The Best Tennis Balls in 2023

How to Choose the Best Tennis Balls

If you are not familiar with tennis balls, you may understandably think that all tennis balls are the same, or at least similar in quality.

However, the truth is that there is a variety of choices when it comes to tennis balls. This variety depends on many things and while it may not be as important decision as choosing your tennis racket or tennis shoes, it is still important to know what features to consider when you buy tennis balls.

Quality Level

Tennis balls are classified in three levels – recreational, championship and professional.

Recreational Balls

These tennis balls are the best choice for beginners and entry-level players. You can use these balls for training, practice matches, tennis machines, etc. They are also suitable for kids, depending on the stage level:

• Stage 1 (Green Balls) – These balls are the typical recreational balls for adult beginners and entry-level players. They can be used on a regular 78-foot tennis court. Since they have a lower bounce than professional balls, they are often used by pro players as well for practice purposes since they provide more control. Stage 1 balls are usually more durable than Stage 2 or Stage 3 tennis balls.
• Stage 2 (Orange Balls) – Stage 2 balls are a bit slower than Stage 1 balls and they work best on 60-foot courts. They are designed for a bit older kids or entry-level adults who don’t have any tennis experience.
• Stage 3 (Red Balls) – These tennis balls are designed for kids up to 10 years of age. Stage 3 balls can be used on 36-foot courts and are the best balls for young children to build up their skills. They are the slowest balls available, allowing kids to improve coordination and keep their confidence.

Championship Balls

They are tennis balls used in official league matches. They are of better quality than recreational tennis balls and more expensive.

Professional Balls

They are tennis balls used in international tournaments by professional tennis players, including majors like Grand Slams and Masters. They are also the most expensive and there is no reason to spend so much on them unless you are a professional tennis player.

It is also important to remember that all tennis balls of any level and stage have to be approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Pressurized vs. Pressureless Tennis Balls

Another important thing to consider when you buy tennis balls is the difference between pressureless and pressurized balls. This plays an important role in your ability to control your shots better, especially if you choose the right tennis strings as well.

Pressureless Tennis Balls

This type of tennis balls is the best choice for beginners and entry-level players. They are used for practice and in recreational games. If you plan to use a tennis ball machine, then you should choose pressureless balls.

Pressureless tennis balls come with a low internal pressure of up to 1 Psi, so they are less bouncy than pressurized tennis balls. This also means that they are easier to hit and control, which is why they are good for beginners and for practice.

They have a rubber structure, so they gain more bounce after the felt wears. However, they are quite durable, so it would take some time before you notice the change in the bounce. They are quite heavy as well, so they may not be fit for all players.

While these balls are most commonly used for practice, some pressureless tennis balls are approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and used in some tournaments, especially at higher altitudes.

Pressurized Tennis Balls

Like the name says, pressurized tennis balls use internal air pressure to achieve greater bounce, spin and speed. They are commonly used by professionals and as official tournament balls.

Compared to pressureless tennis balls, these balls are also lighter and not as durable. The reason for this lies in the fact that they lose their bounce with time, unlike pressureless balls that do the opposite. In fact, some studies have shown that their lifespan is at most a couple of weeks, while many are only used for a single match.

Since pressurized tennis balls have a hollow core, they are light and more suitable for people who suffer from the well-known condition called tennis elbow. These balls are also more difficult to control but that is not usually a problem for professional players.

Type of Court

The type of court you plan on playing will also impact your decision, although some professional tennis balls work well on all courts.

Hard Courts

When you play on hard courts, your tennis balls are more likely to wear faster. In addition to this, the balls will bounce higher and faster, making it hard to control your shots if you are an entry-level player.

The best tennis balls for hard courts have extra felt to improve their durability and prevent the balls from bouncing too high to ensure better control.

Clay Courts

Clay courts have a soft surface, which is good for entry-level players because injuries due to falling usually aren’t serious, although sliding is a more common accident compared to other types of court.

When it comes to the way tennis balls bounce, clay makes balls bounce in unexpected ways. Tennis balls with extra felt will pick up more clay and dirt off the ground, making the ball heavier and even more difficult to control.

The best tennis balls for clay courts should have less felt to provide a more predictable bounce, despite being less durable.

Grass Courts

Grass courts are not so popular today as they were 50 years ago. Despite this, Wimbledon is still the biggest Grand Slam tournament of them all. These courts are quite soft, which leads to a lower bounce, making grass courts perhaps the most challenging for beginners.

Since the grass surface significantly decreases the bounce, it is important to choose tennis balls that bounce high or you will end up playing with a ball that doesn’t offer any bounce at all. In fact, there are special tennis balls for grass courts that come with unique felt that improves the bounce, as well as responsiveness on the ball. Additionally, the serve-and-volley tactic is the best way to overcome low bounces.

Other Considerations

In addition to the factors we mentioned, there are a few other things to consider when you choose your tennis balls.

Regular Duty vs. Extra Duty

The distinction between these two types of tennis balls is quite simple – extra duty tennis balls have more felt.

This means that regular duty tennis balls are a better choice for indoor courts and particularly clay courts because they reduce the amount of clay that is absorbed on impact. Meanwhile, extra duty balls are best used on grass surfaces and demanding hard courts.

High Altitude

Playing at high altitudes will have a serious impact on the way tennis balls behave when you hit them. For example, pressurized balls will bounce higher and be faster at high altitudes, which is a height of at least 4,000 feet according to the ITF.

This is the reason why pressureless tennis balls are used at high altitudes, as well as various specialized tennis balls made specifically for this purpose.

Tennis Elbow

Although playing tennis is one of the least probable causes of tennis elbow, this painful condition can also become aggravated when you play and impact your quality of life in other ways.

For this reason, tennis ball manufacturers have introduced balls that are more suitable for people suffering from tennis elbow. These balls can decrease the impact on the elbow by up to 15%, preventing elbow pain to a certain extent.

If you suffer from this condition, you may also want to consider wearing elbow braces, sleeves, straps or pads.

Conclusion

Choosing the right tennis balls is not as easy as it looks and there are a plethora of choices on the market. Among other things, you need to take into account the court type, location, your skill set, etc.

We hope that our reviews and buyer’s guide have been helpful and that you have found the best tennis balls for your specific needs.