A tennis ball is a small, hollow ball used in games of tennis and real tennis. [1] Tennis balls are fluorescent yellow in professional competitions, [2][3] but in recreational play other colors are also used. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous felt, which modifies their aerodynamic properties, and each has a white curvilinear oval covering it.
History Of Ball Colors To the surprise of many new players, tennis balls were originally black or white, with the color of the court's background dictating which ball was more practical for use. The surprising reason behind the iconic yellow color of modern tennis balls. Learn about the evolution of this small but impactful change.
Historically, balls were either black or white in color, depending on the background color of the courts. The International Tennis Federation introduced yellow tennis balls into the rules of tennis in 1972 as a result of research that demonstrated how these balls could be more easily identified by television viewers. The modern ball went through an evolution, it was great historical achievement especially by mid 1900's when the balls were stored in containers, and along with that, changing its traditional white color to optic yellow so that the ball is visible to the TV audience.
The Yellow Ball Historically, balls were either black or white in colour, depending on the background colour of the courts. In 1972 the ITF introduced yellow tennis balls into the rules of tennis, as research had shown these balls to be more visible to television viewers. Meanwhile Wimbledon continued to use the traditional white ball, but eventually adopted yellow balls in 1986.
Wimbledon's iconic dress code and the evolution of tennis balls from white to yellow highlight the sport's rich history and its adaptation to modern viewing needs. Most sports balls have a distinctive color - footballs are brown, basketballs are orange, soccer balls are black and white, etc. Per this Instagram reel, in response to a fan asking him the question, "Are tennis balls green or yellow?" Roger Federer replied "Yellow, right?" If Roger, the GOAT, says they're yellow, then we'll go ahead and roll with that.
Tennis balls have not. Tennis balls have a rich history dating back to the late 1800s when lawn tennis was introduced. The first game was held in France in the 12th century, and its name was "tanez", meaning "to take hold".
Tennis balls are now synonymous with the yellow color, or optic yellow, which has evolved over time. Tennis balls were once white, but what caused their iconic yellow hue? We've done the research to answer this age-old question, and we bet you'll be surprised by what we found! Read on to discover the history of tennis balls and why they were white in the beginning, and why they changed to the yellow we know today.