A lighter ball would also make tennis a little more affordable. Strings would last longer; so would the balls, as a lighter ball would hit the court with less friction to wear away its fuzz. Racquets would not need to use as many expensive materials to achieve stiffness, as the force of the ball to distort the racquet's frame would not be as great. The tennis industry need not worry about less frequent replacement purchases, though, because as tennis becomes easier, more fun, and more arm-friendly, the number of tennis consumers will grow.
The main drawback to a lighter ball would arise when playing in strong winds, which would blow it farther off course. Some players would also regret not being able to blast the ball past their opponents quite as easily. Perhaps the biggest obstacle to making a lighter ball the standard would be tradition; the standard tennis ball has had essentially the same weight since the 1870s, and a significant change in the weight of the ball would mark, in pro tennis especially, the start of a new era.
The rules of tennis require a standard tennis ball to weigh 56-59.4 g, to have a diameter of 6.35-6.67 cm, and to bounce from a 254 cm drop to 135-147 cm. ITF Stage 1 balls weigh 47-51.5 g with a diameter of 6.30-6.86 cm and a rebound height of 118-132 cm. A ball that weighs 46 grams is 20% lighter than one that weighs 57.7 grams (the middle of the standard ball weight range), and if the ITF Stage 1 ball can rebound as high as 132 cm, only 3 cm less than the minimum required rebound height of a standard ball, it should be feasible to manufacture a tennis ball the same size as a standard ball, but with 20% less weight and an equally high bounce. Roughly 30% of a tennis ball's weight is its felt covering; given that felt would last longer on a lighter ball, a good part of the weight could likely be removed from the felt, not the rubber. Keeping the height of the ball's bounce is important, as kick serves and high-bouncing topspin groundstrokes are a major part of the game.
I would urge the ITF, ATP, WTA, and national tennis organizations to begin experimenting with using a lighter tennis ball at every level of play, from beginner recreation to pro competition. A ball that's at least 20% lighter should reduce arm injuries and make tennis more fun to play and to watch. Experimentation will reveal the optimal ball weight. Maintaining the height of the bounce and a reasonable flight speed becomes more difficult as weight is reduced, but as long as the ball doesn't play so differently that it changes the major skills a player needs to excel in tennis, the lighter the ball, the better.
What do you think? Are there drawbacks to using a lighter ball that outweigh the advantages?
