A tennis ball is very distinct and are used by millions of children and adults all over the world for playing tennis, of course, but many, many other less formal games too. They are not only the correct size for tennis, presumably anyway at 2.7 inches or 6.7 centimetres in diameter, but they also fit neatly into a hand or a dog’s mouth. Therefore people use them for playing catch, for various games of softball like rounders and for throwing for the dog to retrieve.
When I was a child, all tennis balls were white, but now you would be very hard pushed indeed to find a white one if, if indeed it is at all possible. These days, all tennis balls are day-glow colours like yellow, green and orange. Presumably this change was made for the sake of visibility on the TV screen.
The word ‘tennis’ comes from the French – ‘Tenez’ (pronounced ‘teney’), which meant ‘Take up Position’ or simply ‘Start’. The origins of tennis were almost certainly well over a thousand years ago, when it was played by monks. The racquet or racket was the flat of the hand and the ball was wooden.
No-one is really certain whether the next innovation was to wear leather mitts or to modify the ball to leather, but whichever it was, there was obviously a move to make the game less painful. When the ball changed from being wooden, it was manufactured of animal skin, most often leather, sewn up with sinews and stuffed with anything that came to hand, such as straw, wool and hair – animal and human.
The point is that these early wooden and leather balls did not bounce, so the game was very different back then. Eventually, the monks began using ‘racquets’, but they looked more like bats than modern day tennis racquets.
In Disraeli’s book, “Sybil” (1845), the plot reveals how Lord Eugene De Vere was to travel to Hampton Court to play tennis, so the game was a familiar sport then, but it took until the late Nineteen Century for the game that we know today to become formalized by a set of rules. In 1874, Major Walter Wingfield was granted the patent for the rules and equipment of ‘lawn tennis’ and not much has altered since.
The next year tennis courts were set up in the USA and then the game of tennis spread like wildfire. Wingfield set down the rules of the game and the sort of equipment to be used. The game has not changed much since then basically, but it has changed a great deal nevertheless. The shape of the court is different now and science has been applied to the apparatus to improve it.
The original ball in the late Nineteenth Century was manufactured of solid rubber and so would have been quite weighty, but at least it did bounce which instantly made the game more interesting and more lively. A bouncing ball made tennis into a more interesting game to play and a more interesting game to watch. The rubber ball allowed tennis to be a spectator sport that crowds would pay to watch.
Contemporary tennis balls have a rubberized skin, which is about eighty percent rubber, filled with air and covered by a layer of ‘hairy’ felt. The felt is important because it gives the surface of the ball more grip and can standardize the bounce too. It also gives the ball a more foreseeable flight path even in the presence of wind.
The last aspect of modern tennis balls is the air inside. This can either be pressurized or non-pressurized. Pressurized balls give a better bounce whilst new, but they lose pressure with time and so are less reliable, whereas non-pressurized balls actually improve slightly with use, which is considered a benefit.
If you are a novice tennis player or are interested in tennis balls and other tennis equipment, just visit our website entitled Tennis Tips for novices
Ten Film Idol Obituaries From Ten Years Ago.
It is common to hear people say that time flies and it is true. I have put together a list of screen idols who passed away ten years ago. When I began researching this list of screen idols’ obituaries, I was surprised to read who had died and how old they had become when they died. I have listed them by date. Doesn’t time fly?
Hedy Lamarr: 86, Viennese born motion picture star, whose seductive beauty tempted all the male stars of the 1920′s and 30′s. Credited as co-inventor (with composer George Antheil) of a patented device for radio-controlled missiles. Old age, Orlando, Fla., Jan 19, 2000.
Durwood Kirby: 88, Kentucky born TV personality, announcer and foil to Garry Moore. Host of ‘Candid Camera’. Cause undisclosed, Fort Myers, Fla., March 15, 2000.
Claire Trevor: 91, Brooklyn-born picture actress. The brash moll in ‘Stagecoach’ and the Oscar-winning alcoholic singer in ‘Key Largo’. She played in nearly 70 films. Of respiratory disease, Newport Beach, Calif., April 8, 2000.
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr: 90, U.S. actor and producer. He created a motion picture career despite being under his father’s shadow. Best known for ‘Gunga Din’ and ‘The Prisoner Of Zenda’ in the 1930′s. Cause undisclosed. New York, May 7, 2000.
Sir John Gielgud: 96, legendary British actor. Long time star of stage and screen in the UK and US. Remarkable Shakespearean actor. Won an Oscar for ‘Arthur’. Old age, Aylesbury, UK, May 21, 2000.
Walter Matthau: 79, U.S. actor. Best known as Oscar Madison in the ‘Odd Couple’. He was everybody’s favourite grumpy old man. Of a heart attack, Santa Monica, Calif., July 1, 2000
Sir Alec Guinness: 86, renowned British actor. Best known for Oscar-winning performance as the mad colonel in ‘Bridge Over The River Kwai’ and Obi-Wan Kanobi in ‘Star Wars’. Very versatile actor. Old age, West Sussex, UK, Aug. 5, 2000.
Loretta Young: 87, U.S. picture star from Hollywood’s golden age of the 1930′s and 40′s. Oscar winner for ‘The Farmer’s Daughter’ (1947). Emmy winner for ‘The Loretta Young Show’ (1954-63) on TV. Of ovarian cancer, Los Angeles, Aug. 12, 2000.
Richard Farnsworth: 80, U.S. actor. In films for 60 years, first as a stunt man, then at 57 as an actor. Twice nominated for an Academy Award including ‘The Straight Story’. Suicide, Lincoln, N. Mexico, Oct. 6, 2000.
Steve Allen: 78, U.S. comedian, entertainer and songwriter, who pioneered the late-night TV show format of the. He wrote over 5,000 songs, including ‘This Could Be The Start Of Something Big’ and ‘Impossible’. An apparent heart attack in Los Angeles, Calif. Oct. 31, 2000.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with custom wall calendars If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars