Tennis Balls

The different types of tennis balls

For those of you wondering, "There are different types of tennis balls?" Yes. Tennis balls come in four common categories that are all different and have different uses.

Before we get into the different categories of tennis balls, lets go over the different characteristics of tennis balls that separate them from each other. There are three main characteristics of tennis balls. They are speed, felt, and pressure.

For speed, there are three speeds available. Medium speed is the most common and is the traditional tennis ball. Slow speed has been recently introduced to slow down the pace of games on fast courts such as grass. They are the same weight as the traditional balls, but are slightly larger and bounce higher. Fast speed balls are very rare and are not used very often. They are the same size as the medium speed tennis balls but are harder making for a faster bounce and thus faster play.

In the felt category, there are two types: heavy-duty felt and normal felt. Heavy duty felt is used for more abrasive surfaces such as hard courts. Normal felt is used for surfaces such as grass and clay. For grass courts, the balls are usually treated with a stain resistive coating.

Tennis balls come either pressurized or pressureless. Pressureless balls rely on the rubber structure of the ball for its bounce. As pressureless balls get older and lighter, they actually gain bounce. Pressurized balls on the other hand, perform well new but soon lose their bounce as air escapes the ball.

Now moving on to the different types of tennis balls. The first type of tennis balls are pressurized, medium speed, heavy-duty felt balls. These balls are the most common and are for use on outside hard court surfaces. You can find them at most retail sports stores. The second type are the pressurized, medium speed, regular felt balls used on clay and grass surfaces. The third type is the pressureless, medium speed, heavy-duty felt ball that you can find at most pro-shops. These balls are also for use on most surfaces. The last type is the pressurized, slow speed, heavy-duty felt tennis ball. These balls are not used as commonly as the rest, but make for good practice balls if you are a beginner.

As you can see, all tennis balls aren't created the same and each has its own purpose. For more information on the different types of tennis balls, try the resource links on the bottom of this page.

And be sure to check out our pages about Tennis Ball Launcher, Tennis Racquets, Tennis Racquet Reviews, and Tennis Apparel elsewhere on this site.