- Title: UK: WIMBLEDON INTRODUCES LUMINOUS TENNIS BALLS
- Date: 20th June 1996
- Summary: BARNSLEY, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JUNE 20, 1996) 1. WIDE-SHOT TENNIS BALLS AT FACTORY 2. MALAYSIAN RUBBER BEING PRESSED ON ROLLER 3. RUBBER MADE INTO TENNIS BALL "CORES" 4. MOULDED TENNIS BALL HALVES TAKEN OUT OF MACHINE 5. WOMAN PUTTING MOULDS INTO MACHINE 6. MAN PACKING TENNIS BALL HALVES INTO MACHINE 7. MACHINES OPENS 8. INTERVIEW WITH TERRY MOORE, DUNLOP SLAZENGER INTERNATIONAL LTD. "WE HOPE THAT BY THE PLAYERS BEING ABLE TO SEE THE BALL JUST A LITTLE BIT SOONER THE RALLIES WILL BE A LITTLE LONGER AND THAT WILL MAKE FOR A LITTLE BIT BETTER SPECTATOR SPORT." (ENGLISH) 9. TENNIS BALLS BEING TESTED FOR COMPRESSIBILITY AND AIR PRESSURE Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 5th July 1996 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BARNSLEY, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City:
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVA2NGXFSNMU5GXLAS40YWRQ3CDR
- Story Text: New "high-visibility" tennis balls will be introduced at the Wimbledon tennis championships, which start on Monday (June 24), in an effort to counteract the big-hitters of tennis.
With some players capable of serving at around 190 kilometres-per-hour (120 m.p.h), regular tennis balls appear as little more than a blur. Officials from the All England Tennis Club are now hoping the new luminous balls will not only help prolong rallies by giving players a fraction more reaction-time... but also make the game more interesting for spectators.
Second-seeded German tennis player Boris Becker is sure to welcome the introduction of high-visibility balls at Wimbledon. He reportedly says they played a significant part in his victory in the Australian Open.
Slazenger, the company which has manufactured the balls for the championships at its Barnsley factory since 1902, unveiled the "Wimbledon Hi-vis" earlier this week.
The size, weight, air pressure, compressibility and "bounce factor" of tennis balls for Wimbledon are checked individually to meet standards set by the Lawn Tennis Association. 34,000 balls will be used during the 1996 championships. In total, the factory produces around 24-million tennis balls every year.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None