Pop Tennis Ball Review. When it comes to selecting a pop tennis ball, players have choices! Our Pop Tennis Ball review will introduce you to our top selling balls used across the USA in 2020. We will do our best to compare Pop tennis balls and share real feedback on differences in feel and performance on the court and some tips to help you make an educated choice.
Here we go!
Pop Tennis Ball Choices
The 3 balls we’ll be comparing:
- Penn Control+ also called the Green Dot ball due to the large green dot on the ball
- Penn QST 60, a bright Orange / Yellow ball
- Penn Pressureless Tennis Ball, has the look of a traditional tennis ball
Composition
All three balls have a woven felt outer construction, like you would expect from a tennis ball.
The Penn Pressureless Ball has a solid core, while the Penn Control+ (Green Dot) and QST 36 balls have a depressurized hollow core. This is akin to a tennis ball that has been out of its can for some time and has lost most or all pressure internally. Some Pop Tennis players buy regular pressurized tennis balls and insert a needle into them to depressurize the ball themselves. That is certainly an option and is what most players did until recently when HEAD / Penn developed low pressure balls.
Size
The Penn Control+ and Penn Pressureless are the size of a standard tennis ball.
The Penn QST 60 is slightly smaller...great for smaller hands and helps to keep the overall weight of the ball lower.
Weight
The Penn Pressureless Ball is the heaviest of the three, designed to approximate the weight of a standard, pressurized tennis ball.
The Penn Green Dot ball is slightly lighter and the QST 60 is the very lightest of all. Remember, Force = Mass x Acceleration, so with a swing speed being equal, a heavier ball will move with more force. Think about how fast / hard you swing and how fast-paced of a game you want to play (consider a heavier ball), knowing that a slower, more controlled game (think lighter weight ball) may be desired by certain age groups or athletic styles.
Feel
The firmest of the three Pop Tennis Balls is the Penn Pressureless Ball. When you squeeze these in your palm, they have little give and the offer a lively bounce with a solid, firmer feel off the face of the paddle. Let's call it a solid, lively, pleasant feel. The second firmest is the green dot, which has definite give when you squeeze it, and offers a medium soft feel at contact with good bounce, but doesn’t feel as firm at contact as the Penn Pressureless ball. It is the official ball of USA Pop Tennis. Lastly the QST 60 is the softest ball of the three. With lots of give when you squeeze it and a very light, soft feel at contact.
Final thoughts & considerations
Frequent players of Pop Tennis use the recommended Control+ (green dot ball) for its all around ease of use and consistent performance, and children, juniors, or less competitive players often like the QST 60 ball because of the slower more controlled play it offers. A couple of other considerations…
- If you have tennis elbow or are prone to arm issues, consider the QST 60 for maximum comfort at ball impact
- If you are looking for something that is easy to spot visually, the QST 60 is bight orange and yellow and easy to identify
- The Control+ Green Dot Ball is the official ball of pop tennis in the USA
- If you have a bunch of cans of tennis balls around and want to depressurize balls yourself, just stick a needle in them!
- If you have "dead" tennis balls leftover from tennis, these may work, but will probably give inconsistent results based on the amount of time they've been around for (how used they are). You may find that one bounces higher than another, which could mess with your game!
If you are unsure, try a mix of balls to find your favorite!
We’d love comments below on what you use for Pop and why, so please share!