| Tennis balls, while seemingly simple structures, do in | | | | bounce over time, whereas pressure-less balls actually |
| fact have a long and varied history and up closer | | | | get more bouncy, because they lose their fuzz. |
| inspection, are not the simple things we might be | | | | Around 300 million tennis balls are produced each year |
| tempted to think they are. In normal play, tennis balls | | | | which has lead to some concern regarding their effect |
| are light green, but there has been some controversy | | | | on the environment. Because they are made of rubber, |
| over the colour - with some saying they are yellow. In | | | | they do not decompose easily. They are not easily |
| non competitive (that is training) the balls can be pretty | | | | recycled, but they have been used for other purposes; |
| much any colour. Tennis balls are invariably 6.7 cm or | | | | for example, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships |
| 2.7 inches in diameter. | | | | have donated all their used-balls for the purpose of |
| When tennis balls were first required for the game of | | | | creating suitable habitats for the Harvest Mouse in |
| tennis, they were made of leather and stuffed full of | | | | England. This mouse is under threat. Other uses have |
| wool or hair. Louis XIV insisted that all balls were made | | | | been stated as using them on the bottom of chairs in |
| out of leather and stuffed with wool. Balls were made | | | | schools and other public buildings in order to prevent |
| of various materials though, around the world: in | | | | scuffing of the floor. |
| Scotland they were constituted of a wool wrapped | | | | There are a great many manufacturers of tennis balls |
| stomach which was tied with rope. Recently, tennis | | | | around the world, and they have al put a great deal of |
| balls were found in the high beam of Westminster Hall | | | | time and money into researching how they can |
| - these balls, which are thought to have dated from | | | | perform better and more predictably. Balls are deigned |
| the time of Henry VIII, were made of a combination of | | | | to behave differently; for example you might not use |
| putty and human hair. | | | | the same ball on a clay court as you would on a grass |
| These days, balls are either pressure-less or | | | | court. It is a highly competitive industry that generates |
| pressurised and are covered in a fuzzy felt material. | | | | a substantial income for many of the companies |
| Each of these have differing properties in terms of | | | | involved. |
| aerodynamics and bounce. Pressurised balls lose their | | | | |