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Tennis balls for kids: red, orange, green, foam and which to buy

Updated 23 October 2026 · By Will, founder and tennis dad

Most children up to about 8 should use red balls: foam indoors, felt outdoors. Children of about 8 to 10 move to orange on a bigger court, and advanced 9 and 10 year olds to green. Yellow balls bounce too high and fast for young players. For home practice, a few balls of the right colour are enough, and stage balls outlast yellow ones.

What tennis balls are there for kids?

Besides the standard yellow ball, the ITF specifies three slower balls for children aged 10 and under. They are numbered backwards: red is Stage 3, orange Stage 2 and green Stage 1, the last step before yellow. Red comes in foam and felt.

Ball	Size and bounce in ITF tests	Recommended for
Red foam (Stage 3)	8 to 9 cm across, 25 to 43 g, bounces 85 to 105 cm	Up to 8, indoors and first lessons
Red felt (Stage 3)	7 to 8 cm, 36 to 49 g, bounces 90 to 105 cm	Up to 8, on a red court outdoors
Orange (Stage 2)	6 to 6.86 cm, 36 to 46.9 g, bounces 105 to 120 cm	8 to 10, on an orange court
Green (Stage 1)	6.3 to 6.86 cm, 47 to 51.5 g, bounces 120 to 135 cm	Advanced 9 and 10 year olds, full court
Yellow (standard)	6.54 to 6.86 cm, 56 to 59.4 g, bounces 135 to 147 cm	Usually from about 10 to 12, after green

Bounce figures come from the ITF's drop test, so use them to compare balls, not as bounce heights on court. Under the ITF's rules, only stage balls are used in 10 and under competition.

How do red, orange and green balls differ?

Speed. The ITF describes red as about 75% slower than a yellow ball, orange about 50% slower and green about 25% slower.
Bounce. Each step bounces higher than the one before. The ITF's reason: the best height to hit a groundstroke is between waist and shoulder, and even at 10, some yellow balls bounce above a child's head.
Size. The USTA describes red balls as larger, lower bouncing and slower than yellow; orange and green are about yellow size. It notes one catch: red balls are hard to catch in one hand, so its coaches use orange for one-handed catching games.
Softness. Stage balls are low-compression, meaning softer. In the ITF's squash test, orange gives 1.4 to 1.65 cm, green 0.8 to 1.05 cm and yellow only 0.56 to 0.74 cm (red has no set figure). Tennis Australia says this gives children more time and control, and helps them learn good technique.

Some programmes use compression instead: Tennis Australia's Hot Shots calls red a 25 per cent compression ball, orange 50 and green 75. Either way, red is the softest and slowest, green the closest to yellow.

Which ball should my child use?

The ITF's Rules of Tennis give a recommended age for each ball:

Red: players up to 8, on a red court. Tennis Australia uses red balls even for 3 to 5 year olds.
Orange: players aged 8 to 10, on an orange court.
Green: advanced players aged 9 to 10, on a full-size court.
Yellow: no set age. The ITF says children who have worked through the three stages are usually ready at around 10 to 12.

Age is a guide. The ITF says a child who starts at 9 may begin at red, while some bigger beginners start at orange. Simplest of all: use the colour from your child's lessons. For courts and rackets at each stage, see red, orange and green ball tennis explained and what size tennis racket does my child need?

Foam or felt: which is best at home?

This choice only applies at red, since orange and green balls are felt. The ITF's guidance is clear:

Foam for indoors. Foam balls are soft and low bouncing, and the ITF calls them perfect for new players and indoor use. Moulded foam balls can go outdoors too, but they are heavier and bounce higher.
Felt for outdoors. Red felt balls were designed for outside, where wind makes foam balls hard to control. They are slightly faster than foam.

The USTA's red ball Play at Home challenges use a foam ball against a garage door or wall, or on a driveway. Its plans also note that foam sticks to the strings in rolling games, where felt works better.

Once your child moves to orange, keep a few red balls. The ITF notes coaches often go back to the slower ball for learning a new skill, and indoor drills stay easier with a soft ball.

How many balls should I buy?

No federation sets a number for home practice. The ITF notes that stage balls last longer than yellow ones, and most of the USTA's home challenges use a single ball. As a practical guide:

For rallies, catching and wall games, two or three balls are enough, so a ball lost under the sofa does not end the session. See wall practice for kids.
For feeding, if you toss balls for your child to hit, a small bucket of around ten saves chasing every shot.

Replace felt balls when they lose their bounce compared with new ones, and foam balls when they tear.

What should I look for when buying?

The stage on the pack: Stage 3 (red), Stage 2 (orange) or Stage 1 (green).
The colour marking. Under the ITF's approval rules, a green ball is all yellow with a solid green dot. Orange is yellow and orange, or yellow with an orange dot, and red felt is yellow and red, or yellow with a red dot. Red foam can be any colour. So a yellow ball with a green dot is a green ball, not a standard one.
"ITF Approved" on the packaging. Approved balls are tested against the ITF specifications, and makers may print "ITF Approved" and a stage logo on the packaging, though not on the ball itself.
The same type as lessons. If your child's club uses felt red balls, felt at home keeps the bounce familiar.

When should my child move up a ball?

When the coach says so, usually based on the ITF's checklist. A player should first be able to serve consistently into the right box, return a second serve, rally consistently while moving the ball around the court, keep score, and play with confidence and want to move up.

Do not rush it. The ITF warns that moving up too soon can knock confidence, reduce enjoyment and distort technique as children cope with a faster, higher-bouncing ball before they are physically ready. It recommends a transition of six to ten weeks, sometimes longer, using both the old and new ball in lessons. At home, keep both colours in the bag for that time. For games at each stage, see red ball drills and orange ball drills.

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This guide is general information for parents, not medical advice. Check with your child's coach or doctor about their own situation.