Best Tennis Balls

What's your favorite tennis ball?

  • Dunlop Championship

    Votes: 16 4.0%

  • Dunlop A-Player

    Votes: 6 1.5%

  • Dunlop Grand Prix

    Votes: 29 7.3%

  • Pro Penn Marathon

    Votes: 61 15.3%

  • Penn ATP

    Votes: 51 12.8%

  • Penn Championship

    Votes: 21 5.3%

  • Wilson US Open

    Votes: 107 26.8%

  • Wilson Championship

    Votes: 18 4.5%

  • Babolat French Open

    Votes: 19 4.8%

  • Other

    Votes: 71 17.8%
  • Total voters
    399
junior74

junior74

Talk Tennis Guru
for clay or hardcourt?

Babolat French open is the best for clay, I think. It has predictable bounce and doesn't feel as "dead" as a lot of other balls for clay. Wilson, Penn and Head balls become fluffy and dull after 1 hour. Babolat FO lasts three times as long, at least on the synthetic clay court on which i play :) I'm sure it's a different story on other surfaces...
 
finalfantasy7

finalfantasy7

Semi-Pro
got a question, do the pro pen's extra duty marathon balls last longer than Pro Penn Marathon? anyone noticed a difference between the two? (as i'll be playing outdoors with them, concrete courts)

just realised tennis warehouse don't have either anymore? out of stock/stop selling them?

thanks
 
mikeler

mikeler

Moderator
finalfantasy7 said:
got a question, do the pro pen's extra duty marathon balls last longer than Pro Penn Marathon? anyone noticed a difference between the two? (as i'll be playing outdoors with them, concrete courts)

just realised tennis warehouse don't have either anymore? out of stock/stop selling them?

thanks
Click to expand...

It is hard to tell either version of the Marathon apart from the other.
 
M

max pl

Rookie
if you read the description, the extra duty ball is made for hard courts where as the regular ball is, i would assume, made for softer surfaces.

and what are you talking about, they still sell them. the product name doesnt have marathon in it, but the pro penn balls are all marathon balls.
 
finalfantasy7

finalfantasy7

Semi-Pro
max pl said:
if you read the description, the extra duty ball is made for hard courts where as the regular ball is, i would assume, made for softer surfaces.

and what are you talking about, they still sell them. the product name doesnt have marathon in it, but the pro penn balls are all marathon balls.
Click to expand...

ok, when i first looked on tw, i was just scanning with my eyes for marathon.
 
finalfantasy7

finalfantasy7

Semi-Pro
so has anyone outside the u.s bought these (penn marathon), as i want to try these out, but the charging fees from tenniswarehouse are too much + you cant transport these across the pond, due to air pressure- "TE" replied to me.

Any place in U.K/europe sell these, as TE Europe dont, and i ve tried amzon&eb?y/ google searches no luck.
 
Last edited:
SCRAP IRON

SCRAP IRON

Professional
There is no debate when playing on Har-Tru. The Wilson soft court ball is the best. No comparison. I was at a club 10 years ago and I opened up a can of Penn soft court balls just to be nice, and one of my doubles opponents hit them into the bay behind the courts! He immediately opened up a new Wilson can and replied "We don't use Penn balls around here." True story...
 
M

mrags

New User
Buy Marathon balls if want something that is bad for your arm, inconsistent, and hard, but lasts a long time. They should all be dumped in the bay.
 
BHiC

BHiC

Rookie
I voted other, because I couldn't find the option for "every ball that does not say Wilson US Open on it". Absolutely hate those balls, after about 3 games they fluff up and you can't hit a winner to save your life.
 
g4driver

g4driver

Legend
SCRAP IRON said:
There is no debate when playing on Har-Tru. The Wilson soft court ball is the best. No comparison.
Click to expand...

While there's no debate in your mind, I'll take a Penn ATP over any ball Wilson makes on Har-Tru, including those fancy new Wilson Har-Tru balls. Disclaimer: I play with Wilson frames, but their balls are inferior IMO to the Penn ATP on Har-Tru. I played with those Wilson US. Open Regular Duty balls too, before I learned how much better the Penn ATP balls are.

Have you ever tried a regular Duty Penn ATP on Har-Tru? I am not talking about the Walmart version of the Wilson Regular Duty or the standard Penn Regular Duty, but specially the regular duty verison of Penn ATP vs US Open Wilson both on Har-Tru?
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
BHiC said:
I voted other, because I couldn't find the option for "every ball that does not say Wilson US Open on it". Absolutely hate those balls, after about 3 games they fluff up and you can't hit a winner to save your life.
Click to expand...

Have you tried the regular duty balls rather than the extra duty ones? I suspect that you (or whoever you are playing with) hit(s) a lot of fast, low-skidding balls. The only times that I've seen the extra duty balls fluff up significantly by the 2nd set is when playing with someone who hits a lot of fast, flat or underspin, balls.

LafayetteHitter said:
I wish the Prince balls were still available. They were by far my favorite.
Click to expand...

They're baaack! I just noticed that the Prince Tour balls are on the Prince web site again. They were my favorite as well. Has anyone tried this new Prince Tour balls? Are they as good as the previous balls?

It is my understanding that Prince defaulted on payments, when they declared bankruptcy (in 2011/2012?), to the manufacturer of the Prince Tour balls. I believe that Prince had to find someone else to manufacture the resurrected Tour balls. Hopefully the new balls are as good as the old ones.

http://catalog.princetennis.com/Balls.aspx?146=855
 
S

smeags86

New User
Has anyone tried Babolat Championship Ball. Our club just got a case to try for play test. I must say they are quite a bit nicer other balls IVe played. At our indoor hard court club. We usually play us open and occasionally Penn ATP.

The babolat balls play fast if not faster than the penn, without being as hard or as heavy. They feel a similar wAit to the Wilson us open.

Neither my partner or I could return each others serve first set with these balls. Anyone know much about these balls?
 
marco forehand

marco forehand

Semi-Pro
Yes I have tried the newly available Prince Balls, they are as before. My favorites.
Too bad they are no longer middle of the pack in terms of expense. On a per ball basis they are the most expensive (based on buying a case of 24). Another site was offering free shipping (normally not applied to tennis balls) last month so I bought a case.
I had been playing the Babolats. I have a case of them as well. They are a little softer and don't keep their pressure as long.
 
S

struggle

Legend
it sucks to have ***** and the marts as your only place to buy balls around here.

US Opens are cheaper at the club than at Richard's.

guess i need to order some. never done that.

Edit:

I play on indoor hardcourts in winter. They are fairly gritty, not sure the "brand".
I play both regular and extra duty balls at times, but regular duty are noted for
"soft and indoor".

Indoor due to lack of wind? What is it?
 
Last edited:
Overheadsmash

Overheadsmash

Professional
I like Penn ATP regular duty on the har-tru and soft indoor courts, and the heavy duty ones for hard courts.

Wilson US opens last a bit longer, but they always felt harder to me and I don't feel as connected to the ball with the Wilsons, especially when hitting a kick server or something like that.

Anybody else notice that?
 
bruintennis

bruintennis

Semi-Pro
BHiC said:
I voted other, because I couldn't find the option for "every ball that does not say Wilson US Open on it". Absolutely hate those balls, after about 3 games they fluff up and you can't hit a winner to save your life.
Click to expand...

Haha. I feel the same way about the Wilson US Open ball. I feel like when I hit it, the ball doesn't go anywhere and there's a hollow "pop" sound too. I fully agree with your statement that you can't hit a winner to save your life with the US Open ball!
 
B

bobtodd

Rookie
I tried it last week. It played well and kept its bounce. Plays similar to Penn Championship extra duty balls. Note: The X-Ball markings on the ball wore off fast.
 
Fintft

Fintft

G.O.A.T.
tistrapukcipeht said:
I have not been satisfied with Pro Penn Marathon XD at all, they last less than 2 hours, the former Pro Penn lasted more (bounced well for longer), 3-4 hours i'd say. I have had many cans that didn't pass 1:30 mins, they were completely flat. Wilson US Open XD doesn't last that much neither, lower bounce fluffs faster as well. I wish Yonex sold balls, I bet it would be good.

I can see that what they wanted was us to buy more, therefore more profit.

So you guys recommend Dunlop Grand Prix and Slazenger (4 can ball)??
Click to expand...

Slazengers (4 can ball) all the way. More durable and heavier then most, if not anything ready available, imo.
 
H

hray4clay

Rookie
tistrapukcipeht said:
I have not been satisfied with Pro Penn Marathon XD at all, they last less than 2 hours, the former Pro Penn lasted more (bounced well for longer), 3-4 hours i'd say. I have had many cans that didn't pass 1:30 mins, they were completely flat. Wilson US Open XD doesn't last that much neither, lower bounce fluffs faster as well. I wish Yonex sold balls, I bet it would be good.

I can see that what they wanted was us to buy more, therefore more profit.

So you guys recommend Dunlop Grand Prix and Slazenger (4 can ball)??
Click to expand...
I have been absolutely thrilled with the new Penn Marathons (the blue can?). They retain there fuzz and liveliness much much longer than any Wilson except the US Open and they are cheaper than that ball. They are the best new ball on the market in many years!!
 
H

hray4clay

Rookie
AlfaAce said:
ProPenn Marathons are gaining quite a bit of ground but the undisputed champion is still Wilson US Opens. No appreciable price difference between the two, so that's not a factor. Wish Slaz had been in the choices (my bad... hindsight is 20/20). I bet Slaz is the "other" for the most part.
Click to expand...

Here in the "swamp" (Myrtle Beach) Wilson US Open are $4.50 per can. Pro Penn Marathon are $3.49 per can and play just as well if not better than the "other" ball. Those "blue cans" are the best new balls on the market. Durable and lively and the weight is perfect like the Wilson USO and much UNLIKE the standard Wilsons or those horrible Dunlops.OMG
 
AlpineCadet

AlpineCadet

Hall of Fame
Judging by the poll results, I am unsubscribing to the thought of subscribing to this thread.


Unsubscribed for posting.
 
ngoster

ngoster

Semi-Pro
I've only had experience with the Wilson/Penn Championships and Pro Pen Marathon (All XD). For the money, I think the Marathon is the best because they last the longest, meaning that they can be used long after your match as warmup or rally balls. The Championship balls go bald and flat pretty soon after your match.
 
JEDI MASTER

JEDI MASTER

Professional
These are the best ball available...

HERO+WEBSITE+IMAGE+3.jpg
 
Nostradamus

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Are these good as wilson balls ? Also for some reason , Babolat balls disappeared from TW website. Not sure what's up



rs.php
 
JEDI MASTER

JEDI MASTER

Professional
Nostradamus said:
Are these good as wilson balls ? Also for some reason , Babolat balls disappeared from TW website. Not sure what's up



rs.php
Click to expand...

Depend on where they were made... if it's made in Singapore.. should be as good as Wilson..
as most of Wilson Balls are made in Singapore.
 
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