Show Your Best Tennis With ITF-Approved Balls

At official tournaments, only ITF-approved tennis balls are allowed to be used. That includes only those balls matching the specifications set by the International Tennis Federation, ITF. To always be prepared for any match, we recommend stacking up with ITF-approved tennis balls. You can easily recognise them by the ITF's seal of approval on the packaging. Whether you are looking for pressureless balls, or regular pressurised tennis balls, tennis balls for kids and beginners, or long-lasting practice balls: here, at your trusted tennis online shop, you will find all types of tennis balls also as ITF-approved balls, naturally. According to the London-based tennis world association's rules, tennis balls have to meet precisely defined criteria regarding size, mass, bounce, colour, and deformation. Only if it conforms to all those criteria will a tennis ball be approved by the ITF for use in official matches.

What Are The Specifications Set By The ITF?

Yellow and white are the only approved colours for tennis balls to be used in official matches. The ITF also gives clear instructions regarding the size, weight, and bouncing properties of tennis balls. It has approved four different types of tennis balls for tournaments and official matches. The federation distinguishes between fast, medium speed, and slow tennis balls plus specific ones for altitudes over 1,219 metres above sea level. The exact specifications for tennis balls made by the ITF are as follows:

• Diameter: 6.35 – 7.3 centimetres
• Mass: 56 – 59.4 grams
• Rebound: 122 – 151 centimetres

The rebound is measured by dropping a tennis ball from a height of precisely 254 centimetres onto a flat concrete surface. Moreover, the ITF specifies the forward and return deformation properties of tennis balls: the forward deformation must vary between 0.495 and 0.74 centimetres. The return deformation must not be above 1.08 centimetres or below 0.67 centimetres.

Which Tennis Balls For Which Surface?

Some tennis balls are better suited for certain surfaces than others. Therefore, the ITF divides them into different categories to make your choice a little easier. Rapidly accelerating tennis balls, for example, should be played on relatively slow surfaces like clay. Medium-speed tennis balls are best used on medium-pace court surfaces, whereas slow ones work particularly well on fast courts. Medium-pace surfaces are hard courts or tennis courts with acrylic or carpet surface. Fast surfaces consist of natural or artificial grass, as well as some carpet materials. Hence, if you are playing on various court surfaces with different pace properties during your tennis season, we recommend buying the corresponding different types of ITF-approved tennis balls always to be able to play your best tennis. You will find all the tennis balls you need in our tennis online shop. We wish you lots of fun browsing through our range of products and all the best for your next match!