7 Best Tennis Balls for Your Game in 2024

They may all look the same — small, yellow, and fluffy — but there’s more to tennis balls than meets the eye. Depending on where you are, what type of court you are playing on, what level you are playing at, and what your needs are, the right can of tennis balls can make a big impact on your game. So how do you know which small, yellow, and fluffy tennis balls to buy? Our guide to the best tennis balls makes it easy to decide which one is best for you. 

Our Top Picks

A Closer Look: Best Tennis Balls

Now we will get into the details of each of the balls on our Top Picks list. You can find specs and customer feedback in this section below.

If you’re looking for a good quality tennis ball that can play well on most surfaces, will last a long time, and won’t cost an arm and a leg, Wilson Championship Extra Duty is the right choice for you. Wilson uses Dura-Weave technology to make the felt on its tennis balls more durable and resistant to abrasive court surfaces.

The result? These tennis balls might cost a little more than the bargain basement variety but they will more than make up for it in longevity and overall quality making it our top pick for the best tennis balls.

Dog toys, laundry fluffer uppers, massagers for the hard to reach spots — tennis balls might be the most versatile piece of sporting equipment. And because they are used for so many things besides tennis, cheap tennis balls can end up being pretty bad for playing tennis with. So what do you do if you’re looking for a cheap tennis ball that’s actually good for playing tennis with? Choose Penn Championship Extra Duty tennis balls.

These are not only affordable, but they are the one of the best selling tennis balls on Amazon and Walmart earning 4.6 out of 5 stars. Excellent for hard courts, these balls have a shorter lifespan than other balls. Reviewers tend to agree that these balls last between one match to a month so if you are an infrequent player looking for a good deal these they might be the right choice for you.

Wilson’s Triniti Tennis Ball is an answer to players who want to reduce their environmental impact, and save themselves the hassle and cost of frequently buying new balls. Tennis balls are the perishable foods of the sporting goods family. Because they come in pressurized cans to help them maintain their bounce, they start losing pressure from the moment you open the can. And the more they are used, the quicker they lose pressure. These factors result in tennis balls losing their “bounce” and players need to replace “dead” balls frequently. Their short lifespan causes tennis balls and their plastic containers to pile up in landfills.

Wilson Triniti’s qualifications? They come in a fully recyclable container, the core uses proprietary plastomer materials that helps maintain the balls bounce over longer periods of time, and the STR felt is more durable than other felts so the balls still feel fresh after several matches.

One reviewer said that these tennis balls are “the best. I am on my 15th time playing with these balls and they are bouncing as if I just took them out of their environmental container.” They might cost a little more than your average tennis ball, but the longevity of use can help save you some money and our planet some waste in the long run.

The type of court you play on can have a big impact on how tennis balls bounce. Some play fast, some slow, some cause the ball to bounce high, others low. Hard courts are the Goldilocks of tennis court surfaces producing a not too fast, not too slow, not too high, not too low bounce. For this reason, they are popular throughout the world and chances are, if you live in the US, you play on a hard-surface court. The one disadvantage they have is they are rougher on balls so they require an extra duty tennis ball or one that has a thicker layer of felt. Wilson’s US Open Extra Duty tennis ball is a prime choice for hard courts.

The tennis balls feature woven felt which provides more durability and consistency than punch needle felt. They also have earned praise from reviewers saying that, “the ball comes with better inflation and pressurization,” adding that their “game is significantly livelier with this ball.”

Imagine that you are on a beautiful clay tennis court, the wind whispers in your ear and you hear fragments of French conversation in the breeze. In one hand you hold your racket, ready to serve, in the other you hold the official ball of the French Open — the Wilson Roland Garros Clay Court tennis ball. You give it a bounce and launch into a spectacular volley with your opponent. Why is it so successful? You have the right ball for a clay court.

Most popular in France, clay courts produce higher slower bounces. They are softer courts that are easier on the ball, so you don’t need a thicker felt, a regular duty tennis ball will do. However, tennis balls tend to pick up moisture and dirt on clay courts which can impact their play.

Wilson’s Roland Garros Clay Court tennis ball uses technology that reduces the amount of moisture and dirt that it picks up so it stays consistent and visible. You’ve got the right ball in hand, you can go back to your daydream where you’re crushing your opponent under the soft French sun.

Grass courts are as traditional as it gets — modern tennis originated in England in the mid 1800s when two friends decided to use Basque pelota rackets on croquet lawn. Today the croquet lawn has gone through a few adjustments but you can find its ancestor, the modern grass tennis court used at Wimbledon, the oldest tournament of the four Grand Slam tournaments. These courts are tricky to play on — the ball bounces fast and low and the moisture can not only cause you to slip, but it can weigh down your ball.

The Slazenger Wimbledon tennis ball has been the official ball of Wimbledon since 1902 and takes these needs into consideration. Its patented Hydroguard technology repels up to 70% more water than the average tennis ball. While they are more expensive one reviewer says they have a, “good weight/bounce and I think these will last very well. Certainly shows you get what you pay for here.”

If you’re looking to practice your swing with a tennis ball machine, try going pressureless. Most tennis balls that you buy in the can come pressurized both within the rubber core of the tennis ball and in the can to keep their bounce. Pressurized balls are great for matches but they tend to lose their bounce within a couple months. With pressureless balls you don’t have to worry about them losing their bounce, in fact, over time they will become more bouncy as their felt wears down.

Pressureless balls have a thicker rubber core to which give them their bounce so they will maintain it over time. With a tennis ball machine you are going to need a lot of balls on hand so it is cheaper both initially and over time to use pressureless balls.

Gamma’s Sport Pressureless Practice tennis balls come in around $1.00 per ball and are one of the best pressureless tennis balls for the money. Reviewers praise its longevity, durability, and that the two-toned ball lets you see how your ball spins — all important factors when you are looking to make consistent efforts to improve your swing.

Our Process

For this guide on the best tennis balls, our team spent 4 hours researching the most popular options from over 9 brands and manufacturers. We then read about 200 user reviews (both positive and negative) to discover what shoppers thought about each ball. After comparing this data, we narrowed our list down to the top 7 tennis balls on the market. You can count on this research to guide you to a mindful purchasing decision.

If you enjoyed this read, sign up for our newsletter below and get special online shopping deals delivered straight to your inbox.

---

Further Reading