The tennis ball was not always yellow and it even took a long time to impose it…
This may not be the first question you ask yourself when watching a tennis match on TV or on courts around the world. However, she is the star of this discipline: she is the little yellow ball. But do you know why it has this particular color? First of all, know that this ball must have a diameter between 6.35 and 6.668 cm to be approved. Its weight is very light and is between 56 and 59 grams, since it is filled with air.
These little rubber spheres are covered in nylon and felt, which gives the appearance of little hairs throughout the tennis ball. This felt, which surrounds the balls, is in no way an aesthetic whim, since it allows the ball to bounce better on the court. If the balls are all yellow in our time, this color was not the first choice of the Tennis Federation and we have to go back to 1877 to understand better.
At this time, the tennis world inaugurated its first international tournament, Wimbledon. Composed exclusively of English players, the tournament will be played with white tennis balls. A very English tradition since the players always play in white. A purely aesthetic and so British choice then? Yes and no because the decision was also taken for “practical” reasons because it is easier for a referee to distinguish the white on the grass pitch.
The ball will therefore remain white for a lot of years, almost 100 years! It was in 1968, with the start of the Open era and the four Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and US Open), that the color of the tennis ball was debated.
The reason is simple: television. Having become attractive for the small screen, tennis had to adapt and the broadcasters realized that the players, the balls, the lines were all in white and, on the small screen, it was very difficult to distinguish one from the other. . Let’s remember for the youngest that television was originally in black and white, France being one of the first countries to switch to color in 1967.
So which color to choose? Well the broadcasters are offering the International Tennis Federation this fluorescent yellow color, called “optical yellow”. An improbable choice and on a whim? Well not really, according to some studies, it is the most visible color on television. It was from 1972 that yellow balls were tested in tournaments and it was in 1978 that this color became the official standard.