Best Tennis Ball for Practicing Serve Need Not Be Expensive
| November 21, 2011 | Posted by Steve under Tennis Balls |
Tennis is exceedingly a game of skill, with a modern tennis ball being served much faster than a baseball can be pitched. Like a curved or spinning baseball, however, a tennis ball served with spins can confuse an opponent, thereby helping define mastery of the game. To acquire that kind of mastery in the serve department requires practice, practice, and yet more practice. That is when balls might be evaluated as to their effectiveness for developing better serving skills. Moreover, it may very well be that the best tennis ball for practicing serve techniques is a highly personal choice.
Indeed, with the many innovations to tennis balls over a long history, it is safe to say that most will suffice well enough for serving practice, a few tips kept in mind. First, balls should be chosen for the type of court one will be playing on. While the container that houses the balls will identify them as regular, or extra-duty, it is good to know what these labels mean.
Regular Duty and Extra Duty Balls
When balls are designated as regular duty, they are best used for indoor or clay courts, while the thicker, extra-duty ones are made for grass courts and competition courts. As the latter become too fuzzy on clay courts, they would not be advisable for practicing serves there, assuming that practicing on clay courts precedes playing on them, as well. There are also high-altitude balls that have lower air pressure than the others because standard pressure balls bounce too high when used at elevations where the overall atmospheric air pressure is reduced. Thus, for serving practice it is best to use balls that are geared not only to the practice court, but sensibly to the type of court one will mostly be playing matches on.
Practice balls need not be expensive, though, and there is no reason to compromise one’s budget just to practice. While the costlier balls are more durable and longer lasting, the most important thing when trying to save money is to find the least expensive balls for practice purposes that will bounce similarly to the best available for the same court or atmospheric conditions.
While regular tennis balls, available in the aforementioned regular or extra-duty varieties, are most economical, strive for the same performance quality that the more expensive championship or professional balls deliver. Regular balls of different duty levels and pressures can usually be found in big box stores as well as specialty or sporting goods stores. If wanting to try out championship and, the even more expensive, professional balls sold by tennis or sporting goods shops to determine their bounce and contribution to quality serving , here is a tip: the budget-conscious can sometimes find bargain priced ones that have cosmetic blemishes, like blurred ball numbers or company names. Professional or championship quality and durability remain intact.
Thus when it comes to tennis, the old adage that practice makes perfect is particularly true, especially with serving. When practicing one’s serve close to desired peak performance time, it is advisable to use the same balls that will be used in matches. The rest of the time, practice with budget-respecting substitutes will do just fine.
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