Tennis ball from big box stores vs specialty stores

[Pctopcool]

Hi,

Does anyone know if there is any difference between seemingly same tennis balls sold in big box stores and specialty stores?

For example Dunlop ATP championship cost $2.17 a can from big W. But in TW, a 24-can case cost $60 plus shipping. Even with occasional free shipping deal, it still ends up $2.5 per can if you buy 24 cans at once.

I vaguely remember someone mentioned they're not exactly the same balls, even the names are the same. Just wondering if this is true.

Thanks

 

[blablavla]

Hi,

Does anyone know if there is any difference between seemingly same tennis balls sold in big box stores and specialty stores?

For example Dunlop ATP championship cost $2.17 a can from big W. But in TW, a 24-can case cost $60 plus shipping. Even with occasional free shipping deal, it still ends up $2.5 per can if you buy 24 cans at once.

I vaguely remember someone mentioned they're not exactly the same balls, even the names are the same. Just wondering if this is true.

Thanks

if the name is same should be same product, otherwise the manufacturer is working against own brand name

 

[esgee48]

Penn XD Championship Black Label are the same. So are the Wilson XD balls. Sometimes the Big Box stores use these as loss leaders since they are still more expensive then the same balls from Costco. You won't find premium balls there tho.

 

[shadow01]

I have bought the Dunlop atp championship balls from the store you mentioned as well as from tw - imo the same. Also one of my favorite balls for the price and even otherwise. I posted a couple of thoughts on it comparing to the more expensive atp balls if you want to find those posts. In summary - I will be using both but atp championship much more often than atp.

 

[Humbi_HTX]

There is no difference, they are the same product. These are the best price I have found locally at different stores.

Wilson Ti for right under $2
Dunlop championship under $2.25
Wilson/Penn championship under $2.50
Babolat championship $2.5
Technifibre championship $3
Penn Tour $3.5

 

[socallefty]

Sometimes, the big box stores buy a huge inventory of balls and it stays in their stock for too long as they are not frequented by a lot of tennis players - so, they are low pressure when you open them and bounce less over time. If I buy balls from a local pro store or online, I don’t run into this problem as much. So, buyer beware.

 

[shadow01]

There is no difference, they are the same product. These are the best price I have found locally at different stores.

Wilson Ti for right under $2
Dunlop championship under $2.25
Wilson/Penn championship under $2.50
Babolat championship $2.5
Technifibre championship $3
Penn Tour $3.5

yeah. My thoughts on those:
Ti - too bouncy and get squishy but good for an hour
Dunlop championship- my fav of the group. Play well - feels good when striking the ball - last at least a couple of days
Wilson championship- second favorite
Penn championship- do not like these balls. Too hard, go dead fast
Babolat - haven’t tried
Technifibre - haven’t tried
Penn tour - meh, they are okay - bounce well and last but are hard.

 

[shadow01]

Sometimes, the big box stores buy a huge inventory of balls and it stays in their stock for too long as they are not frequented by a lot of tennis players - so, they are low pressure when you open them and bounce less over time. If I buy balls from a local pro store or online, I don’t run into this problem as much. So, buyer beware.

I’ve seen this so many times with the penn xd championship from Cost.. when friends bring those balls to play with - I just offer to use mine.

 

[HitMoreBHs]

There is no difference, they are the same product. These are the best price I have found locally at different stores.

Wilson Ti for right under $2
Dunlop championship under $2.25
Wilson/Penn championship under $2.50
Babolat championship $2.5
Technifibre championship $3
Penn Tour $3.5

Talk about a punch in the gut! Across the pond in the UK, we pay around U$6 per 4-ball can of premium balls like the Penn (HEAD) Tour, Dunlop ATP Championship, Wilson US Open etc. That’s the bulk price. Single purchases can be as high as U$8! Talk about getting mugged.

It’s no wonder that in UK tennis clubs, recreational players typically show up with a worn out can of flat balls. Since I use a set of new balls for no more than 2hrs play on outdoor hard courts and 4hrs on indoor carpets, I used to leave my ball cans (HEAD Tour) by the courtside chairs rather than throw them in the bin at the end of play. Inevitably, the next players coming on would “acquire” them since they were usually in far better shape than anything they had on them. I don’t do this anymore due to ‘Rona.

 

[Humbi_HTX]

The only 4-ball/can I find locally are Dunlop Ace can be found for $3 for 4-ball can, but I would rather just use Dunlop Championship in 3-ball cans.

Most premium balls like Wilson USO, Dunlop AO, Babolat, ProPenn Marathon... can be found for $4/can.

I have come to like Technifibre championship at $3/can and last just as long as the $4 options.

 

[shadow01]

I wish we had 4 ball cans. I usually end up using 2 cans (6 balls) because 3 doesn’t seem like enough for efficient play. 4 seems to make sense - you can be easily ready for at least 2 points. And 4 or more if no double faults. When using 6 - at least 1 or 2 are used less often than the other 4.

 

[Downtheline1]

I find Penn tennis balls with the black label (from Costco or elsewhere) are too light.

The Penn balls do work really well on slice serves though.

 

[socallefty]

I wish we had 4 ball cans. I usually end up using 2 cans (6 balls) because 3 doesn’t seem like enough for efficient play. 4 seems to make sense - you can be easily ready for at least 2 points. And 4 or more if no double faults. When using 6 - at least 1 or 2 are used less often than the other 4.

Just google ‘4-ball can tennis‘ and you’ll find online retailers who sell them in the US. I buy cases of 4-ball cans of Penn Tour balls sometimes - a case of 18 cans costs the same as 24 3-ball cans.