Best Tennis Ball Brand

What is the best tennis ball? Please note specific type of ball in the comments (Penn Championship)

  • Penn/Head

    Votes: 18 10.2%
  • Wilson

    Votes: 54 30.7%
  • Dunlop

    Votes: 60 34.1%
  • Babolat

    Votes: 10 5.7%
  • Yonex

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • Tecnifibre

    Votes: 17 9.7%
  • Gamma

    Votes: 1 0.6%
  • Slazenger

    Votes: 6 3.4%
  • Diadem

    Votes: 7 4.0%

  • Total voters
    176

Khanh PV

New User
I agree the Dunlop AO seem to fluff pretty easy. So if that slows the ball down are pros complaining they have to put more energy into the ball and hence more strain?
Penn Tour balls do get fluffy but not as fast as AOs.

Last time I played with Trniniti (when they first came out), I didn't find them soft at all. Weird.
I find that AO balls even when fluffy they are still fast. Maybe they have low bounce so the current pros who are mostly brainless ball bashers must increase swingspeed to gain more topspin and therefore are more prone to wrist pain. Plus harder stringbeds and stiffer rackets, it is a combo of arm and wrist destruction.
 
L

lazyfootwork

Guest
I have a case of penn tour xd that have lived in my car since late summer. The last three cans have all been the source of complaints for lack of bounce. The last can in particular was basically unplayable with how low they stayed. I’ve been getting differing opinions about if keeping them in my car during the cold winter months would have caused this or not.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
I have a case of penn tour xd that have lived in my car since late summer. The last three cans have all been the source of complaints for lack of bounce. The last can in particular was basically unplayable with how low they stayed. I’ve been getting differing opinions about if keeping them in my car during the cold winter months would have caused this or not.
You are subjecting the case of balls to all kinds of temperature and humidity/pressure variations. Just keep it indoors.
 
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Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
I guess it would be useful to divide the discussion between tournament tennis ball performance (1-2hrs use), of which a lot can be said, and typical amateur usage. I hope to get about 6-8hrs out of a can if possible, and thereafter, used balls go into my serving practice bucket. With that latter category in mind, I have found that Dunlop Fort All Court last the longest with very consistent and high bounce. Most other balls either loose a lot of bounce, or become bald, whereas, the Fort retains its felt and decent fast and high bounce for years. So for me their slightly heavy feeling at first is worth it. The other Philippines made balls like Dunlop AO, ATP, Slazenger Wimbledons are fairly similar and perhaps a bit nicer straight out of the can, but they lose their felt more over the longer run.
 
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Robert F

Hall of Fame
I guess it would be useful to divide the discussion between tournament tennis ball performance (1-2hrs use), of which a lot can be said, and typical amateur usage. I hope to get about 6-8hrs out of a can if possible, and thereafter, used balls go into my serving practice bucket. With that latter category in mind, I have found that Dunlop Fort All Court last the longest with very consistent and high bounce. Most other balls either loose a lot of bounce, or become bald, whereas, the Fort retains its felt and decent fast and high bounce for years. So for me their slightly heavy feeling at first is worth it. The other Philippines made balls like Dunlop AO, ATP, Slazenger Wimbledons are fairly similar and perhaps a bit nicer straight out of the can, but they lose their felt more over the longer run.
Maybe we should find out where all the balls are produced? Then the answer might be best ball producing country?

For me I'm happy playing sets with ProPenn plus they last long for a good practice ball.
Penn Tour and Wilson US Opens not so good.
Agree the Dunlop Fort All Court is another good ball that is great for play and pretty solid afterwards for practice too.

I'll use the Dunlop ATP Championship to play, but they defintiely are not as solid.
 

silentkman

Hall of Fame
My pick is the Wilson US Opens for the consistent bounce and a little weight. The case i purchased last year was a bit fluffy. This years case is not fluffy at all.
 
Dunlops higher end balls are no longer produced in the Philippines. Every case I’ve gotten in the last 1-2 years is from Thailand. Thailand has also been the origin for other high end balls I’ve played recently like the ones from TF

There was also export data showing that post COVID, Philippine exports of balls dropped dramatically. There’s way more ball production happening in Thailand now. Might also explain the similarity between a lot of the balls
 

Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
Dunlops higher end balls are no longer produced in the Philippines. Every case I’ve gotten in the last 1-2 years is from Thailand. Thailand has also been the origin for other high end balls I’ve played recently like the ones from TF

There was also export data showing that post COVID, Philippine exports of balls dropped dramatically. There’s way more ball production happening in Thailand now. Might also explain the similarity between a lot of the balls

The AOs I bought last week are from the Philippines.
 
The AOs I bought last week are from the Philippines.

They do still have production in both locations so my “no longer” statement isn’t really accurate. My friend owns a shop and all the top tier Dunlops he gets are from Thailand and the lower end are always Philippines, so I wonder how they ramp or bias production based on certain factors like destination market, etc. Interestingly, one of the larger production facilities in Thailand was a joint Bridgestone/Tecnfibre venture but was actually sold to Yonex in 2021.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
I really like the case of Tecnifibre X1 balls I bought recently and they have superseded my previous favorite ProPenn XD as they retain their bounce longer and don’t fluff up as quickly. Also no bad low-pressure cans in the case so far compared to the 2-3 cans per case I’ve been seeing from ProPenn lately. The only downside is that the TF ball case costs $25 more than a case of ProPenn - also the case has 18 4-ball cans instead of the 24 3-ball ProPenn cans. So, per match it is a lot more expensive,
 

CostarreraGT

New User
My personal favorite is the Slazenger Wimbledon ball. It dies out quickly, but when fresh it enables you to impart immense amounts of spin and exert unrivaled control and placement while taking massive cuts at the ball. Very arm friendly as well. At the end of the day, I'm a precision all-court player, using a weighted up pro staff v13, so this ball plays into my game very well.

Objectively though, because most people will find the Wimbledon ball a bit too slow and really not durable, I would say Dunlop (Fort, ATP) are the best balls on the market, Tecnifibre (X-One) is top class too, and lastly I have to disagree with people stating the Wilson US Open is a gold standard. It is rock hard rubbish to me, difficult to control especially on volleys. Wilson does make a very good ball though and that is the Tour Premier (aka the updated ex-AO ball). It has a premium plush feel and surprisingly good durability for such a premium ball.
 

Robert F

Hall of Fame
For me US Opens are gold standard if you are changing them every set. The Diadem and ProPenn start out great, drop a little but then last a long time.
US Opens are great for a set, OK for the rest of a match but useless after 2 hours of play. Bad ball to have in a hopper.
 

vandre

Hall of Fame
even though i have heard numerous stories about a drop in quality and despite witnessing several defective balls at our futures tournament, i still cast my vote for my beloved, the venerable wilson u.s. open...the heart wants what it wants...
 

2ndServe

Hall of Fame
Pretty sure the Dunlop Grand Prix Extra Duty is best. Good bounce, almost never get a bad ball, don’t fluff up, good weight, retain their bounce better than any ball, retain their felt better than any ball imo.
 

ClaudTT

Semi-Pro
The new batches of W US Open (black can) are terrible, they last ONE (1) set of singles at most... very little felt left. And I am talking Intermediate amateur men, NOT even College players.
It is robbery at the prices we are paying these balls... PennPro seems to go a little, yes just little longer, so equally bad.
I don't have a preferred ball anylonger... looking for some 'newcomer' company to brake the monopoly of the broken market.

Add to the list of the 'things' that are killing Tennis...
 

DonutBoy1128

Semi-Pro
Dunlop fort balls play well, and this may be controversial, but i feel like wimbledon balls on hard are actually really fun, they're slow and allowws a big swing. US open balls are sorta low quality tho, they last for less than a set sometimes
 

Robert F

Hall of Fame
The new batches of W US Open (black can) are terrible, they last ONE (1) set of singles at most... very little felt left. And I am talking Intermediate amateur men, NOT even College players.
It is robbery at the prices we are paying these balls... PennPro seems to go a little, yes just little longer, so equally bad.
I don't have a preferred ball anylonger... looking for some 'newcomer' company to brake the monopoly of the broken market.

Add to the list of the 'things' that are killing Tennis...
From a value perspective that is why I've become a fan of Dunlop Balls. I still feel ProPenns are a better ball especially in duration.
But even the Dunlop Championship ball is decent for one session and is $30 cheaper a case. Or go with the Grand Prix which is just $10 more.

For a 24 case:
ProPenn $110 or $4.58 a can
Dunlop Championship $80 or $3.33 a can
Dunlop Grand Prix $90 or $3.75 a can
Dunlop Atp Tour $100 or $4.16 a can

So depending on how you like to use them a Championship or Grand Prix might be a better choice value wise. If you use balls over and over again, I'd probably stikc with the ProPenn because you'll get your value out of them and for some level of practice might be OK for 2-4 sessions. With the Dunlops for practice I feel they are good for 2, maybe 3 at most. But, if you are a guy that uses balls only once, the quality of playability of the ProPenn over the cheaper balls is not as relevant. Yeah the Penns might be a little better at the end of your session but you are at the end and going to dump the ball anyways.
 

Khanh PV

New User
From a value perspective that is why I've become a fan of Dunlop Balls. I still feel ProPenns are a better ball especially in duration.
But even the Dunlop Championship ball is decent for one session and is $30 cheaper a case. Or go with the Grand Prix which is just $10 more.

For a 24 case:
ProPenn $110 or $4.58 a can
Dunlop Championship $80 or $3.33 a can
Dunlop Grand Prix $90 or $3.75 a can
Dunlop Atp Tour $100 or $4.16 a can

So depending on how you like to use them a Championship or Grand Prix might be a better choice value wise. If you use balls over and over again, I'd probably stikc with the ProPenn because you'll get your value out of them and for some level of practice might be OK for 2-4 sessions. With the Dunlops for practice I feel they are good for 2, maybe 3 at most. But, if you are a guy that uses balls only once, the quality of playability of the ProPenn over the cheaper balls is not as relevant. Yeah the Penns might be a little better at the end of your session but you are at the end and going to dump the ball anyways.
Do you know which the Head version of ProPenn is?
 

Robert F

Hall of Fame
looking at the packaging and pricing I think the Head Pro is the ProPenn and the Head Tour would be the Penn Tour.
Tours are OK, I find them a little soft but they do last long. Not as lively to start.
 

Rysty

Rookie
For those that haven't tried Technifiber X-One, give it a try and let me know what you think. Right now, it is my #1, followed by Wilson US Open, and Penn Tour. For some reason, Penn Marathon hasn't been as good feeling for me. The US Open and Penn Tour fluff when they get old. I suppose I prefer that to thinning.

Technifiber X-One is sort of alone and different from the others. It is a premium ball and supposedly has a more full woven felt instead of just hairs glued on. It results in a slightly slicker ball off the strings, but it maintains its quality longer. It tends more towards thinning than fluffing, though it has a bit of both. It stays fast for longer and stays more consistent than most other balls. You really can get another use or two out of the ball, and it seems to take longer to depressurize.

I also sometimes repressurize balls, which makes premium balls entirely worth it from a value standpoint. Playing a nicer premium ball with longer lasting felt makes up for the relative expense of the balls when you can repressurize them to spec and get several good rounds with them.
I also liked TF X-1 for years, but heard very sad news lately. The last batches have been clearly worse than before. They don't last long any more. The guys at my club who bought them, suspected that TF has started to save on materials, so the ball loses its bounce fast.

On topic: I tried Head Tour XT and it was very good.
 

gioca

New User
I'm delighted with the Diadem Premier Regular Duty case that I've been working through. Great on both har-tru and hard courts. They maintain bounce and felt for a few play sessions and are useful as practice balls for weeks after that.

I really don't get the popularity of Wilson US Opens. They lose their bounce within a set, they get comically fluffy when there's any moisture, and they shed felt like crazy.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
I also liked TF X-1 for years, but heard very sad news lately. The last batches have been clearly worse than before. They don't last long any more. The guys at my club who bought them, suspected that TF has started to save on materials, so the ball loses its bounce fast.

On topic: I tried Head Tour XT and it was very good.
I had the opposite experience with X1 balls. I’ve bought two cases this year and they have been fantastic in every way.
 

slchsu

Rookie
TF X-1 and Head Tour XT have been my go-to balls for many years now. There seemed to be a change/drop in quality and feel at the start of the pandemic (maybe due to sudden pandemic-related changes in suppliers and manufacturers?) but in my experience both have returned to their pre-pandemic quality. Just wish the prices would also go back to their former levels!
 

braxeyez

Rookie
I wrote this on another thread... Tecnifibre X-one are simply the best tennis balls. They are the only ones that I can use more than 4h of hard play, I can use them even 6-7h because they don't lose their felt, the bounce is constant, they keep their volume, just great. And also cheaper than the competition. Unbelievable. First 30 minutes are a bit hard, that is the only objection, if it is an objection...

Other ones that are available to me (Dunlop ATP/Fort/AO, Wilson RG/US open, Babolat Clay/Team, Head Tour/XT) are unplayable to me after 3h, I put them in a basket for serve training or I give them to friends who have dogs.

I play mostly on clay courts, hit extreme top spin on both wings.
 

AndrewUtz

Semi-Pro
I love my AO balls, they fluff up, are slow, and last a long time and maintain their fluff. Very consistent from tube to tube.
 

Better_Call_Raul

Hall of Fame
For me US Opens are gold standard if you are changing them every set. The Diadem and ProPenn start out great, drop a little but then last a long time.
US Opens are great for a set, OK for the rest of a match but useless after 2 hours of play. Bad ball to have in a hopper.

I'm liking the Wilson Championship Xtra Duty. As good as the more expensive Wilson U.S Open.

Never seen anyone change every set. That was unheard of even during the days when balls were much cheaper.
.
 

ichaseballs

Professional
I have seen people complain about the new ProPenn balls being too hard. (updated packaging)
Any insight from those that have been using propenns before and after? same thing?

I stopped using the Wilson USO balls because I found the cans to be inconsistent.

These are the 2 premium options in the US. They are charging us more but making crappier balls.
 

LOBALOT

Legend
I really think this thread and poll need to be reset/start from scratch. While it was true prior to pandemic there was no ball like the US Opens after the pandemic I don't think that is the case as their quality has gone downhill. I actually prefer the Penn Marathon Extra Duty Ball to the US Open Extra Duty now.
 

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
Best ball IMHO for the past 8 yrs are Babolat. Period! Performed, bounced better two days later than any ball just opened. Diadem were good too. Just do not see them often
 

Robert F

Hall of Fame
I'm liking the Wilson Championship Xtra Duty. As good as the more expensive Wilson U.S Open.

Never seen anyone change every set. That was unheard of even during the days when balls were much cheaper.
.
Exactly the problem with US Opens.
We played with a can today and after the 1st set, bounce was still decent but the felt was worn out.
 

Robert F

Hall of Fame
I have seen people complain about the new ProPenn balls being too hard. (updated packaging)
Any insight from those that have been using propenns before and after? same thing?

I stopped using the Wilson USO balls because I found the cans to be inconsistent.

These are the 2 premium options in the US. They are charging us more but making crappier balls
We've played with a case of ProPenns in the new recycle friendly packaging.
I really found them to be good as in the past. Maybe a little stiffer out of the can, but seems to be fine once we are doing warming up.
 

Westerwick

Rookie
Best ball IMHO for the past 8 yrs are Babolat. Period! Performed, bounced better two days later than any ball just opened. Diadem were good too. Just do not see them often
Agree with on both of those. For those of us at high altitude, you can throw out most of the answers--almost need another survey. Both the Babolat and Diadem have excellent high altitude balls. Very difficult to find good ones in most other brands. Seems some of the manufacturers go for the big swath of the market, and leave the less than 10% high altitude portion to someone else.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
ProPenn is good as ever, but you might find 2-3 low pressure cans in a case. But the only ball I prefer over it is Tecnifibre X1 which is 20% more expensive for a case.
 

Fintft

G.O.A.T.
Dunlop fort balls play well, and this may be controversial, but i feel like wimbledon balls on hard are actually really fun, they're slow and allowws a big swing. US open balls are sorta low quality tho, they last for less than a set sometimes
Dunlop Fort Clay are the best on clay (but very expensive to ship them from UK), lighter than Slazenger Wimbledon balls that I used to love when I played on hard courts (again hard to find in North America now).
 

silentkman

Hall of Fame
Exactly the problem with US Opens.
We played with a can today and after the 1st set, bounce was still decent but the felt was worn out.
I've been playing with the USO fro the past five years. Always a consistent bounce, occasionally a bit fluffy. I just purchased another case for league play.
 
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