Author: A P

In professional tennis, perfectly decent tennis balls are produced, used and discarded in large volumes and in no time. To meet the industry standards, balls have to be in mint condition, since the slightest deviation or deformity in its curvature could lead to losing an important set, match, or even a tournament. Tennis balls get quite dirty after frequent use and yet, they are always expected to be in pristine condition, especially during high-end televised events. At competition level, balls are changed after every third or fourth game, with a Grand Slam Tournament using up to 5000 balls.

Amateur players tend to see tennis balls as short-term, dischargeable items, too. After all, they are not too expensive. Once you start making numbers, however, you will realize the number of balls you use up in one year add up. By keeping your tennis balls in good condition, you will be saving a small fortune.

That’s not the only advantage of maintaining your tennis balls properly. 300 million tennis ball are fabricated every year, 125 million of which are used in the United States alone. Unfortunately, many of those end up in garbage dumps, where they decompose very slowly, producing contaminating methane gas. By keeping your tennis balls in good shape for a longer life of usage, you will also be contributing to the environment.

When playing tennis on an amateur level, tennis balls are much easier to maintain, since they are not subjected to the same stress and forces as they are in the professional field. No matter what kind of game you’re playing, however, balls will get dirtier and dirtier with every match – especially when playing on an outdoor tennis court – to the point you may think it’s no longer worth keeping them. This is also true for the many balls that end up being recycled as pet toys that look like nothing more than a slimy ball of germs.

By following these methods below, you will be able to clean your tennis balls and make them look as good as new without affecting your game – or your pet’s health.

Hand washing your tennis balls

The first approach to cleaning your tennis ball is the most straightforward: nothing beats a good old hand-washing session.

Start by holding the balls under the tap one by one and rinsing them thoroughly. Focus the water pressure on any stubborn patches of residual dirt, and you’ll usually find you can blast it off with the help of a little gentle massage.

Fill a bucket or sink with warm water. Make sure the water isn’t too hot, so you don’t burn your hands when you submerge them. The amount of water will depend on the number of balls you will wash at the same time, so as to leave enough space to manoeuvre them. If the balls are very dirty, just wash one or two of them at a time. Add some fairy liquid or laundry detergent; a few drops per ball should do, but you can add more if needed. These detergents are soft enough to help eliminate dirt without damaging the ball’s surface and texture. If the ball you’re washing is your pet’s toy, you can use vinegar instead, which is completely pet-friendly.

Now it’s time to get your hands dirty: Put your hands in the water, grab a ball and start rubbing it with your thumbs to get rid of any deep-rooted dirt, then move on to the next one. Once you’ve rubbed off the muck, allow the balls to soak for a few minutes (around 5 minutes per ball; 8 if they are very dirty).

Take the balls out of the water and dry them with a cloth. The rough texture of the fabric will help remove any remaining grime from the ball as it dries. You can finalize the drying process by laying them out in the sun. You can also place them in the dryer on a low-temperature program, although this is less advisable.

Cleaning your tennis balls using a washing machine

As per the first method, rinse the tennis balls under the tap and be sure to remove any superficial dirt. Sometimes, little fragments adhere to the surface of the ball when playing on asphalt or gravel; if you frequently play on these types of grounds, you may want to reconsider cleaning them in your washing machine to avoid damage.

Washing tennis balls in a washing machine can be a tad tricky since you’re not managing the whole process manually. The balls can be affected by several aspects, namely temperatures and centrifugation, which can deform the balls beyond repair. Therefore, it is very important to use a cold wash program without a spin cycle. For the rest, it is like doing your daily laundry; use the same quantity of laundry detergent you would normally use for a small load of clothes and start the program.

Once the washing machine has worked its magic, you can dry the balls by laying them out in the sun or using a hair dryer at low temperature and at a distance, as to not damage the ball surface.

Use Kleenball

If you’re not convinced by any of the previous options, you can always use “Kleenball”, the first patented tennis ball cleaner. Created in 1905, Kleenball is a tool in the shape of an egg, with a wooden outer casing and an opening in the middle that divides the two pieces. The inside is fitted with bristle ball cleaning and reviving brushes. To clean your tennis ball using Kleenball, simply insert the ball, close the tool and use your hands to move both pieces in a circular motion, letting the robust brushes do their work. It won’t be easy to get your hands on one of these, though; there are but a few of them scattered around the world and can only be found via online auctions and the odd antique shop, with prices ranging from 200 to 300 pounds.

A tennis ball machine might seem simple. After all, all that it does is to lob tennis balls at you. While the principle is simple, the actual mechanics of the machine are a little more involved than that.

The machine needs to be perfectly calibrated so that it sends off each shot at the same speed and at the exact right time.

So if you have read our reviews, decided which one you want and now want to know how it works, this article is for you.

It Needs a Power Supply

It’s air pressure that propels the balls, and for the machine to create the air pressure necessary, it needs to have a power supply. As long as it has power and tennis balls, unlike a human partner, a tennis ball machine can play indefinitely.

In general, there are two power supply options: a battery or a wall plug.

Using a Power Cord

The obvious benefit of having a machine with a power cord is that you can play as long as you want. The downside is that you’ll need to have a set power supply to the court, and you’ll need to be able to plug the machine in.

Using a Battery

The benefit of having a battery is that you don’t need to worry about finding a power supply. The better-quality machines will work for around six to eight hours on a single charge.

This is a convenient option if you’re not sure that the court you’re playing on has a power supply. It also solves the problem of having to run a power cord from the main building to the court.

The downside is that you’ll need to keep an eye on how much charge is left.

Having Both

Many of the better machines will allow you to use either option. That makes it easier for you – plug it in if you have the facilities or use the battery if you don’t.

Getting the Right Air Pressure

The underlying mechanism is pretty simple. The balls are loaded, and a fan sucks in the air. The air is filtered through a protective screen to prevent debris from getting into the motor. This filter will need to be replaced at regular intervals to prevent it from getting clogged.

If you don’t clear the filter regularly, the machine will have to work harder to draw in air. If the filter becomes completely clogged, the machine won’t be able to draw in air at all and it will stop working.

Back to the actual motor again. The motor powers an electric fan that sucks the air into the machine. The air is directed into the canister of the machine. The balls are loaded into a hopper, and it is this that positions each ball correctly.

The balls are rotated into place using a set of wheels. In more advanced machines, the speed of these wheels can be adjusted to change the spin of the ball. Where a topspin is required, the upper wheel spins faster than the lower one.

They are then pushed into a smaller tube by the air. The ball will rest in a slight depression on the side of the tube. The narrowing of the tube from the canister causes an increase in pressure on the balls. The other end of the tube is closed off with a plastic flap to increase the pressure further.

The Pressure Propels the Balls Forward

Eventually, the pressure builds up enough that the ball shoots out of the barrel of the machine so that you can take a whack at it. Once the first ball has been released, the flap lifts and lets the next ball fall into place. This process is repeated until all the balls are finished.

It’s All About Timing

This process is carefully timed out, and the machine will repeat the actions at the specified intervals.

Adjusting the Shots

How fast the ball comes out depends on how quickly the pressure builds and how much pressure is allowed to build. If you set the machine at a slower setting, it will reduce the amount of pressure placed on the balls.

They’ll still be under high pressure, but this pressure setting will be lower than it would be at a higher setting, and the ball comes out slower.

Depending on how advanced the machine is, several alterations may come into play. These include, as mentioned above, changing the speed at which the wheels inside rotate. Creating a backspin or topspin is as simple as altering the rate at which each wheel turns. This is one of the main reasons why they are worth investing in.

If the top wheel spins faster than the bottom wheel, the ball gets some topspin. If it’s the other way around, it will have a backspin.

Adjusting the Height of the Shots

This is a pretty straight forward process. The tube that the balls are released from is raised or lowered to help change the angle of the shot. The more intense the angle upwards, the higher the shot will end up being.

Maintenance of the Machine

These machines are relatively low maintenance. Over time, the filter will become clogged and will need to be cleaned out or replaced. This process is usually simply a matter of replacing the foam piece.

The motor itself should be serviced from time to time to ensure that it’s running at optimal strength. This will usually be a simple matter of cleaning out any gunk that has accumulated and reoiling the moving parts.

Final Notes

The mechanics of the mechanism are actually pretty simple when you look at them. As long as the machine can draw power, there’s not a whole lot that can go wrong. It’s the calibration of the machine that might prove to be more of an issue.

The good news is that because these machines are so simple, they’re also easy to maintain. It is crucial to do adequate maintenance, however, or you risk damaging the machine or suboptimal performance.

If you decide to buy a machine, check what the manufacturer’s instructions regarding care and maintenance are.

There’s no denying the best tennis ball machines are quite pricey to buy ready-made. If you’re handy with electronics, you can build your own. In this post, we’ll go through how to do this. Ready to get started?