Monday, April 19, 2010

Tennis balls


I played tennis last week for the first time in probably six or seven years. It felt good to know that I hadn't lost my touch in that span. I still wasn't good. But I wasn't as bad as I could have been. I got inspired to get myself a new racket this weekend. I didn't break the bank, but I had never actually owned my own racket so I bought a middle of the road racket (see picture). Not going to lie, I just bought the coolest looking one since I don't know a damn thing about tennis and probably will only use it a dozen more times. I bought some new balls too since they were only a few bucks. I forgot how much I loved to open a tube of new tennis balls. That nice rubbery smell that can only be matched by the opening a new canister of film. (another smell I haven't experienced in quite some time) But why do tennis balls have to be in a canister like that? With that freshness so locked in? That unmistakable pssst. Cans of anchovies aren't even that locked in. Why do tennis balls gotta be so fresh?

3 comments:

  1. The inner wall (rubber like) of a tennis ball is porous; therefore, after being pressurized at the factory, they have to be enclosed in an air tight canister in order to maintain appropriate internal pressure. Without pressure the bounce ability decreases, thus rendering the ball pretty much useless.

    Once the balls are taken out of the canister, they start losing internal pressure at a slow rate. Of course, the more that they are used, the faster they become "flat".

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  2. Nope...Just trying to be helpful by participating in your blog. Next time, I'll simply respond by writing things like "Tiiight!". That work for you?

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