tenniscoaching.com Blog

Once you have done your research and picked the right racket, you need to decide which balls you need. It's not as much as a commitment as buying a racket as you will be using the balls for a much shorter time. Because tennis balls are designed for specific uses such as practice, wet weather or hard surfaces it also means that with the right balls you can be prepared for any game.

There are many types of balls available today, but they can all be classified into the categories below.

1. Colour

Not surprisingly most tennis balls are yellow. Some brands employ more sophisticated dying processes, which make the balls easier to see, for example the Wimbledon ultra vis range. These styles are ideal for playing outdoors or in poor light conditions. Having even just one tube of these balls in your bag means that the game doesn't have to stop for poor light.

The exception to the standard colours are those from the ITF's traffic light scheme. They are aimed at beginners and travel slower than standard balls. This enables new players to enjoy the game and progress through the stages until they have the confidence and ability to play on a standard court with regulation balls.

Balls in the traffic light scheme are colour coded as follows:

• Red - the slowest. For new players
• Orange - medium speed. For improvers
• Green - the fastest. For confident players

2. Pressure

All balls are pressurised to some extent.

Regulation balls are kept under pressure until first used, then the bounce will deteriorate. As the bounce is a key factor, they will need to be replaced often for consistency - hence the phrase "new balls please" we all hear at tennis tournaments.

A practice ball may have less pressure, but they are more durable to last longer. As they age, they will lose fuzz from the surface. The performance will then vary as the ball loses its aerodynamic properties.

3. Felt

Balls come in two basic felt types. Regular and extra duty. If you are playing an a hard court then try and go for balls with extra duty. They are more durable and will last much longer without fraying.

4. Technology

Balls are not just designed to keep bouncing over the net for as long as possible. Whatever your needs you will find that a ball has been designed to meet them, whether it is increased visibility, durability or even water resistance.

5. Brand

Don't worry about being loyal to a particular brand. As I mentioned previously there are balls designed for many conditions and a die-hard Slazenger player may find Prince balls more suitable for their specific needs. The most popular brands are Head, Slazenger, Prince, Karakal, Wilson, Dunlop and Tretorn. Try them all out and see which is best for you.

The main thing I would always say about tennis balls is just to follow this simple advice and once you have decided on which balls are best for you, buy a small amount and test them out. Buying tennis balls is less of a science than buying a racket.

When you find your favourites then look for bulk deals. You can make pretty decent savings if you are willing to buy large amounts.

Jim Lowndes combines his passion for sports and fitness with his keen appreciation for the written word to produce insightful and honest articles for http://www.sweatband.com about the Tennis, Health and Fitness.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathleen_Chester

The Sydney International has already claimed one big casualty and an out-of-sorts Sam Stosur will be desperate to avoid becoming another when her campaign begins today.

A handful of women's matches on Sunday's opening day featured an early exit by Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova, thumped 6-1 6-1 by Slovakian world No.15 Dominika Cibulkova.

Former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki had no such problems in hot conditions at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, her first win of the year a 6-1 6-2 triumph over Poland's Urszula Radwanska.

Kvitova was puzzled by a performance that followed a second round loss at the Brisbane International and left her Australian Open hopes seeming dim.

"I played really badly and I wish I knew what I could say but I don't know," said Kvitova, a semi-finalist at last year's Australian Open.

"I'm not feeling very well right now in my confidence but I'm always looking forward to playing grand slams and I hope everything will be better there than here."

Stosur's Australian summer was left looking similarly gloomy after a shock 7-6 7-5 first-round loss to Sweden's world No.41 Sofia Arvidsson in Brisbane.

The 28 year old, who is recovering from foot surgery, has not beaten a top-50 player on home soil since she won the US Open in 2011.

Sixth seed Stosur will have to defy that trend when she takes on China's world No.26 Jie Zheng on Monday afternoon but she may take some comfort from the performance of Wozniacki, who rebounded from her own surprise first-round loss in Brisbane with a dominant display.

With boyfriend and world golf No.1 Rory McIlroy watching from the stands, Wozniacki needed just 26 minutes to take the first set and was largely untroubled in the second against her good friend and sometimes practice partner.

The Dane was world No.1 last summer but has slipped to No.10 after a season in which she had first-round exits at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Still, Wozniacki holds hope of regaining the world No.1 ranking with a strong year.

"Within myself, I believe I can get back there," Wozniacki said.

Olivia Rogowska was the only Australian involved in the main draw on Sunday and she battled hard early but was outclassed in a 7-5 6-2 loss to Russian Maria Kirilenko.

Other women's seeds in action on Monday include Italian Sara Errani, China's Li Na and Russian Nadia Petrova while Australians Matthew Ebden and James Duckworth will feature in men's matches.

Casey Dellacqua will face Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm, who successfully negotiated qualifying on Sunday.

Article source: http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8589397