Head ATP tennis ball on artificial grass

[TA87]

Hi everyone,

New member here. I wasn't sure where to post this, but if I can get some responses to help it's appreciated.

The regional league my club plays in (UK) is deciding wether to swap from Slazenger Wimbledon (grass ball) to Head ATP balls (which I believe are designed specifically for hard courts). It's a sponsorhip issue and Head are offering slightly more money, but we are deciding how to vote and we don't want to sacrifice ball quality for a bit of extra cash.
Most teams play on artificial grass, a few on tarmac, a few on shale. I have used the Head ATP balls a few years ago on acrylic and remember them playing well, but also remember trying them at our club (artificial grass) once and recall them being useless on the surface. We get a lot of rain as well and play through it. The Slazenger plays best in rain out of the balls I've used. I'm out injured at the moment so can't try them again and no one at the club seems to have used the balls before.

I personally like the slazenger, though others don't and I want to give some unbiased feedback so we can decide how to vote.

Has anyone else out there used Head ATP on artificial grass? Are they as bad as I remember? How do the balls play in the rain?

Thanks for any replies.

 

[Zoolander]

I stay away from grass like the plague but I love head ATP on hardcourt, the best.

On grass though I know the oldies at my friends club will fight over who gets the slazenger balls like seagulls over a chip. Dont know if you can go wrong with them.

Dont get me started on Wilson balls. Hate them with a passion.

 

[Slapper]

Head ATP balls are relatively heavy. So you might find that they become very heavy and uncomfortable if you use them in the rain.

 

[spun_out]

Are you saying that you have to choose between two types of balls to use at your club but you aren't willing to test them out before committing to one?

 

[TA87]

Are you saying that you have to choose between two types of balls to use at your club but you aren't willing to test them out before committing to one?

I'm injured at the moment so can't try them out. It isn't the club that has to use them, it's the entire regional league. The league has a rule that a certain ball has to be used for fixtures. It's been Slazenger Wimbledon for years, but their deal has lapsed and Head have come in with a better offer. Our club gets one vote. There are twelve other clubs in the league. Other people at our club may test them, but the new season starts in a matter of weeks and people might not get chance. One of the other clubs has handled the deal and sort of thrust it on everyone. I'm trying to confirm if my memory of the ball on artificial grass is right so I can give feedback to our committee so that we can decide how to vote.

 

[letstakeourshirtsoff]

I'm injured at the moment so can't try them out. It isn't the club that has to use them, it's the entire regional league. The league has a rule that a certain ball has to be used for fixtures. It's been Slazenger Wimbledon for years, but their deal has lapsed and Head have come in with a better offer. Our club gets one vote. There are twelve other clubs in the league. Other people at our club may test them, but the new season starts in a matter of weeks and people might not get chance. One of the other clubs has handled the deal and sort of thrust it on everyone. I'm trying to confirm if my memory of the ball on artificial grass is right so I can give feedback to our committee so that we can decide how to vote.

so no matter what you vote, if other clubs playing on hard decide they want the atp head you're out of luck on art grass?

 

[TA87]

so no matter what you vote, if other clubs playing on hard decide they want the atp head you're out of luck on art grass?

12 clubs: 7 artificial, 3 tarmac, 2 shale if my memory is correct. I'm just hoping the other clubs know what the ball plays like and don't just vote for more money. It's why I want to send them all an email with unbiased feedback. It's one of the tarmac clubs that has got the deal in place and is trying to push it through quickly. The person who runs that club also plays at an indoor facility with hard courts and is using the argument 'if they are good enough for the atp masters' they are good enough for us.

 

[Dags]

My experience of Head ATP is that they're good for about a set, after which they've had the stuffing knocked out of them and are a horrible ball. Which I always found quite strange, because the budget Head balls (Radical, Championship, Instinct and the like) are little arm-wrecking rocks. This is regardless of surface.

The person who runs that club also plays at an indoor facility with hard courts and is using the argument 'if they are good enough for the atp masters' they are good enough for us.

The counter arguments to that are:

- Branding does not mean that these are necessarily the same balls used in professional tournaments.
- Even if they are the same ball, pros at that level get six balls every nine games. For which I refer you to my previous observation about the balls lasting about a set.