Pressureless balls

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
Tried these back in the 70s.

They felt like rocks.

I'd say avoid them if you have any arm issues.
 

Cobaine

Semi-Pro
Tretorn Micro X are pretty nice for a pressureless ball. I use them in my ball machine and for serving practice. They are a bit harder than regular balls, so I don't play matches with them, but they work great for the applications above.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Tennis ball questions are normally posted in the Other Equipment forum: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16

What do you mean by this?

A pressureless ball relies solely on its core (rather than pressurized air) for its bounce. Due to its construction, it will have a much stiffer feel than a pressurized ball. In fact, the feel is so stiff/harsh, many people mistakenly believe that the ball is actually heavier. It is not.

When a pressureless ball hits your strings it probably generates more impact shock (than a standard ball) that it transmitted through your frame to your hand and arm. If this shock is too great it can put added stress to your wrist, elbow or other parts on your arm & shoulder. Those with TE (tennis elbow) or other arm/shoulder problems typically hate pressureless balls. I'm not certain, but it is possible that these balls can contribute to developing arm issues.
 

PMChambers

Hall of Fame
Pressureless balls are opposite to pressured, they play better the older they get. They start out harder and go through a court faster but become closer to a new ball with age. The Treton are good for consistent bounce, I have some no-brand that play well but the seam where they join is a touch thicker than elsewhere and can result in uneven bounce, I prefer this as it means the ball machine is not too consistent, and it's only a slight variation in movement. Mine are all about 1 year old and going good.
 

Disputaciones

New User
Pressureless balls are opposite to pressured, they play better the older they get. They start out harder and go through a court faster but become closer to a new ball with age. The Treton are good for consistent bounce, I have some no-brand that play well but the seam where they join is a touch thicker than elsewhere and can result in uneven bounce, I prefer this as it means the ball machine is not too consistent, and it's only a slight variation in movement. Mine are all about 1 year old and going good.

You mean the more worn and spent they get the better they will feel?

Someone gave me as a gift a Penn bag of 18 of these pressure less balls; I didn't even know they existed before that.

I thought "might as well try them out".

I've been using only new ones from the bag and avoiding the sort of worn ones because I thought they would be better new, but now that you say they play better when they get old, I will try the old ones again.
 

PMChambers

Hall of Fame
Pressureless balls have a thicker (not longer) felt, as they are designed to last more than 9 games. It takes a while to wear it down but they eventually end up closer to the feel of a fresh pressure ball. Would not surprise me if the rubber become less hard as well so the rubber bonds break down, they aren't as rigid.

They are not really designed for normal play, mainly for ball machines which destroy pressure balls and high altitudes where pressure balls have issues due to the pressure differential, pressure balls tend to fly at high altitudes (low atmospheric pressures), theoretically you should use lower pressure balls at high altitudes of thicker felt to increase mass. Not sure if this happens, I never seen them if they exist.
 
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