USTA Approved Ball List

jdfulmer · Aug 23, 2011

My team lost one regular season match under circumstances that I still consider bothersome. We played at a very nice club near Harrisburg and the team used practice balls for the match.

They were unmarked so the captain identified the balls with a magic marker. Worse than their lack of markings, these things were extremely spongy. They really compressed against the string bed on impact and they seemed to stay on the racquet forever.

After the match, I checked and these balls were not on the USTA approved list. Our captain mentioned this to an official who told him the balls were the home team's choice. If that's true, why does the USTA publish a list of approved balls? And where do you draw the line? Could they issue racquet balls or those multi-colored kiddie balls?

http://www.usta.com/2011_usta_approved_tennis_ball_list/

BTW: We faced Team Spongy Balls in the playoffs and the USTA provided tour balls for the tournament. Revenge was ours....

AceKing · Aug 23, 2011

I would imagine that you could request league approved balls before the start of the match. That's pretty strange that a nice club used generic balls & then marked them with magic marker.

goober · Aug 23, 2011

AceKing said:
That's pretty strange that a nice club used generic balls & then marked them with magic marker.

Not really strange. It is obvious they were trying to gain an advantage over the other team. Pretty pathetic really. I am shocked that the official said that any ball chosen by the home team are fine. Next time I would email them the list of approved balls and inform league coordinator of what they are doing to get official backing.

JLyon · Aug 23, 2011

I would assume if it is a USTA Sanctioned League then a USTA Sanction ball must be used for competition.

Ronaldo · Aug 23, 2011

JLyon said:
I would assume if it is a USTA Sanctioned League then a USTA Sanction ball must be used for competition.

Our distict would issue to each club/team representative enough cans of balls for each home match, a case or more for each team. Depended on the year which balls were issued. Pro Penns or for a couple of years, Prince Tour balls. If you were so dissatisfied with these balls open your own can and use them, seriously. Then tell your league coordinator about this incident.

dizzlmcwizzl · Aug 23, 2011

From the friend at the court

Section F page 59

2. Approved balls. In all USTA tournaments and leagues, the ball used must be on the list of balls approved by the USTA or must be otherwise authorized by the USTA.

Larrysümmers · Aug 23, 2011

Penn Coach should be on that list. ive been using them for about 2 years, best for air pressure, and the fuzz stays nice.

my favorite ball, and pretty cheap, like 1.76?

too many times have i gotten other balls, DUNLOP and those penn uspta? balls and they were soft and/or die after 5 games er so.

Fuji · Aug 23, 2011

I'm glad my favorites are on the list! Slazenger Wimbledon Ultra! They are the fastest on hardcourts which is perfect for my serve. I really enjoy using them. Plus they don't kill my arm like some "extra duty" ones!

-Fuji

Larrysümmers · Aug 23, 2011

Fuji said:
I'm glad my favorites are on the list! Slazenger Wimbledon Ultra! They are the fastest on hardcourts which is perfect for my serve. I really enjoy using them. Plus they don't kill my arm like some "extra duty" ones!-Fuji

yesss. we went somewhere and their ball was an extra duty(dunlop?) and they felt heavy and not pleasant.

Fuji · Aug 23, 2011

Larrysümmers said:
yesss. we went somewhere and their ball was an extra duty(dunlop?) and they felt heavy and not pleasant.

Agreed! They just don't agree with my arm for some reason. I'm pretty sure it was either Dunlop or Penn!

-Fuji

tennis tom · Aug 23, 2011

Before playing a competitive match, one should find out what kind of ball is being used and practice with them. Most sanctioned tournaments publish the tournament ball, if not call the tournament director and find out.

I've never heard of any match, as described by OP, where they used unmarked, practice ball 2nds. It sounds like they were definitely attempting to game the system to their advantage by using an inferior ball they had practiced with and understood the characteristics of. Did the OP ever find out what the ball actually was? I'm curious.

jdfulmer · Aug 24, 2011

tennis tom said:
Did the OP ever find out what the ball actually was? I'm curious.

I did commit the manufacturer and model to memory long enough to look them up on the approved list. Unfortunately, I'm no longer sure what they were. I think they were Penns but I know they weren't X-outs and I'm pretty sure they weren't Coaches. I think they might have been Penn Control.

Coach Carter · Aug 24, 2011

Larrysümmers said:
Penn Coach should be on that list. ive been using them for about 2 years, best for air pressure, and the fuzz stays nice.

my favorite ball, and pretty cheap, like 1.76?

too many times have i gotten other balls, DUNLOP and those penn uspta? balls and they were soft and/or die after 5 games er so.

I find it hard to believe that a "coach" or "practice" ball would be on the list. The USTA or the like tend to stick to Championship quality or better balls. Those balls are factory "seconds" usually and aren't up to championship standard.

Coach Carter · Aug 24, 2011

I just looked at the list and I only see 2 styles of balls (both Penn junkers) that aren't "Championship" type balls. I have had a couple times where people have whipped out Titaniums or things like that in league matches. It's terrible because they lack the quality.

jdfulmer · Aug 24, 2011

Coach Carter said:
I just looked at the list and I only see 2 styles of balls (both Penn junkers) that aren't "Championship" type balls. I have had a couple times where people have whipped out Titaniums or things like that in league matches. It's terrible because they lack the quality.

Titaniums are beginner balls. They're spongy by design. The compress then pop off the string bed. This gives the beginner more power. That power comes at a cost. Because it stays on the string bed longer, you lose accuracy. Beginner balls reward people with short swings and penalize people with longer swings.

tennis tom · Aug 24, 2011

I hate the Titaniums, I call them tit balls, hard as rocks and give me tennis elbow just thinking about them. I think those who buy them think they will last longer because they are think they are made of titanium, maybe they're made of silicone?

Coach Carter · Aug 24, 2011

yep, I always figure people thought they were getting something good. much like good racquets...I stick to what they've been selling forever (Championship quality)...they have been selling them forever because they're great!!!

Larrysümmers · Aug 24, 2011

Coach Carter said:
I find it hard to believe that a "coach" or "practice" ball would be on the list. The USTA or the like tend to stick to Championship quality or better balls. Those balls are factory "seconds" usually and aren't up to championship standard.

the funniest part is that the penn coaches are better than the other ones. there have been a few times where i got the "champion standard" balls and they were bad right out of the cas.

ive been using penn coaches for the past couple of years and i can play a match with them then still use them as practice for the next few days or longer. i havnt been able to say that about the champion balls since our team used the wilson balls about 4 years ago.

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