Best balls for fast indoor hard court

[tennisfit45]

I play half the year on fast indoor hard courts (8 layer cushioning) with good juniors (5.5+ level). We used to be able to rally (10+ shots per point). Now the courts were resurfaced and they're even faster meaning that the average rally is no more than 3 or 4 shots.

I'm currently using Dunlop AO. This ball used to fluff up until this year where the new batches don't fluff up at all. I heard that Dunlop ATP Championship and Head Tour XT fluff up a little more which although ordinarily would be a detractor, I'm actually looking for balls that would slow down the super fast surface of the indoor courts.

Any thoughts on which balls I could buy which would slow down the pace despite the very fast surface? I'm based in Europe.

 

[nyta2]

IME any premium ball (regardless of brand) will slow the ball down a tiny bit (because they are usually slightly heavier)... but nothing will slow down so much to counter a fast indoor court. A while ago they used to have the balls that were slightly larger than normal, but don't think that was very popular so haven't seen them in a while.

I have lightning fast courts by me that i play on occasionally... usually play with penn pro marathon extra duty on those courts... but in the end, i need to adjust my footwork & prep to the faster surface, especially on serve.

 

[dr325i]

I play half the year on fast indoor hard courts (8 layer cushioning) with good juniors (5.5+ level). We used to be able to rally (10+ shots per point). Now the courts were resurfaced and they're even faster meaning that the average rally is no more than 3 or 4 shots.

I'm currently using Dunlop AO. This ball used to fluff up until this year where the new batches don't fluff up at all. I heard that Dunlop ATP Championship and Head Tour XT fluff up a little more which although ordinarily would be a detractor, I'm actually looking for balls that would slow down the super fast surface of the indoor courts.

Any thoughts on which balls I could buy which would slow down the pace despite the very fast surface? I'm based in Europe.

I play on fast to medium speed indoor courts a lot and have used Wilson USO XD, Penn Tour XD (same as Head Tour XT), Diadem Premier XD, Wilson Shanghai Masters (official ball) and Dunlop ATP and Dunlop AO.
My favorite is the Shanghai Masters official ball but not easy to get, so...I'd say Diadem Premier is my favorite as it lasts (three 2-hour sessions; my partners and I do average of 50+ shot rallies during practice, 4.5+ level), does not over-fluff and has the right bounce and weight. It is also priced right!
By the way, all of these balls weigh almost the same, although Head/Penn feels the heaviest, Wilson USO is probably my second favorite. Dunlop just has too much fluff and (especially hitting with heavy spinners) can turn into a giant fluff ball that slows down very much

 

[cdik]

Dunlop ATP Championship isn't a good idea for fast courts. It bounces like crazy even on clay.

 

[WYK]

The Wilson Rolland Garros All-Court balls fluff up after a few games and slow down on our very fast synthetic grass courts.
The Forts do slow down dramatically after a few games, though. But geziz are they lively to start.

 

[socallefty]

Dunlop ATP Championship isn't a good idea for fast courts. It bounces like crazy even on clay.

Why is high bounce bad?

 

[tennisfit45]

I play on fast to medium speed indoor courts a lot and have used Wilson USO XD, Penn Tour XD (same as Head Tour XT), Diadem Premier XD, Wilson Shanghai Masters (official ball) and Dunlop ATP and Dunlop AO.
My favorite is the Shanghai Masters official ball but not easy to get, so...I'd say Diadem Premier is my favorite as it lasts (three 2-hour sessions; my partners and I do average of 50+ shot rallies during practice, 4.5+ level), does not over-fluff and has the right bounce and weight. It is also priced right!
By the way, all of these balls weigh almost the same, although Head/Penn feels the heaviest, Wilson USO is probably my second favorite. Dunlop just has too much fluff and (especially hitting with heavy spinners) can turn into a giant fluff ball that slows down very much

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm about to buy a case for my winter tennis (indoor medium fast hard courts - green set). I'm a 47 year old male tennis player training regularly with promising juniors. This past weekend played the best tennis of my life on indoor courts and was using Technifibre Court. I hadn't heard of this ball at all but after 4 hours of play it's still going very strong. It has excellent playability, feel and most importantly makes the court feel like medium pace so rallies can take place (I personally hate fast surfaces or conditions where the point ends in less than 5 shots). In a nutshell: this was a rare find and a very pleasant surprise particularly as I have had tennis elbow in the past and it can sometimes flare up when using harder balls. This was a dream ( note: there is a 15 minute break in period where the balls seem to have a low bounce but after that they really play like a dream).

I'm also going to be testing out the Technifibre Club and compare the two. For hard courts used to use Dunlop AO but their longevity of late has gone down the drain and they play too fast. According to "Tennis Guy" the Technifibre X1 are considered to be the best balls on the market but have a 40 minute break in period where they are initially superfast and hard and then they play very well. As my winter tennis is often 75 min max per session that's a non starter right off the bat!
Will update this reply once I've also tried the Technifibre Club. I'll be also playing my 5th hour with the Technifibre Court on Friday so will hopefully have an update early next week
PS. Never heard of Diadem but may also try that ball. With the Technifibre Court I was also super impressed though with how little tension went into my arm after 2hrs 30 min of solid play! My arm never felt that good with any other ball I've tried.

 

[dr325i]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm about to buy a case for my winter tennis (indoor medium fast hard courts - green set). I'm a 47 year old male tennis player training regularly with promising juniors. This past weekend played the best tennis of my life on indoor courts and was using Technifibre Court. I hadn't heard of this ball at all but after 4 hours of play it's still going very strong. It has excellent playability, feel and most importantly makes the court feel like medium pace so rallies can take place (I personally hate fast surfaces or conditions where the point ends in less than 5 shots). In a nutshell: this was a rare find and a very pleasant surprise particularly as I have had tennis elbow in the past and it can sometimes flare up when using harder balls. This was a dream ( note: there is a 15 minute break in period where the balls seem to have a low bounce but after that they really play like a dream).

I'm also going to be testing out the Technifibre Club and compare the two. For hard courts used to use Dunlop AO but their longevity of late has gone down the drain and they play too fast. According to "Tennis Guy" the Technifibre X1 are considered to be the best balls on the market but have a 40 minute break in period where they are initially superfast and hard and then they play very well. As my winter tennis is often 75 min max per session that's a non starter right off the bat!
Will update this reply once I've also tried the Technifibre Club. I'll be also playing my 5th hour with the Technifibre Court on Friday so will hopefully have an update early next week
PS. Never heard of Diadem but may also try that ball. With the Technifibre Court I was also super impressed though with how little tension went into my arm after 2hrs 30 min of solid play! My arm never felt that good with any other ball I've tried.

Thanks for the heads up on the TF Court. Would love to try them if I can get a few cans instead of the full case.
I was back to Wilson USO because my main hitting partner prefers them. I like them, and they last us about two 2-hour hitting sessions.
When in Florida, I hit with Penn Tour and did not like them at all.

 

[socallefty]

According to "Tennis Guy" the Technifibre X1 are considered to be the best balls on the market but have a 40 minute break in period where they are initially superfast and hard and then they play very well

X1 balls are my favorite ball and I don’t think there is any break-in period as you described. Just plays like any other thick-felt premium ball and it is not as fast as thin-felt championship balls even at the beginning. It takes spin very nicely, fluffs up well and keeps its high bounce for a very long time. It sounds like what you are looking for if you want to slow down the game.

I am surprised that resurfacing made the court faster as usually a new surface has more grit and plays slower. Did they change the kind of hard court surface it is by moving to a different brand?

 

[tennisfit45]

X1 balls are my favorite ball and I don’t think there is any break-in period as you described. Just plays like any other thick-felt premium ball and it is not as fast as thin-felt championship balls even at the beginning. It takes spin very nicely, fluffs up well and keeps its high bounce for a very long time. It sounds like what you are looking for if you want to slow down the game.

I am surprised that resurfacing made the court faster as usually a new surface has more grit and plays slower. Did they change the kind of hard court surface it is by moving to a different brand?

What surface do you play on and what level are you approximately?

Check out Tennis Guy's video on both TF X1 and Club. He's very clear on the break-in period. I played with X1 for 30 minutes on clay (it was a rather hot late afternoon) and they were like bricks ..they killed my arm. Lol!

Honestly the TF Court played like a dream this past weekend on the medium fast indoor hard courts but was just contemplating trying the TF Club ball as well before making a decision (for the reasons I mentioned above I've ruled out TF X1).

 

[socallefty]

What surface do you play on and what level are you approximately?

Check out Tennis Guy's video on both TF X1 and Club. He's very clear on the break-in period. I played with X1 for 30 minutes on clay (it was a rather hot late afternoon) and they were like bricks ..they killed my arm. Lol!

Honestly the TF Court played like a dream this past weekend on the medium fast indoor hard courts but was just contemplating trying the TF Club ball as well before making a decision (for the reasons I mentioned above I've ruled out TF X1).

I play on outdoor medium-fast hard courts. Mostly social tennis against 4.0/4.5 players. @J011yroger recommended X1 balls and I loved it from the start - have gone through 3 cases so far.

You are not supposed to play thick-felt balls on clay as it picks up a lot of the dirt quickly and gets heavy. That’s why they have Regular duty thin-felt balls for clay and Extra Duty thicker-felt balls for hard courts which wear out felt quickly. Premium balls have thicker felt than Championship balls in every brand whether they are RD or XD. X1 balls are meant for hard courts presumably since they have thick felt even though they don’t mark them as XD.

 

[tennisfit45]

Right. Thanks for your thoughts... don't even get me started on clay. After 6 months of trying a myriad of different balls I ended up settling for Dunlop AO. They last 2-3 hours but play well. This year I may try the Dunlop Fort on clay as I've heard good reviews (good playability and longevity which is a difficult combo to get).

For indoor hard courts (I may also use them on outdoor hard courts) I think I'll buy the TF Courts but will first try out the TF Clubs. Will keep you posted.

If you don't mind me asking how old are you? I'm 47.

 

[socallefty]

If you don't mind me asking how old are you? I'm 47.

Mid-fifties who plays tennis every day. Make sure you buy RD balls for clay and XD balls for hard courts. Every ball comes in both flavors typically.