Which is the Best Tennis Ball in 2023?
We tested 4 popular brands of tennis balls to let you know which is the best tennis ball. The 4 brands are: HEAD Tour, Dunlop Australian Open, Slazenger Wimbledon and Dunlop Fort.
Our review is based on 3 criteria: Playability, Durability and Affordability. We awarded scores of 1-10 to each criteria, so the perfect score for each brand of balls would be a 30.
Playability refers to how well the ball feels when we are executing our groundstrokes, volleys, service and slices. A good ball should be hard enough to provide a good bounce and yet feel comfortable upon contact with the racket.
Durability refers to how well the ball holds up during matches and over time. The fluffing, rigidity and bounce are taken into account when determining the durability of the ball. Repeated use will be taken into account as well, where we determine if the ball can still maintain its integrity overnight or over multiple sessions.
Affordability simply refers to the price of the ball. We took the average price of the balls from several vendors.
HEAD Tour
The HEAD Tour scored a total of 20/30 across our 3 criteria.
The best performing criteria for the HEAD Tour balls was its near-perfect playability (9/10). The rigidity of the ball hit the sweet spot, although it did lean closer to being firmer. The firmness of the ball allowed top spin, side spin and back spin to be effectively translated into our shots.
The second criteria, durability, scored a 6/10, which we consider average. After a 2-3 hours of playing, the balls became somewhat soft and squishy, losing their key ability to translate spin effectively.
The third criteria, affordability, scored a 5/10. This is due to HEAD Tour balls being more expensive as compared to other options on the market.
Dunlop Australian Open
The Dunlop Australian Open balls had the highest score at 22/30.
Playability scored an 8/10 for this familiar set of balls. Its feel and consistency allowed for enjoyable gameplay during rallies and matches. However, it leans towards a softer feel as compared to the other balls, which might prove frustrating for players who enjoy imparting heavy spins onto their strokes.
Durability was fairly decent at 6/10. There was some amount of fraying on the balls after 10-15 minutes of hits. The fraying slows down the spin of the ball, which might make top spin, side spin and back spin harder to generate.
Affordability scored a high 8/10 due to its more affordable price as compared to the other options on the market.
Slazenger Wimbledon
The Slazenger Wimbledon balls tied with the HEAD Tour balls at 20/30.
Similar to the HEAD Tour balls, the Slazenger Wimbledon balls scored an impressive 9/10 for its playability. Despite the same score, it plays remarkably differently as compared to the latter. Its bounce is more pronounced, which might be due to its grass court roots. It also tends to be softer as compared to the HEAD Tour balls.
Durability scored a 6/10. Its mediocre durability is a result of its inability to maintain integrity in terms of firmness after a day’s worth of hitting. Its already softer feel became somewhat squishy after some time, affecting gameplay and spins during rallies and match play.
Affordability scored a 5/10. It is the most expensive ball we reviewed.
Dunlop Fort
The Dunlop Fort balls scored the lowest at 18/30.
This could be due to my personal preference as I am more of a flat hard hitter as compared to a top spin heavy player.
It scored a 5/10 for playability as I found it too firm to control on the court. It threw off my timing and I mis-hit quite a number of balls, especially when I tried hitting them on the rise. However, spins were easily translated into my shots.
Durability scored a 7/10, the highest among the 4 brands reviewed. The Dunlop Fort balls held up surprisingly well after a day’s worth of hitting. Quite impressively, they managed to maintain their firmness and consistency in their bounce.
Affordability scored a 6/10, as it was an average price of balls.
The Best Ball
The best tennis ball we reviewed here is the Dunlop Australian Open. It is the most affordable and has a very high playability factor.
Let us know if there are other balls you would like us to review!