Tennis Balls In A Match : How Often They Are Changed, How Many Are Used, Why And What Happen To Them After Use
Tennis Balls In A Match: The All England Club has been around for almost 140 years and is home to many new tennis balls.
The sound of the ball hitting its target is one he’ll never forget, just as the grass and players will forever be etched in his mind. Center Court at Wimbledon has a level of rawness that can’t be recreated anywhere else, though modern technology has made it more watchable on TV than ever before.
Those sounds of the tennis ball popping off the racket and can of balls, is familiar for any tennis player no matter how that summer campers to Wimbledon champions. Even beginners like me can appreciate those sounds and smells.
In professional matches, players are comfortable with this many luxuries that we as individuals aren’t. One such luxury is the ball girl or boy who replaces players if they drop their ball. Even on a bad day winning can be worth it if your expensive sneakers aren’t ruined.
The ATP and ITF use strict rules and have human officials on the court. While we must argue calls and are given outdated tennis balls, the ATP and ITF have a constant supply of new balls.
The ball that they hit will not change during the course of their match, even though it could impact their performance. My tennis experiences are different than those that are more serious about tennis, but even those club members usually hit the same balls during their matches.
In a sport where balls are changing in each set, the first set is used for games 1-7, and game 8 onwards balls are changed with one ball at a time. Careful note should be taken of this so that the opener knows which ball to pick to start the next set.
There are tens of thousands of balls used at the Wimbledon championships. There were 54,520 balls in total used as of 2018 at Centre Court during the Wimbledon Championships.
In the Wimbledon championship service station, balls are not just tossed away after their tournament life is done. The balls are collected and resold at the kiosk for fans to take home a piece of memorabilia. Each sleeve of three balls costs £2.50 and the proceeds go back towards their charity work–the Wimbledon Foundation.