What Color Is A Tennis Ball
Do you know what colour a tennis ball is? To some of us, the answer seems obvious. We’ve all seen them in matches, at stores and even bought tubes of new ones. Yet when asked this seemingly simple question, more times than not people may be unsure. Even tennis players can get it wrong! Is it yellow? White? Bright green or maybe another shade entirely?
History Of Tennis Balls
The history of tennis balls has been an interesting one. Ever since they were first used in the late 1800s, they’ve undergone numerous changes in their design and colour. The original colour of tennis balls was a combination of white, black and brown. After players noticed that the original hue was difficult to spot on certain courts, it was eventually switched over to yellow -a colour that could be seen more easily across many courts. With this change came a distinct advantage to players as the sport became increasingly popular throughout the years.
ITF Regulation
In 1972, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) adopted yellow tennis balls for use in the official rules of the game, after research had proven that the brighter coloured ball was more visible to television viewers than their traditional black or white predecessors. Soon many tournaments and leagues began to follow this rule change, and by 1986 even Wimbledon had adopted the use of yellow tennis balls.
Since then, yellow has become an iconic colour associated with the sport of tennis. The bright hue improves visibility in games taking place on outdoor courts with high levels of ambient light. For televised matches, it helps draw attention, as some viewers may have difficulty keeping up with the rapid pace of action.
Variations
There are different coloured tennis balls used for different age groups. Green tennis balls may be used for kids aged 9 to 10 years old or even for beginner adults. These green balls are the same size as the standard yellow ones but are 25% slower to facilitate learning. Similarly, orange tennis balls have been developed specifically for kids aged 8 and under and are 50% slower than yellow balls. There are also red balls, which are the largest and slowest of all the balls. These are used for kids who are aged 5 and under.
Today's tennis balls are made of rubber and covered with felt. The outside of each ball is usually composed of two pieces of felt glued together, often with a thin layer of rubber between them to help keep them bonded. The felt on tennis balls helps to provide greater spin control when hitting shots and improves durability.
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About The Author
Darren Teo is the founder of Play! Tennis, the most Google reviewed tennis academy in Singapore. His passion for making tennis accessible to everyone regardless of their age, experience and ability continues to drive his work at the school. He is a thought leader in LinkedIn with 14,000 followers.