The first tennis balls, from the 12th and 15th centuries, were originally made of animal fur and wool. To make them harder, it was later decided to make them with leather stuffed with sand and limestone. But this practice would leave hands aching after a match. In 1481, Louis XI forbade the use of these esteufs. Little by little, towards the 13th century, balls began to be made of pressed linens tied together with thread. This is how the pelote ball came to be, however, it wasn’t a success since the threads didn’t hold together. Because of its popularity and use by the nobility, the fabrication of tennis balls was essentially done by Scottish artisans until the 19th century. This is when rubber made its appearance, with rubber balls first rebounding on the grass in 1870. This was in part thanks to Charles Goodyear, renowned for his use of rubber tires and other industrial products. These balls were notably developed through the simultaneous process of rubber vulcanization.
At the same time, tennis was born with the first tennis balls also being made of rubber. In 1877 during the first Wimbledon tournament, one player by the name of John Mayer Heathcothe suggested fastening a layer of wool on the balls to obtain a better rebound on the turf. In the 20s, the pressurized rubber tennis ball (the one used today) made its appearance. It became the official ball for the sport. Starting in 1978, it abandoned its white color to become yellow. Unpressurized tennis balls were conceived to be resistant and maintain their rebound. Even though they can’t rebound as high, they’re more efficient than pressurized balls. This new phenomenon that would quickly become popular thanks to companies like Trenton and Penn. The balls were originally white and sometimes black according to the color of the stands in order to obtain better visual control of the ball. In 1972, the International tennis federation decided to change the standard color to yellow, this time to allow TV viewers at home to see it better.
Today, tennis balls are made under strict directives to give players optimal conditions for their performance. While the norm has been established and accepted, “real tennis”, the original sport played by the nobility of England and France in an interior chamber, still uses hand-sewn balls that give a lasting sentiment of nobility and history. First released 80 years ago, the Dunlop Fort remains the best selling ball in the world. Its agility, high rebound, and long life make it the envy of its competitors. Its characteristics: a lively ball with a high rebound and equally high longevity, thanks to its core made of a mixture of 14 ingredients kept secret and the use of New Zealand sheep wool to create the outer layer. But it’s first and foremost a ball that the competitors themselves can find themselves in, if not an “elitist” product, since its suppleness renders it easily controllable, in the meantime allowing it to leave a lasting impression.
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