For some people, specific smells can bring back memories; for some it can be gasoline, the smell of a marker, or something like bonfire smoke, but for tennis players, the smell of opening a new tin of tennis balls is addicting. Have you ever opened a can of tennis balls?

“PSSST TACK!”

The sound is satisfying for most. But I have always wondered why tennis players “waste” so much money on new cans.

In the article called “Not all Tennis Balls are Equal – By Stuart Miller” a quote by Andrey Rublev, the 25-year-old Russian star, currently ranked number 5 in the ATP Tour, explains this act in a simple way. “When balls are getting old, it gets tougher to hit winners and get easy points, especially on slower courts.” This shows that the thrill people get whilst playing tennis is affected when the ball is flatter; the ball bounces a lot less and is slower to hit, but with a freshly opened tin, the ball moves quickly, creating a fast-paced match that starts the love of the game for many players.

But what does it mean when the ball is “flat”?

The tennis ball, unlike other sports equipment, breaks on impact, but in an unusual way that means they can still be used; when you use a tennis ball, you are releasing air, freeing it, at a time when the ball is in motion, and it is not expected.

Although a fresh batch of tennis balls is better than used ones, there are still problems with the new ones.

“Super tough to control in the first game, it feels like they’re breaking your wrist, and the balls feel like stones and fly without control,” said Rublev.

It seems that recently, the quality of tennis balls has been going downhill.

“PSST TACK!” The sound of the can opening; you expect the best. Palm the ball… get ready to serve… and your throw is completely off…

Confused… Disappointed… you paid for top-of-the-line tennis balls; instead, you got a tennis ball that squishes like a stress ball.

This makes no sense, as the price of tennis balls has been increasing rapidly. Companies should be improving the quality, not decreasing it.

With my friends, there has been huge dissent on why new tennis balls should not be bought and should just be reused; small conversations pop up because of this, and rifts are created. People who have no experience with tennis tell me that I am just fabricating these statements, and I know others disagree with them. If you are experiencing this problem, use this question.

“Would you rather play soccer with a deflated ball, or with an inflated ball?”