Best Tennis Balls

[pvaudio]

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

Perhaps you got a can of balls that had a cosmetic flaw on one of the balls (instead of a substandard bounce). I see that happen every once in a while -- perhaps 5-10% of the time.

Usually, with the substandard ball, the bounce height is about 80-90% or so of the other two balls. Perhaps you got one where the lower bouncing ball was 90+% of the other 2 balls so you may not have noticed it. I have seen hundreds of cans of Penn Champs where one of the balls had a substandard bounce.

One night while playing doubles, we lost one of the new USO xd balls after 40 minutes of play. One of the guys decided to open a new can of Penn Champ balls. At that point, the 2 older Wilson balls had the same bounce height as 2 of the newer Penn balls. So we decided to continue play with the 2 USO balls and the 2 Penn balls (that had the same bounce height). After a couple more hours of play, it was apparent that the bounce height of the 2 Penn balls was noticeably lower than the 2 older Wilson USO balls.

The Head ATP ball should be identical to the Penn ATP ball -- they re the same ball with a different label. The Penn name is used for balls used in the US. The Head name is used for most other countries.

The Penn champs even look cheap. The glue is always slathered on like it was toothpaste. I seriously don't know how anyone can use those for an actual match when there are other champ balls that are so much better.

[Bobby Jr]

Has anyone had much chance to try the Babolat French Open balls?

I bought a dozen cans of them on sale recently and have used one set so far. They seemed pretty quick, which I don't mind and perhaps wore out quicker than average - but by no means the quickest. They seemed pretty good overall to me - comparable in some ways to the Wilson US Open balls.

[Matchball]

Originally Posted by Bobby Jr

Has anyone had much chance to try the Babolat French Open balls?

They feel like fuzz-rich Wilsons
Didn't they become hairy after a while ?

I think they also seem slightly larger as balls.

[Matchball]

Originally Posted by tistrapukcipeht

So you guys recommend Dunlop Grand Prix and Slazenger (4 can ball)??

I am currently playing with Dunlop Grand Prix balls - after having read some reviews I expected them to last longer.

They seem to lose their fuzz pretty fast and they also don't bounce as much as I would like them to either. "Dunlop Fort" felt better and were also more durable. Just a better ball overall, but some people are not fond of how they feel. They are bouncier and feel a bit heavier and harder - similar to Slazenger, but the latter ones are probably more playable and better quality IMO.

If I definitely had to consider Dunlop Grand Prix, I would probably rather buy Wilson US Open balls instead. Playable right out of the box and as-much-as-you-pay-for durability. Some QC issues might occur, but you know what to expect.




I do not know why people like Dunlop Grand Prix

[SystemicAnomaly]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

The Penn champs even look cheap. The glue is always slathered on like it was toothpaste. I seriously don't know how anyone can use those for an actual match when there are other champ balls that are so much better.

Don't get me wrong. Even tho' I presented the shortcomings of the Penn Champs in posts #12 and #19, I still consider them a decent ball -- but definitely not as good as the premium balls that I listed. I do like the Penn Champs on a cold night because, unlike most other balls, they do not feel like rocks and tend to bounce a bit better cold than other balls.

I also consider the Penn Champs to be better balls than the Wilson Champs. However, as far as other Championship balls go, I would pick the Prince or Dunlop over Penn.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by pvaudio

The Penn champs even look cheap. The glue is always slathered on like it was toothpaste. I seriously don't know how anyone can use those for an actual match when there are other champ balls that are so much better.

Our cheap head pro uses those for our annual club tournament. You have to throw them away after 2 sets and get another can. Sigh...

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

Don't get me wrong. Even tho' I presented the shortcomings of the Penn Champs in posts #12 and #19, I still consider them a decent ball -- but definitely not as good as the premium balls that I listed. I do like the Penn Champs on a cold night because, unlike most other balls, they do not feel like rocks and tend to bounce a bit better cold than other balls.

I also consider the Penn Champs to be better balls than the Wilson Champs. However, as far as other Championship balls go, I would pick the Prince or Dunlop over Penn.

I prefer the Wilson Champs over the Penn Champs but to each his own. I've never noticed the Penn Champs to bounce much in any weather.

[robbo1970]

Slazenger Wimbledon Ultra Vis.

Now go to the Wilson/Prince leather grip thread.

[TennisA]

I personally love the Pro Penn Marathon Extra Duty balls. My high school uses them, and they generally retain their bounce for several months. Almost every other ball we've used usually dies within the month we get them.
For me, they also aren't too heavy or light, so hitting with them feels fine

I also liked using the can of Slazenger balls I bought. Only problem I had with them is the logo of the ball wears off, which kind of bothers me at times

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by TennisA

I personally love the Pro Penn Marathon Extra Duty balls. My high school uses them, and they generally retain their bounce for several months. Almost every other ball we've used usually dies within the month we get them.
For me, they also aren't too heavy or light, so hitting with them feels fine

I also liked using the can of Slazenger balls I bought. Only problem I had with them is the logo of the ball wears off, which kind of bothers me at times

My current ball of choice is Pro Penn Marathon Regular Duty on the clay. They are very bright which is nice at night and not too heavy or furry.

[NJ1]

Penn ATP Extra Duty, Pro Penn Marathon and Slazenger All Court. I also liked the Prince balls in the white/green 3-tube (can't remember the name) that Walmart sells/sold.

Wilson US Opens are a consistent ball but feel too light for me (this is entirely subjective, of course).

[tistrapukcipeht]

So, PENN ATP XD is the same as Pro Penn Marathon XD??

What are the heavier balls out there??

I'm willing to try this Slazenger Wimbledon, Dunlop Grand Prix and PENN ATP (if it's not the same as PP Marathon) , but it's hard to find he other 2 in my area, the club doesn't sell nor the stores, so hopefully if I order something online (I hardly do that) I'd like to add 2 cans of each, but no online retailer sells 1 or 2 cans of these balls, I'm not ordering a whole case just to try them.

[zapvor]

2 pages noone mentions volkl? love them. i also like the pro penn extra duty. dunlops are the worst

[SystemicAnomaly]

^ Never seen any Volkl balls in my neck of the woods. Which Dunlops are you referring to? You must qualify your statement. There are also a number of other models than the 3 listed in the poll. You cannot dismiss the highly-regarded Grand Prix balls just cuz you don't like the A-Player, Championship or one of the other Dunlop models.

http://www.dunlop.com/us/catalog/2010/tennis/balls

[Tennusdude]

I love Penn Titanium Tennis Ballls. I always play my best with them and they seem to last longer than any other ball

[zapvor]

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

^ Never seen any Volkl balls in my neck of the woods. Which Dunlops are you referring to? You must qualify your statement. There are also a number of other models than the 3 listed in the poll. You cannot dismiss the highly-regarded Grand Prix balls just cuz you don't like the A-Player, Championship or one of the other Dunlop models.

http://www.dunlop.com/us/catalog/2010/tennis/balls

haha. i dont like any of the dunlops. especially grand prix

[sstchur]

Probably no one on here as ever tried them, but I love the Gamma Pro Tours. The Dunlop Grand Prix are a really really close second for me, but I like the Gammas just a little bit better. Their felt lasts forever and they hold their bounce really well, but they don't feel heavy coming off the racquet to me.

[SystemicAnomaly]

Originally Posted by zapvor

haha. i dont like any of the dunlops. especially grand prix

Seems that you may be in the minority in the TW world. The Dunlop GP generally favors well in polls and various threads in this forum. Even their Championship ball, so far, is doing a bit better than Penn or Wilson Champs in this poll.

How about specifics? Not enough to just say that you don't like Dunlops? Why don't you like the GP and other Dunlop balls? What type of courts do you usually play on? Play primarily at night or during the day? Low or high altitude? Hot or cold weather? Wind/calm? Etc.

What are your major criteria for judging the utility of a tennis ball? Price, durability, bounce, etc. Quite often ball preferences vary quite a bit from one person to the next based on the type of considerations that I've mentioned in this post.

[zapvor]

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

Seems that you may be in the minority in the TW world. The Dunlop GP generally favors well in polls and various threads in this forum. Even their Championship ball, so far, is doing a bit better than Penn or Wilson Champs in this poll.

How about specifics? Not enough to just say that you don't like Dunlops? Why don't you like the GP and other Dunlop balls? What type of courts do you usually play on? Play primarily at night or during the day? Low or high altitude? Hot or cold weather? Wind/calm? Etc.

What are your major criteria for judging the utility of a tennis ball? Price, durability, bounce, etc. Quite often ball preferences vary quite a bit from one person to the next based on the type of considerations that I've mentioned in this post.

yea. well in the TW world everyone also debates on lead placement and how much overgrip weight will affect the swingweight, and how fuzz on the stringbed causes them to lose topspin, so yea....

but the reason i dont like them is the weight. too hard and heavy. i have played in snow and over100degree heat, on decoturf2 to har tru clay. i have paid for about 5 cans of balls in the last 5yrs so price isnt a big concern, playability is. hence why i picked volkl. does this make sense to you now

[zapvor]

Originally Posted by sstchur

Probably no one on here as ever tried them, but I love the Gamma Pro Tours. The Dunlop Grand Prix are a really really close second for me, but I like the Gammas just a little bit better. Their felt lasts forever and they hold their bounce really well, but they don't feel heavy coming off the racquet to me.

i like the gammas!

[rafafan20]

Between dunlop champ and wilson open, babolat a distant last