Why tennis players pick and choose from different balls?

Question

I can’t find any real explanation for this. Are there different balls? Some harder, some faster… or is it just a habit from players?

In: 56

Answer 1

In general for a first serve they want a brand new ball or a less used ball so it has more bounce and is faster when hit.

For a second serve they want more fuzz which generates more topspin due to more air resistance which makes it more reliable and not as likely to go out and also gives it a more unpredictable flight path.

Not everyone is picky, like serena. But at the top 0.001% everything matters.