The Best Pressureless Tennis Balls (& When to Use Them)

There are two main types of tennis balls: pressurized and pressureless. Your average tennis ball that most people are familiar with is pressurized. So what are pressureless tennis balls and why do they exist? In this post we answer that question, and review some of the best pressureless tennis balls available today.

Pressurized vs. Pressureless Tennis Balls Explained

Your typical (pressurized) tennis ball has a bright felt covering on a rubber shell, with a hollow center filled with pressurized air. Because they are filled with pressurized air, they lose their bounce over time as that pressurized air escapes.

Enter pressureless balls, which are solid and don’t lose air over time. You can think of pressureless balls as the equivalent to tubeless tires on your bicycle. Because your bicycle tire is filled with air, it can pop or lose air over time. So some people opt for solid, “tubeless” tires to prevent flats. But they sacrifice some of the bounce and performance of a tire filled with pressurized air.

Similarly, a pressureless ball sacrifices some performance and bounce in exchange for never going “flat.” This is a trade-off many are willing to make. Here are some examples of cases where a pressureless ball might make sense.

When to Use Pressureless Tennis Balls

Because pressureless tennis balls tend to last longer, that makes them a great option for the following scenarios:

• Casual, infrequent play
• Use in ball machines
• Tennis lessons and practice sessions

Casual, Infrequent Play

If you are someone who only plays a few times a year, you should seriously consider pressureless tennis balls. The pressurized tennis balls you bought 6 months ago have most likely lost a lot of their performance.

But because presureless tennis balls don’t lose their bounce over time, they’ll be just as good when you pull them out 3 or 6 months later as they were when you bought them.

Great for Tennis Ball Machines

Putting tennis balls through a tennis ball machine can really cause them to take a beating. Pressureless tennis balls tend to be more durable and longer-lasting, making them a great option for dumping a ton of inexpensive balls into a ball machine hopper.

Our Top Picks for the Best Pressureless Tennis Balls

• Tretorn Micro-X
• Penn Pressureless
• Tourna Pressureless

The Tretorn Micro-X is a high performance tennis ball. It’s powered by 700 million air-filled micro cells, which improve its playability and simulate the bounce and performance of a pressurized tennis ball. But it’s still a “pressureless” ball and won’t lose air pressure over time.

Our recommendation: The Tretorn Micro-X is a high-performance and affordable option for anyone looking for pressureless tennis balls.

Penn’s Pressureless tennis balls are great quality and offer the long-lasting durability benefits of a pressureless tennis ball.

Our recommendation: Penn Pressureless tennis balls are great for casual players or for practice sessions with a ball machine.

Tourna offers an inexpensive, durable pressureless tennis ball. It offers decent quality and all the long-lasting benefits of a pressureless ball.

Our recommendation: The Tourna Pressureless tennis balls are great if you are looking to buy inexpensive balls in bulk.

Summary & Recommendations

Pressureless tennis balls differ from regular pressurized tennis balls because they aren’t filled with pressurized air. This means they won’t lose their bounce over time, and makes them a great option if you want a long-lasting tennis ball.

If you’re looking to buy some pressureless tennis balls, we recommend the Tretorn Micro-X. They’re an excellent quality presureless tennis ball. Or, if you’re looking for something a little more inexpensive, try the Tourna Pressureless tennis balls.

We hope this article helped you get a better understanding of pressureless tennis balls, why you would use them, and which balls might be the best fit for you. Have fun out there!

Post last updated on March 24, 2022