Though much has been made about recent advancements in racket technology and synthetic strings, tennis ball technology remains mostly unchanged.
Wilson’s Triniti tennis ball lasts four times longer with a fresh feel and uses a plastomer core material that enhances consistency, replacing stitches with vulcanized rubber seams for increased reliability and replacing stitches with compression-molded half shells that compress together for greater longevity.
Felt
Material choice of tennis ball covers plays an instrumental part in its performance. Quality felt and its construction are key determining factors between premium balls and entry-level or budget balls; in general, premium balls tend to use wool/synthetic blend felts; entry-level and budget options often use nylon instead – this combination allows manufacturers to produce cheaper models which in turn result in lower retail price points.
Felt can be manufactured using either conventional weaving technology – where fabric is first raised, called napping, then milled to produce its felt surface – or needlepunch technology which uses needled webs of fibres held together without or with a scrim to form non-woven textile. Once produced, the felt undergoes various finishing processes until its desired characteristics have been reached in its finished state.
One of the challenges with woven felts is their tendency to stretch and contract over time, altering its consistency of covering. Therefore, the manufacturer must design a new felt that allows him to control its elasticity and stretch while providing enough resilience so as to meet International Tennis Federation (ITF) rules (Rule 3a) that require balls have “uniform outer surface consisting of fabric covering”.
Wilson rose to this challenge by creating Duraweave, a proprietary coating made up of nylon and wool designed specifically to make Wilson Championship balls much more durable than previous versions. Duraweave provides consistent bounce across courts of various types and levels of play – ideal for all-around use!
Core
Although tennis conversations tend to focus on rackets and synthetic strings, players also utilize tennis balls with subtle distinctions that often go unnoticed. While their basic construction remains unchanged, each manufacturer touts unique technologies that they tout; for instance, Wilsons used at US Open may play differently than Slazengers/Babolats used at Wimbledon or Dunlops used on European clay courts due to ITF regulations requiring each brand of tennis ball be designed specifically for its intended use.
A tennis ball’s core is comprised of a rubber composition consisting of high levels of cis-1,2-bond polybutadiene as well as up to 40% by weight of natural rubber or high cis-polybutadiene. This mixture is then vulcanized at elevated temperatures to produce an ITF standard compliant core that offers impact resilience, deformation and change over time – along with excellent durability and abrasion resistance properties.
To create the final tennis ball, plastomer is added to its core and then covered by felt. Plastomer boasts higher durometer than conventional rubber and greater elasticity allowing it to retain its shape when repeatedly struck against hard court surfaces. Furthermore, its eco-friendliness means no harmful chemicals like phthalates are released during manufacturing process.
Manufacturers utilize various grades of felt in addition to plastomer. Higher-grade felts feature lower porosity and greater resistance against abrasion. To meet ITF quality standards, tennis balls must pass a drop test from 254 cm onto a flat concrete surface at sea level and measured for their rebound height – it must fall with between 135-147 cm of rebound in order to pass inspection. At present, tennis balls are being tested for forward and return compression to determine their optimal rubber and felt materials for manufacture. Three major manufacturers control most of the market today by producing over 350 million balls annually; although with such high volumes coming out each year, manufacturers continue to search for new technologies that can increase product line performance as well as profitability of their businesses.
Cover
Tennis balls feature an outer felt layer with dimples made up of small indentation areas known as dimples that give them greater range in terms of spin potential, and allow the player to control flight through Magnus force. Tennis players typically spin the balls by hand to alter its course when flying through the air.
Material used to cover tennis balls can be produced using various textile manufacturing technologies. Its composition depends on fibre content, weight and needling density in order to optimize its performance; additional layers may also be included to meet wear and performance criteria.
Additionally, the cover of a tennis ball can take on various textures depending on its construction process. For example, balls made by compressing and vulcanizing can have stiffer covers due to increasing overall tension in the ball which makes deforming it by players more challenging.
Traditional tennis balls were covered with flannel cloth; however, in 1972 the International Tennis Federation introduced yellow felt-covered tennis balls for increased visibility on television viewers and to enhance game presence.
Beyond its color, the felt material used on tennis balls has an enormous influence on their spin, feel, bounce, shape retention and resistance to puncture by absorbing shock from contact between racquet and ball. This also ensures they remain intact for prolonged play.
Current ITF guidelines suggest players choose from three types of tennis balls – type 1 (fast speed), type 2 (medium speed) and type 3 (slow speed) balls – that offer different bounce qualities based on speed of playback; higher bounce quality balls tend to be suitable for beginners and casual players, while pressureless balls will better meet serious player’s requirements.
Packaging
A tennis ball is an integral component of the game, so it is crucial that each one meets certain standards. This ensures they are identical and fair during competition; additionally, this standard helps players practice properly for tournaments they are participating in. In order to comply with such requirements, all balls must be safely packaged so as to stay in good condition until use.
Wilson LABS has advanced the art of packaging tennis balls with Triniti, their groundbreaking innovation designed to maintain a fresh ball feel four times longer than conventional balls. Made from durable plastomer material, Triniti delivers excellent bounce without losing elasticity over time.
A typical tennis ball features two components, including a rubber core made of natural rubber and a felt cover made from premium quality fabric woven for resilience and soft touch. Once the glue has set, the ball can be played.
Tennis balls were previously stored in bags or cardboard boxes that provided little protection for their quality or lifespan. In 1926, Pennsylvania Rubber Company (now Wilson) and Penn invented an airtight cylindrical metal container with church key opening that helped preserve quality while prolonging ball lifespan.
Due to this new packaging, fewer tennis balls were damaged during transportation and less waste was being produced by factories – these changes made a profound impactful difference on environmental impact of tennis balls.
The new packaging is not only more robust but provides better physical damage protection as well as being easy to open and close, featuring a strong magnet in the lid that holds tennis balls securely in place.
The new packaging includes a special coating designed to increase resistance of rubber against scratches and stains while acting as an anti-static shield, decreasing chances of picking up static electricity. Furthermore, this easy-to-wipe clean coating contains no toxic chemicals.