A tennis ball mower is an essential piece of equipment for the tennis court, especially when you need to deal with hundreds of tennis balls at a time for teaching or for serious practice.
Picking up loose balls and transporting them back and forth can become a huge backbreaking chore and eats up a lot of precious time and effort. Having a tennis ball mower can save you time and help you actually focus on getting better at your swings.
We looked through the best ball mowers on the market and created this guide on what to look out for when choosing one. Here are our top picks:
OnCourt OffCourt MultiMower
Doubles as a teaching cart, this mower offers the most value at its price point
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Playmate Ball Mower
Versatile and durable, this premium mower is sure to clear out loose balls faster and practice smarter
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Tomohopper Ball Mower
ompact and lightweight, this foldable mower is perfect to carry around as your go-to mower
Check priceWhy Use a Tennis Ball Mower
Whether you’re a serious player or run a tennis clinic, a tennis ball mower is a must-have on your court. You don’t want to run around chasing and repeatedly bending over to pick loose balls, especially when you have to deal with hundreds of them. This is where tennis ball mowers come in very handy.
What It Is
Tennis ball mowers are an essential tool you need to help pick up and collect hundreds of loose balls on the court. It’s very easy to set-up and operate.
It usually comes with wheels and their main components are a rotating mechanism that catches the balls, a collecting basket or tray where they are fed into. There are also “arms” at the bottom that help align the balls within the area of where the rotating mechanism can run by and scoop the balls; they also help in scooping the balls that are by the net or by the edges of walls.
Some mowers have a detachable basket at the top by the handle so you can easily get balls for when you’re doing your session.
How Does It Work
Operating the tennis ball mower is as easy as running the entire thing to where the loose balls are and the ball mower will do the work for you.
The arms help scoop the balls in place and the rotating mechanism will catch and feed these balls to the tray or basket. Once you’re done or when the tray is full, you can then deposit the balls to the basket above or a different basket.
Here’s a video showing just how easy operating a tennis ball mower is:
What to Look For in Tennis Ball Mower
There are several important things you need to consider when you’re looking into getting a tennis ball mower.
Capacity
Tennis ball mowers are designed to collect hundreds of balls at a time, but some mowers can hold more than others. Depending on the size of the collecting tray or basket, mowers can pick up and hold at least 80-150 balls.
Premium ones can have a larger capacity and the basket these mowers come with can also hold to about twice the capacity of the collecting tray/basket.
Usage
Be it clay, lawn, or concrete, most mowers are built for usage on any court type. However, there are certain variations from brands that work better on a specific court.
One thing you also need to take into consideration is if the mower is going to be used indoors or outdoors. Most mowers are made with high-quality materials to withstand outdoor usage, but there are tennis ball mowers that work better in indoor conditions.
Price
If you’re looking for tennis ball mowers, that only means that you’re looking for a premium, more high-end, high-capacity option to tennis ball hoppers, pick up tubes, or other tennis ball retrievers.
Tennis ball mowers are relatively the most expensive out of all the tennis ball collector devices. Among tennis ball mowers, there are of course more premium options from trusted brands that come with their variations as well.
Our Top Picks
We’ve rounded up the tennis ball mowers from leading brands out there and came up with our top picks. Here are our reviews for the best tennis ball mower options on the market today:
- Equipped with a “ridged” roller for effortless pick-up
- Extra back wheels that help make it easy to maneuver around bumps
- Has a top basket; perfect to use as a teaching cart
The OnCourt OffCourt Multimower is your bang-for-the-buck option. It comes with a detachable basket that can hold over 150 balls, perfect to double as a training cart as well. Designed with high-quality rust resistant materials, it is excellent for indoor or outdoor use and on any court surface as well.
Vermont Tennis Ball Collector Mower
- Collecting tray can hold up to 80 balls at a time
- Top basket can hold 170
- Castor wheels built to work on any surface
Vermont, as a leading tennis equipment brand, did not fail to offer one of the best ball mowers in the market. Made with powder-coated durable steel coating, it’s made to last a long time serving you the purpose of clearing out a court with hundreds of loose balls within minutes.
Har-Tru Anti-Jamming Ball Mower
- Best works in clay courts
- Adjustable arms makes it easy to move around
- Comes with its anti-jamming mechanism
Har-Tru is the trusted partner of the United States Professional Tennis Association. As such, you can only expect the best and they know what works best on a tennis court.
Built to work best on clay courts, the Har-Tru Anti-Jamming Ball Mower is an excellent choice for serious tennis players. The anti-jamming mechanism works to help you collect balls without the fear of the balls getting stuck on the collecting mechanism.
Courtserve Ball Mower
- Non-marking wheels and casters won’t scrape up court surface
- Super smooth collection of hundreds of balls
- Rust-resistant ball basket can hold up to 200 balls
The Courtserve Ball Mower is another excellent premium option for its sturdy heavy-duty plastic design. They assure their non-marking wheels won’t leave a trace on any court surface and the large collecting basket can hold up to 200 balls at a time.
Playmate Ball Mower
- Heavy-duty but lightweight, durable design
- Large rugged 14” wheels for maneuvering
- Removable arms makes it easy to carry around in a car
The Playmate Ball Mower is built to handle the rugged task of collecting up to 200 balls. Made with an aircraft aluminum body, this ball mower is made to last on any court type. The collection basket can also be raised to be used as a feeding basket for practice sessions. It’s compact and lightweight also makes it perfect to be an all-around ball mower you can lug around in your car.
Tomohopper Ball Mower
- Can pick up 90 balls at a time
- Foldable and easy to carry
- Made with non-rust molded plastic
The Tomohopper Ball Mower is designed with non-rust molded plastic materials, making it your go-to when you’re looking for a compact, lightweight design that’s easy to fold and carry wherever you go.
Tennis Ball Mower Alternatives
Those we mentioned above are just some of the brands with the best options in the market. You can also try looking into other brands like Brad, Wilson, and Babolat among others for their variations of tennis ball mowers or collectors.
Now, if ball mowers are a bit too pricey or too much for your tennis needs, you can look up alternative tennis ball retrievers online such as hoppers, tennis ball picker upper tubes or DIY one.
Tennis Hoppers
Tennis hoppers are a perfect alternative to tennis ball mowers, especially when you’re looking into dealing with roughly the same amount of balls to pick up and collect.
It’s basically a basket that picks up balls as you press into them so it still essentially does the same thing of saving you the hassle of bending over to pick up loose balls.
Tennis Ball Pick Up Tubes
Tennis ball pick up tubes are basically, exactly what they are named for – tubes that pick up tennis balls. These can only pick up around 10-20 balls at a time though, but they still do the job.
The Get Out! Tennis Ball Hopper Tube, Tourna Tenn Tube, and the Vermont Tennis Ball Pick Up Tube are just some of the pick up tubes you can check out.
Tennis Ball Rollers
The Mind Reader Tennis Ball Roller and the CHAOFAN 2-in-1 Tennis Ball Pick Up Rollers are just some of the tennis ball rollers that can serve as your options to a tennis ball mower.
DIY Mowers
If you really want to save up, you do have the option to do a DIY tennis ball mower.
The key in DIY-ing tennis ball mowers is in understanding what it does: pick up a huge number of balls at a time and feed them to a basket or tray as you run the rig over the balls. Try to look for used parts for sale that can substitute for the rolling mechanism that gives the mowers they’re distinctive edge as a tennis ball collector.
If you have this down, you can then go ahead and be creative with crafting your own tennis ball mower.
Summary and Recommendations
Tennis ball mowers offer the best solution to the chore of chasing and picking up hundreds of loose balls on a tennis court. Whether you’re teaching for a clinic or just looking to up your game, tennis ball mowers are a tennis court essential.
As our top pick, the OnCourt OffCourt Multimower provides the most value for its large capacity and dual-purpose as a teaching cart for the large capacity basket that can be found by the handle while the Playmate Ball Mower is our top premium pick. The Tomohopper Ball Mower is the great budget option for its compact and foldable design that’s perfect for carrying and lugging around when you travel.
Post last updated on January 13, 2023