Tennis ball
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007) |
A tennis ball is the green/yellow ball designed for the sport of tennis, about the size and shape of a cricket ball or baseball, though they differ in color, weight and composition. Modern regulation tennis balls are kept under pressure (approximately two atmospheres) until initially used. This is one of the pieces of equipment used in tennis and can vary in size, color and weight. It can be also used for playground games for children such as four square or wall ball.
Contents |
[edit] History
In the early days of tennis, balls were often made of green leather stuffed with hair or wool. Early tennis balls were made by the esteemed Scottish craftsmen. These tennis balls were commonly made from a wool-wrapped stomach of a sheep or goat and tied with rope. Those recovered from the hammer-beam roof of Westminster Hall during a period of recent restoration were found to have been manufactured from a combination of putty and human hair, and were dated to the reign of King Henry VIII. Other versions, using materials such as animal fur, rope made from animal intestines and muscles, and pine wood, were found in Scottish castles dating back to the 16th century. In the 18th century, ¾" strips of wool were wound tightly around a nucleus made by rolling a number of strips into a little ball. String was then tied in many directions around the ball and a white cloth covering sewn around the ball. This type of ball, but with a rubber core, is still used for the original game of tennis, today called real tennis. With the introduction of lawn tennis in the 1870s, vulcanized rubber was first used to manufacture balls often in tubes of four with a package NOT with the name of the brand.
[edit] Modern Tennis Balls
Modern tennis balls are generally made in a fluorescent yellow or white color, which are the only colors approved by the USTA and ITF. Tennis balls must conform to certain criteria for size, weight, deformation, and bounce criteria to be approved for regulation play.
The most important test for amateur players is the bounce test, as tennis balls begin to lose their bounce as soon as the tennis ball can is opened. Most Tennis players prefer tennis balls with good bounce, extra duty, and can be used on all types of courts (e.g., lawn, clay, or concrete). To test a tennis ball for bounce, it is dropped from a height of 100 inches (2.5 m) onto concrete and must bounce back up between 53 and 58 inches (1.35 - 1.47 m). This test is assumed to take place at sea-level and 20° C / 68° F (high altitude balls have different characteristics when tested at sea-level).
[edit] Tennis ball Manufacturers
- Dunlop Slazenger
- Penn
- Prince
- Wilson Sporting Goods
- Gamma
[edit] Tennis balls in literature
The gift of tennis balls offered to Henry in Shakespeare's Henry V is portrayed as the final insult which re-ignites the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
- When we have match'd our rackets to these balls,
- We will, in France, by God's grace, play a set
John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
- We are merely the stars' tennis balls, struck and banded
- Which way please them
[edit] Footnotes
he:כדור טניס de:Tennisball nl:Tennisbal pt:Bola de tênis sv:Tennisboll vi:Quả bóng quần vợt
