Prince balls made by Wilson?

S

scotus

G.O.A.T.
I went to a store today to buy tennis balls, and right beside the Wilson Championship balls which I usually buy I saw a bunch of Prince balls.

So I grabbed a can to see if there was anything special about it, and guess what? 2 balls inside were stamped "Prince" but 1 was stamped "Wilson".

I lifted the plastic lid up to see if the metal lid was still sealed, and it was.

So here are the only conclusions that can be made.

(1) Prince balls are re-branded Wilson balls.

OR

(2) Prince balls are manufactured in the same factory in China that also manufactures Wilson balls, possibly with different specs.
 
Last edited:
mikeler

mikeler

Moderator
scotus said:
I went to a store today to buy tennis balls, and right beside the Wilson Championship balls which I usually buy I saw a bunch of Prince balls.

So I grabbed a can to see if there was anything special about it, and guess what? 2 balls inside were stamped "Prince" but 1 was stamped "Wilson".

I lifted the plastic lid up to see if the metal lid was still sealed, and it was.

So here are the only conclusions that can be made.

(1) Prince balls are re-branded Wilson balls.

OR

(2) Prince balls are manufactured in the same factory in China that also manufactures Wilson balls, possibly with different specs.
Click to expand...


Weird! I'd be pissed if a Wilson ball ever slipped into a beautiful can of Prince balls. :)
 
Lefty5

Lefty5

Hall of Fame
scotus said:
I went to a store today to buy tennis balls, and right beside the Wilson Championship balls which I usually buy I saw a bunch of Prince balls.

So I grabbed a can to see if there was anything special about it, and guess what? 2 balls inside were stamped "Prince" but 1 was stamped "Wilson".

I lifted the plastic lid up to see if the metal lid was still sealed, and it was.

So here are the only conclusions that can be made.

(1) Prince balls are re-branded Wilson balls.

OR

(2) Prince balls are manufactured in the same factory in China that also manufactures Wilson balls, possibly with different specs.
Click to expand...


You mean China factories make products for more than one brand? No way!!!!! :)
 
T

tball

Semi-Pro
I find prince balls to play quite differently from Wilson. I also weighted them several months ago, and prince were 52 grams vs Wilson 56.
 
S

scotus

G.O.A.T.
mikeler said:
Prince balls bounce significantly higher than Wilson balls.
Click to expand...

Even within the same brand, different model balls (e.g., Championship, US Open, Titanium, etc) bounce differently.

Having said this, I play-tested the Prince balls, and yes, they are quite lively.
 
mikeler

mikeler

Moderator
scotus said:
Even within the same brand, different model balls (e.g., Championship, US Open, Titanium, etc) bounce differently.

Having said this, I play-tested the Prince balls, and yes, they are quite lively.
Click to expand...


They are great for my heavy topspin game but in the extreme heat it almost gets ridiculous how high the balls bounce.
 
S

scotus

G.O.A.T.
To those who wanted to see the picture of this:

Thank you for forcing me to hook up my phone to my PC for the first time.

IMG_20110721_214435.jpg
 
mtommer

mtommer

Hall of Fame
I wouldn't be surprised if Prince Championship balls are the same as Wilson Championship balls. Being a relatively new comer in the market, it would make sense for Prince to contract out their Tier 2 ball at this early stage in the game - shelf presence is more important at this time and price point than product differentiation. I doubt Prince Tour are the US Open ball but I guess one never knows.
 
themitchmann

themitchmann

Hall of Fame
Fedace said:
prince balls really sucky.
Click to expand...

Not in my experience. I use the Tour balls in my teaching carts and sell them in my shop. I agree that they are similar in quality to Dunlop Grand Prix. They just last in the carts.

I bought a couple cans of Prince Championships and thought the were a little heavier and more solid feeling that the Tours, and they definitely have different felt. They played well...I'm curious to see how well they hold up in the cart.
 
E

El Diablo

Guest
And you'd be surprised how many brands of tennis string come off the same production lines with different dye and branding. Remember Matsushita (now Panasonic)? They made stereo equipment sold by a handful of Japanese electronics companies. Economy of scale.
 
S

SeasonedNovice

New User
Well, this is a turn off.

Anyone no for a fact these prince Champs are the same as wilson champs?

Everyone just says "Prince Balls" but they don't state if it is the champs or tours?

tball said:
I find prince balls to play quite differently from Wilson. I also weighted them several months ago, and prince were 52 grams vs Wilson 56.
Click to expand...

Which prince? Which wilson?
 
mtommer

mtommer

Hall of Fame
SeasonedNovice said:
Well, this is a turn off.

Anyone no for a fact these prince Champs are the same as wilson champs?
Click to expand...

Why is it a turn off? They're still ITF certified and fine balls for the Tier that they are. One isn't going to get a Tier 1 ball in a Championship labeled Tier 2 ball no matter who makes them. I find almost all the Championship labeled balls play similarly enough to one another that they are pretty much interchangeable - even if they actually are packaged interchangeably at Wal-Mart :)))!
 
S

SeasonedNovice

New User
So are all "Champ" balls the same quality (prince Champs, Wilson Champs, Penn Champs ect.)?


I wonder if I could talk to the manager over the sports section at walmart to order some Prince Tour Balls...


Do any walmarts, Kmarts, or Target stors carry Prince TOUR balls?
 
J

jhp49

Rookie
I played with Prince balls for the first time today and I hated them. They were harder and bounced completely differently than Penn or Wilson. I actually hurt my shoulder by using them.
 
mtommer

mtommer

Hall of Fame
SeasonedNovice said:
So are all "Champ" balls the same quality (prince Champs, Wilson Champs, Penn Champs ect.)?
Click to expand...

I've played Gamma, Wilson, Penn, Prince and Dunlop Championship balls. I have never found much, if any, of a difference between them. Of the differences I have found between them, I've also found between different balls from different cans of the SAME manufacturer.

SeasonedNovice said:
I wonder if I could talk to the manager over the sports section at walmart to order some Prince Tour Balls...
Click to expand...

Almost all ordering at big box stores are done through various corporate buyers which then distributes the millions of one item they bought to the retail locations based on logistical factors. Usually managers can only order an existing SKU if their shelf is empty or there was a mistake in auto ordering/inventory adjustments.

BTW, if you look at Wilson "Grand Slam" balls (showing up at big box stores now), the cans resemble Penn Championship in color scheme, you'll note that there is no ITF certification. These may be a step down from Championship level balls. I just don't know at this time.
 
S

slice bh compliment

G.O.A.T.
SeasonedNovice said:
...

I wonder if I could talk to the manager over the sports section at walmart to order some Prince Tour Balls......
Click to expand...

Yeah, 'cause they're all about the customer service!

Dude, just buy from TW. Or go to a tennis shop and ask for a case with a case discount. Most managers are cool with that and they love the support.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
Teloon Tennis Balls
Replies
6
Views
5K
ChimpChimp
C
R
Wilson Grand Slam Extra duty balls
Replies
8
Views
763
spinnerrobert
S
N
Soft court balls on hard court
Replies
7
Views
3K
Nexus
N
CharlottesHead
Good balls/Bad balls
Replies
37
Views
3K
tenniscan
T
kt.tran18
Wilson Tennis Balls.
Replies
1
Views
245
kevin qmto
kevin qmto
Top