Wimbledon 2024: Why Are Tennis Balls Yellow? Why Thank Sir David Attenborough?

Wimbledon 2024 is well and truly in full swing, with global tennis superstars from around the planet fighting it out at the All England Club for the prestigious crown. The tournament will run from July 1 to July 14. (More Tennis News)

The trimmed grass, the respectful crowds, the rich history, the ancient court - these have been constants at Wimbledon. However, there was one detail that changed, the tennis ball. 

The neon yellow ball is a major part of the tournament, and tennis as a whole. However, it was not always the same colour. It was British broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough who was behind the change. 

The first-ever Wimbledon Championship was in 1877, and was only televised 60 years later for the first time in 1937. A traditional white tennis ball was being constantly used until Attenborough sent four colour broadcast cameras to the event in 1967, 30 years after it was first televised. 

Sporting broadcasters were in a bit of a pickle with the introduction of colour television - where the white balls merged with the grass-courts, making it a rough viewing experience to spot the movement of the ball. However, after 1967, Attenborough proposed that a neon ball would enhance the experience of people watching it from home. 

Later on, the International Tennis Federation supervised an extensive research to find a colour that would fit both black-and-white and colour television sets. 

The neon yellow was finally picked to be the standout on different surfaces - clay, hard and grass, and was eventually approved. However, Wimbledon started featuring these neon yellow balls only in 1986, 13 years after it was first used at the US Open.