Is there still any good tennis balls out there that don't break the bank? I switched to costco penn balls since the pandemic because everything else is expensive as hell, but even those are close to $3 a can now. What do everyone play with nowadays? Have you found one with a good cost-performance, or how do you justify the higher costs of the premium balls?
Budget tennis balls in 2023?
- Thread starter fieryoOo
- Start date
Purestriker
Legend
The "premium" tennis balls are far superior to those Penns. The felt lasts more than 4 games and the bounce is consistent through at least two sets.
Maybe I don't hit the ball as hard or with as much spin. I find the penn balls to play fine for a full 2hrs session. UO/AO/propenn seem to play a bit longer, but certainly not two times longer for me.
cks
Hall of Fame
My current favorites are Wilson US Open XD, Dunlop ATP XD, and Diadem Premier XD.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Dunlop Gran Prix have better seams than ATP’s I believe. But they’re less durable.
Technifibre X-One balls are the best overall but they’re not cheap. They do come in a 4-ball can though.
Technifibre X-One balls are the best overall but they’re not cheap. They do come in a 4-ball can though.
cks
Hall of Fame
I need to try out a can. One of the guys I play doubles with likes to use these balls.
I used to like the old version of the Grand Prix but the last time I tried the new ones (two years ago?) they felt mediocre at best...
celito
Professional
Nope. Anything decent is $4.50 and higher. If you buy a box of 24 you might get just under $4 per can. Back in May I got Dunlop ATP for $3.85 on a case of 24.
It's $100 per case everywhere now..
I'd agree with that at the pre-pandemic prices, but it doesn't seem to be the case for me anymore. Regular penn plays fine for about two sets + one practice session. So pro penn would need to last four sets + two practice session to worth the money. Not sure if I'd want to use any balls for two matches lol.
The big factor is how dirty the court is you play on. A dirty court will ruin a premium ball pretty fast too.
I have a Corny Keg, so I'll re-pressurize balls and use them again, at least for hitting sessions.
celito
Professional
I got it just under $100 from my local shop.
I haven't found any good balls at a reasonable price lately. I just decided to grab a Costco case and never plan on using them more than one doubles match. I know they won't be great, but at $2.25/can, they're noticably cheaper than anything else I can easily get a hold of. Hoping they'll be good enough.
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
In the US, I’m always used to a new can being used for matches and then using the old balls for practice. Premium Penns (ProPenn or Tour) last a full 3-set match without the bounce getting too low. Championship balls from most brands are low bouncing by the second set in singles and 3rd set in doubles.
Yeah that's the problem with premium balls: It's quite frustrating when they don't meet expectation. Costco balls never disappoints. Low cost = low expectation.
$45 for 20 cans at my local Costco
Winners or Errors
Legend
12 Penn Championship cans for $33 at the local Wal-Mart. That's $66 a case.
stapletonj
Hall of Fame
I have bought a few of those. Lately, the quality seems to be sinking lower and lower.
Yesterday I popped 2 cans for 2 courts of mens doubles.
2 of the 6 balls became fluff monsters during the warmup.
We pulled them and agreed to play with just 4 balls.
Made it through 2 hours, but the balls were dying (or was it our 55+ arms?) as we were finishing.....
Winners or Errors
Legend
Yeah, Marathons are looking better and better.
Local shop? It is $110 a case on their website
cks
Hall of Fame
I bought a case on their website of Diadem Premier for $93 using a discount code. $70 seems like a steal.
cks
Hall of Fame
Ian with Essential Tennis.
I'm subscribe to some of his services, and he sent out an email with a one day discount code to buy anything from Diadem. I picked up a case of balls using the discount code.
Curtennis
Hall of Fame
I'm thinking about just going regular Penn route. Its what I end up getting for USTA/Organized match play 8 out of 10 times and they play so different (worse) than a premium ball, that maybe I should just be getting used to them.
$70 shipped or picked up from America's biggest brick and mortar retail giant makes it pretty easy too. Maybe they even have coupon codes... no idea.
$70 shipped or picked up from America's biggest brick and mortar retail giant makes it pretty easy too. Maybe they even have coupon codes... no idea.
that would have been a sick deal... would have bought 2x 3-case bundles... might have even considered the 12 case bundle
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Don’t give in to tennis ball mediocracy. Save your Pennies and play with quality top shelf balls.
Standard balls were $2/can in the mid 80s. Prices haven’t really gone up much. Quality has dropped some, but price hasn’t kept up with other products vs inflation.
I much prefer premium balls, almost any brand is ok at the higher price point. Definitely look for deals and buy cases ahead of time to save some money.
I much prefer premium balls, almost any brand is ok at the higher price point. Definitely look for deals and buy cases ahead of time to save some money.
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
This was through the Coaching program deal, although, you can still get the regular deal at $90 per case. Same production line as Wilson US Open XD. IMO, lasts longer and less fuzz.
They had a deal for $60/case that I missed. Nevertheless, got me a 3-case deal for $210 and free shipping
cluelesseddy
New User
Regular or extra duty?
Got some cans of regular duty and they lost pressure after 2 sets. There was a open can of Robin Soderling white in my bag that have been there for 3 weeks that had more pressure than those Diadems
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
XD. They are amazing, if you like USO XD
