennis balls are created because I want to find the current way of making it and of course add that either in this section or a new section... also, the reference created shows a type of error that I don't really understand. I'd appreciate any support and advice. --ENCPROJ. (talk) 23:15, 5 March 2023 (UTC)


 * Good find. I moved the bit down to keep a better chronological flow, and filled out some details of the reference, but good stuff! oknazevad (talk) 23:51, 5 March 2023 (UTC)