Regular Duty balls vs. Extra Duty balls

bayoozen33 · Jun 14, 2010

I play on hard courts so the extra duty balls are recommended, but are the regular duty balls really that much different? I heard KMart sold Dunlop Championship balls so I went there and they had a 3 pack (9 balls total) of Dunlop Championship Regular duty for 5.75 and single packs (3 balls) of the Dunlop Champ Extra Duty.

On a side note, I have purchased Penn ATP balls and Wilson US Open balls (both extra duty) for 1.50 on clearance at Target last summer.That was a pretty sweet deal.

charliefedererer · Jun 15, 2010

Regular duty felt work just fine on hard courts. It's just that they will wear quicker. But for most players in the US this doesn't matter as they open new balls for matches, and often for practice sessions, and the price for balls is so inexpensive. In the rest of the world balls are more expensive, and durability is probably more of an issue.
I actually prefer regular duty balls on hard courts as they don't fluff up as much, and feel ever-so-slightly lighter.

bayoozen33 · Jun 15, 2010

charliefedererer said:
Regular duty felt work just fine on hard courts. It's just that they will wear quicker. But for most players in the US this doesn't matter as they open new balls for matches, and often for practice sessions, and the price for balls is so inexpensive. In the rest of the world balls are more expensive, and durability is probably more of an issue.
I actually prefer regular duty balls on hard courts as they don't fluff up as much, and feel ever-so-slightly lighter.

Thanks for your response. Yeah I don't see how it would matter really because even with a regular duty ball it seems like you'd have to hit it an awful long time for the felt to wear off much. Seems like the pressure in the ball would be gone before the felt. I also saw some Wilson heavy duty at Walmart for 1.88 and I can get a 10% discount....but I'm thinking the Dunlop will be better value even for the 30 cents extra a can. I don't like the Wilson or Penn Championships.

mikeler · Jun 15, 2010

^ Agreed. Regular duty balls on hard courts play just fine for 1 match. They are lighter so you can hit them harder too. What I don't like is heavy duty balls on clay. After a few games they really pick up the clay and become heavy and very arm unfriendly.

Nuke · Jun 15, 2010

mikeler said:
They are lighter so you can hit them harder too.

Actually, I find just the opposite. Regular duty balls are usually lighter and bouncier, so there's a tendency to hit them long unless you add more spin or take a bit off your swing. I feel I can really pound the heavy duty balls, though.

mikeler · Jun 15, 2010

^ I hit with a lot of spin so they are not a problem for me. I could see a flat hitter not liking them.

Wes_Loves_Dunlop · Jun 15, 2010

i actually prefer the extra duty because even after 1 hour of hitting with extra duties, the felt is all worn down. reg duty is even worse.
id suggest wilson us open over penn. the wilson seems to bounce better for longer

Power Player · Jun 15, 2010

Penn pros die after 1 hour of hard rallying. That is basically a fact. I go with the Dunlops, but of course some people will complain about how hard they are, and they have a point.

My mindset is that if I'm for rallying for 2 hours, I am buying 1 can of balls and that is going to be Dunlops every time. For a match, I don't care that much as long as it's a new can.

mikeler · Jun 15, 2010

The clay court version of the Dunlops is a good ball. The hard court version is why they are called DunRocks.

bayoozen33 · Jun 15, 2010

mikeler said:
The clay court version of the Dunlops is a good ball. The hard court version is why they are called DunRocks.

Are you talking about Dunlop Championship or Grand Prix? The grand prix extra duty are definitely hard which I did like but I think it got kind of hard on my arm. I haven't played with the Championships yet but I have a can of extra duty and a few cans of regular duty to compare soon.

ronalditop · Jun 15, 2010

I use extra duty balls because they last longer than regular duty ones, and since in my city balls are pretty expensive ($5 a can), I use a can for almost a month. I play on clay BTW.

mikeler · Jun 15, 2010

^ Grand Prix regular duty. I still like Prince regular duty the best.

bayoozen33 · Jun 15, 2010

mikeler said:
^ Grand Prix regular duty. I still like Prince regular duty the best.

Really? How are the Prince? There's a place where I can get a case for $54 plus tax but 10% discount.

Wes_Loves_Dunlop · Jun 15, 2010

in my school, the freshman use wilson champion balls, jv uses penn xtra duty (wilson us open if we're lucky), and vars uses wilson us open.

wilson us open is by far the best ball

bayoozen33 · Jun 15, 2010

Wes_Loves_Dunlop said:
in my school, the freshman use wilson champion balls, jv uses penn xtra duty (wilson us open if we're lucky), and vars uses wilson us open.

wilson us open is by far the best ball

Yes they are a good ball, and the price reflects that. Unless you can find them on clearance at Target like I did (I bought all the remaining cans left though lol).

Jaewonnie · Jun 15, 2010

US Open is heavy duty? I wear them out after like an hour... They are very good for that hour though..

parasailing · Jun 15, 2010

Dunlop Grand Prix heavy duty are okay. They keep their bounce but I found after a few hours of hitting, they lose their felt and become really hard.

fruitytennis1 · Jun 15, 2010

Dunlops grand prix

mikeler · Jun 16, 2010

Jaewonnie said:
US Open is heavy duty? I wear them out after like an hour... They are very good for that hour though..

Same feeling here. After about an hour this ball is completely fuzzed up and plays nothing like it did the first hour. Like you, that first hour I'm happy with them.

mikeler · Jun 16, 2010

bayoozen33 said:
Really? How are the Prince? There's a place where I can get a case for $54 plus tax but 10% discount.

The regular duty Prince bounce higher than any other tennis ball. If you like to play with heavy spin, this ball is for you. I typically pay $64 plus shipping when I buy a case.

bayoozen33 · Jun 16, 2010

mikeler said:
The regular duty Prince bounce higher than any other tennis ball. If you like to play with heavy spin, this ball is for you. I typically pay $64 plus shipping when I buy a case.

Hmmmm...I hit with minimal amount of topspin. Some but not like a heavy western amount. I think i'm going to compare the 2 versions of the dunlop championships and then the Wilson Champ Extra Duty. I might of purchased the case of Prince, but they are currently out of stock at the site I would purchase them from.

bayoozen33 · Jun 17, 2010

So I broke open a can of the Dunlop Championship Regular Duty tonight. Two of the three balls has some deformations. The balls are quite lively and hard to control. They feel somewhat similar to the grand prixs in that I think they will keep their pressure and bounce, however they aren't quite as hard (although still harder than Penn's and Wilson's...thats what she said).

mikeler · Jun 18, 2010

I agree, they are still a harder ball than Wilson or Penn.

Regular Duty balls vs. Extra Duty balls

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