Superstar Serena Williams attempts to solve an ongoing puzzle: the true color of a tennis ball. She turned to her fans for their thoughts: Is a tennis ball green or yellow?
“Has this been taken care of yet?” Williams posted on X Monday. “Is a tennis ball green or yellow? HELP – vote here http://wynbeauty.com.”
She included a link that takes fans to a place where they can vote. This appears to be part of a larger plan, as voters can submit their emails to find out the results sooner and gain earlier access to Wyn Beauty, a product she is promoting.
All this debate around the color of tennis balls is not new. It actually started on social media when a person asked others to help resolve a disagreement between him and his wife.
The legendary Roger Federer even weighed in and shared his views in a widely viewed video. He responded to a fan question by saying: “They’re yellow, aren’t they?”
Official guidelines from the International Tennis Federation describe the color as “optical yellow”. But this is more complex since ColorHexa, an online color reference tool, lists the color code as #ccff00, which could be considered “fluorescent yellow or electric lime.”
Tennis balls turned yellow after legendary BBC documentarian David Attenborough suggested the old black and white balls were difficult to see on television. Despite the difficulties experienced by viewers, particularly on black and white television, Wimbledon did not change the color of the ball from traditional white to yellow until 1986.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams has made it clear she will never hit a tennis ball at a professional event again after revealing she is “at peace” with her decision to retire after the 2022 US Open. The 23-time Grand Slam champion insisted she will still be able to compete at a high level.
“I definitely feel more at peace now. It’s interesting. I think I feel torn because I’m still able to play at a very, very, very high level,” Williams, 42, said.
“I also wanted to leave when I’m healthy and have a good quality of life. But I’m moving away little by little, little by little, I’m embracing it. I was playing earlier when I retired because it was difficult to do it all at once.”
“But lately I haven’t been playing much. And I miss it. I’m like, ‘Oh my God. I have to go’. But it’s hard for me to go. I played the other day, and it’s just like, ‘There’s no way I shouldn’t play professional tennis’. There’s literally no excuse.”
