Slazenger Wimbledon Tennis Balls (Model 340939)

A pressurised ball starts losing pressure the moment the tin is opened and goes dead within a few hours of hard play - which is why club players open a new tin for a match. Unopened, a pressurised tin stays good for months. Heat shortens both figures, so keep tins out of the sun and out of a car.

A pressurised ball has compressed air inside and gets its liveliness from that, which is why it dies as the pressure escapes. A pressureless ball gets its bounce from the rubber itself, so it lasts far longer but feels heavier and duller, and the felt wears out before the bounce does. Almost all match balls are pressurised.

Yes. Higher temperature raises the internal pressure, so a ball plays livelier and faster on a hot Dar afternoon than the same ball would in a cool climate - and it loses that pressure faster too. Store tins somewhere cool and never in a car boot.

Heat is hard on strings - polyester loses tension fastest of all string types and heat accelerates it sharply, so expect to restring more often than a European schedule suggests. Never leave a racket in a car boot. Humidity is hard on grips and on natural gut, which absorbs moisture and softens. And pressurised balls go dead faster in heat, opened or not.

Long before they break. Strings lose tension and elasticity from the day they go in - the stringbed goes dead while looking perfect. The old rule still holds: restring as many times a year as you play per week. Twice a week, twice a year. At minimum once a year regardless, and sooner here, because heat accelerates tension loss badly.

How much the racket helps you against how much control you have. A bigger head means more power and a bigger sweet spot that punishes mishits less - which is why beginners should start oversize. A smaller head means more control and more feedback, which is what a player with a full swing needs to keep the ball in. Under 100 square inches is control; 105 to 110 is forgiving; above 110 is maximum help.

When it stops being tacky, which in this heat and humidity is far sooner than the packet suggests - for a regular player, every few sessions. A slick grip makes you squeeze harder, and squeezing harder is slower, more tiring and how tennis elbow starts.

Yes. We deliver across Dar es Salaam and send nationwide to Arusha, Moshi, Mwanza, Dodoma, Zanzibar and beyond by courier. Call or WhatsApp us if you need a same-day drop in the city.