What is a Tennis ball made of?
What is a Tennis ball made of?
A pressurised hollow shell of vulcanised rubber, covered in a glued-on wool and nylon felt.
Rubber is slightly permeable to gas, so a pressurised ball leaks continuously through its own wall from the day it is made. That is the reason tennis balls are sold in pressurised cans: the can holds the same pressure as the inside of the ball, so the gradient is zero and the ball keeps until you open it. Once opened, a ball loses usable bounce in a few weeks whether or not it is played with. Pressureless balls avoid the problem with a much thicker rubber wall, which is heavier to hit and harder on the arm, so they are used for practice and ball machines rather than matches.
Component by component
| Part | Material | Why that material |
|---|---|---|
| core | natural and synthetic rubber blend, vulcanised with sulfur | Natural rubber gives the rebound; synthetic rubber and fillers make the wall thickness repeatable enough for the ball to bounce to a specified height. |
| internal pressure | air, or air with added nitrogen, at roughly 12 psi above atmospheric | The gas, not the rubber, provides most of the bounce — which is why a ball goes dead long before the felt wears out. |
| cover | melton cloth: a woven wool and nylon felt, typically 40-60% wool | Wool gives the fuzz that grips the strings and slows the ball through the air; nylon stops that fuzz shedding in two games. |
| seam | rubber-based adhesive under the two dumbbell-shaped felt panels | A glued seam keeps the surface continuous, so the ball does not develop a preferred axis and swerve. |
Other sport and games objects
- Golf ball A moulded polybutadiene rubber core inside an ionomer or urethane cover, dimpled all over.
- Soccer ball Polyurethane outer panels over a laminated fabric backing, wrapped around a latex or butyl bladder.
- Basketball A pebbled composite or leather cover over nylon winding and a butyl rubber bladder.
- Cricket ball A cork core tightly wound with wool yarn, cased in four pieces of dyed leather with a stitched seam.
- Bowling ball A dense shaped weight block inside a filler, wrapped in a polyester, urethane or reactive resin coverstock.
Common questions
- What is a Tennis ball made of?
- A pressurised hollow shell of vulcanised rubber, covered in a glued-on wool and nylon felt.
- What is the core of a Tennis ball made of?
- Natural and synthetic rubber blend, vulcanised with sulfur. Natural rubber gives the rebound; synthetic rubber and fillers make the wall thickness repeatable enough for the ball to bounce to a specified height.
- What is the internal pressure of a Tennis ball made of?
- Air, or air with added nitrogen, at roughly 12 psi above atmospheric. The gas, not the rubber, provides most of the bounce — which is why a ball goes dead long before the felt wears out.
Related pages
- Golf ball A moulded polybutadiene rubber core inside an ionomer or urethane cover, dimpled all over.
- Soccer ball Polyurethane outer panels over a laminated fabric backing, wrapped around a latex or butyl bladder.
- Basketball A pebbled composite or leather cover over nylon winding and a butyl rubber bladder.
- Cricket ball A cork core tightly wound with wool yarn, cased in four pieces of dyed leather with a stitched seam.
- Bowling ball A dense shaped weight block inside a filler, wrapped in a polyester, urethane or reactive resin coverstock.
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Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place