Penn ATP Tour Balls ARE CRAP!!!!!

[Tyler91]

This is a very interesting thread for me. I've been using Penn Championship XD's all summer and they seem awesome. I bought two cases about May 1 and threw them in the garage...heat and all...but I think they're fine.

[mikeler]

Just played with the Penn Marathon balls again. I think I"ll be switching to them full time.

[GlenK]

I got 9 cans of Marathon for buying my last racquet. They had a mail in offer from Head. I like these balls too!!!

[Eugene Choi]

Wilson US Open balls! There the best!

[SystemicAnomaly]

^ No, that would be Prince Tour balls (too bad they are so difficult to get right now).

[Ramon]

The Penn ATP balls are an upgrade over the Penn Championship balls. In fact, Penn sells an 8-pack where they include 7 cans of Championship balls and 1 can of ATP balls, and they advertise on the package that you get 1 ATP upgrade. You can tell right away that they have a different colored felt, which is supposed to be better under night lights. I thought they were better than the Championship balls in terms of consistency and durability.

I do like the Pro Penn Marathon, which I think is their top-of-the-line ball. If you can past the fact that the regular felt fuzzes up early in the first set and wears down after that, it's a great all-around ball, but the Wilson US Opens last longer.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Ramon

The Penn ATP balls are an upgrade over the Penn Championship balls. In fact, Penn sells an 8-pack where they include 7 cans of Championship balls and 1 can of ATP balls, and they advertise on the package that you get 1 ATP upgrade. You can tell right away that they have a different colored felt, which is supposed to be better under night lights. I thought they were better than the Championship balls in terms of consistency and durability.

I do like the Pro Penn Marathon, which I think is their top-of-the-line ball. If you can past the fact that the regular felt fuzzes up early in the first set and wears down after that, it's a great all-around ball, but the Wilson US Opens last longer.

Where I buy the balls, they don't fuzz up. Another player I hit with uses them too, but his always fuzz up. He bought it from a different online retailer than me.

[SystemicAnomaly]

Are you both buying extra-duty (black label) balls?

Originally Posted by Ramon

... You can tell right away that they have a different colored felt, which is supposed to be better under night lights. I thought they were better than the Championship balls in terms of consistency and durability.

I do like the Pro Penn Marathon, which I think is their top-of-the-line ball. If you can past the fact that the regular felt fuzzes up early in the first set and wears down after that, it's a great all-around ball, but the Wilson US Opens last longer.

The ATP ball and the Marathon ball are both considered to be Penn's high-end professional balls. The Marathon ball was developed for durability/longevity for teaching pros. The ATP ball OTOH was developed for ATP pro tournament play where longevity is not a primary concern (since 6 new balls are put into play every 9 games). The ATP ball is indeed Penn's brightest ball and its precise, consistent bounce and quality control is superior to that of the Penn Championship balls.

The Penn Champs seem to be a bit softer than Penn's pro balls and tend to lose pressure quicker.

[heartattack]

i agree with `split step, doesn't bounce at all.. feel a dead ball but the felt where still in descent shape. i have to adjust my technique but still it was a piece of crap. i like the heaviness(weight) of penn because they are the same with Slazenger balls. but Penn is much a dead ball.

[mikeler]

Hmm, maybe my buddy bought extra duty by my mistake.

[Ramon]

I'm know I bought regular duty Marathons and they definitely fuzzed up. Maybe the problem got fixed.

[NLBwell]

Originally Posted by pmacino

Is it just me or are balls almost like the soup of the day? They seem to rotate as to who is making a good ball at any given time.

I think this is the case. I used to play Dunlops, but the quality went down (and my girlfriend at the time didn't like hitting the heavy rocks like I did). I always liked Wilson, but a few years ago they would hardly bounce at all most of the time. Switched to Penn, but now they often seem to go dead much faster than they used to. Wilson US Open seemed to be higher quality than others and last longer, now they don't seem to be much different. Now happily using regular hard court Wilsons since they bounce fine again these days.

[Nostradamus]

Originally Posted by NLBwell

I think this is the case. I used to play Dunlops, but the quality went down (and my girlfriend at the time didn't like hitting the heavy rocks like I did). I always liked Wilson, but a few years ago they would hardly bounce at all most of the time. Switched to Penn, but now they often seem to go dead much faster than they used to. Wilson US Open seemed to be higher quality than others and last longer, now they don't seem to be much different. Now happily using regular hard court Wilsons since they bounce fine again these days.

Dunlop balls have become too heavy now and too hard to control. I don't mind the heavy but Loss of control, i cannot forgive.

US Open Wilson balls have answered the customer complaints from last 2 years and have made the best ball ever this year. Now Wilson US open balls are the Standard Gold balls that others are measured by.

Penn balls are pretty good control wise but do lose air fast. but when are new, they are pretty good balls.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Ramon

I'm know I bought regular duty Marathons and they definitely fuzzed up. Maybe the problem got fixed.

It seems like a few cans do fuzz up for me but most don't. The ball seems a bit softer and brighter than the US Opens I was using.

[DRII]

Yep, most definitely.

I like Slazzengers (sic)...

[db10s]

Slazengers are my ball of choice

[db10s]

BUT, that doesn't mean I don't LOVE penn ATP balls, I have a way of getting them for free during a certain time in February.

[NJ1]

Originally Posted by Lendl

I played a travel match yesterday and used those balls. Agree, they were not good. I use these exclusively on my every day matches and recommend them highly:

Yup, these in extra duty are my favorite hard court balls too. Slazies at two.

[LeeD]

A real man hits with Dunlop balls.
A wimpy man hits with Penns.
A real girl hits with Wilson balls.
If the smile icon would work, I'd hit those like Doritos.