5 Type Of Tennis Balls For Different Tennis Court Surfaces

Football is played in an entire field of grass since its beginning. Basketball is always on a Hardwood Floor. Tennis is a very unique game. Throughout the year, it is not played on the same surface, rather tennis is played on three different type of courts. Hard courts, clay courts and grass courts.

The three courts have different types of features and balls used on each surface is also different. A player must know which type of ball he should use for each surface. Players must know in advance which type of surface they will be playing on. For optimal performance and best results, a player must use the same balls which he will play in the tournament. In the end, you need to improve your ranking and that is only possible if you keep on performing well in the tournaments.
By looking, all the balls might look the same but balls are designed according to the surface of the court. There are four types of categories. These are: Regular duty, Extra duty, Grass court, and High Altitude.

1. Regular Duty Tennis Balls

Source: tennislifemag.com
The balls are designed for the clay courts. The reason is that, clay courts are not as rough as hard courts. Balls travels slower on the clay courts as compared to the hard and grass courts. The balls used for clay courts have a thinner and softer felt so that on contact with the clay, the ball does not pick up too much of clay and clay absorbs the impact of the ball easily, thus can last longer on clay courts and don’t last long on hard courts.

2. Extra Duty Tennis Balls

Source: balwyncc.org.au
These Tennis balls are used on the hard courts. Since, hard courts are the most intense of the courts, the balls can’t survive for long if they are also not hard. The felt on these balls is thick and balls are woven with more wool allowing them to withstand the harder courts. Thus, balls can survive longer on the hard courts.

3. Grass Court Tennis Balls

Source: sapca.org.uk
As the name suggests, these balls are used on the grass courts. These balls are regular duty balls except with a stain resistant treatment on the felt so that the grass does not change their color. 

4. High Altitude Tennis Balls

Source: wtatennis.com
These balls are used in altitudes of 4,000 feet or higher. A normal ball tends to fly at such high altitudes. Playing at high altitudes can cause pressurized tennis balls to bounce higher and travel faster, which is problematic for all types of players.
The ITF considers “high altitude” to be anything higher than 4,000 feet. If you’re playing at this altitude or higher, we recommend getting specialized high-altitude tennis balls that are made to reduce these issues and promote a more normal feel on the court. Also High Altitude balls can be good for beginners as they have less bounce and can be easier to hit.

5. Red Dot & Green Dot Tennis Ball

Source: blog.tennisplaza.com
Red Dot Tennis Balls and Green Dot Tennis Balls are a relatively new invention in the game of tennis. It made for kids since tennis can be a very challenging game. These red dot and green dot tennis balls are a little bigger and bounce a little softer. It is hard for an adult to hit a high back hand, it is impossible for a kid to hit a high back. Therefore red dot and green dot balls has been implemented by the UTSA and UTR for young kids to use in tournaments.