FAQs

Why buy a tennis ball machine?

Tennis ball machines are the ideal, reliable partner for beginners and experts alike and they're available whenever you are. Beginners benefit from the repetition, precision, and consistency of ball machines. Such repetition develops basic skills and muscle memory - essential building blocks for a developing game. More advanced players can take advantage of controlling spin-style, positioning, high speeds, feed rate, randomisation, and a host of other specific attributes designed to challenge and improve your ability.

 

How does it work?

Spinshot tennis ball machines use a pair of counter rotating wheels. They spin at high speed to propel the ball. A less effective method is pneumatic propulsion which uses a similar technology to a vacuum cleaner in reverse. The problem with pneumatic is it's noisy, it can't provide spin (without the use of an adaptor), has low top speeds and is generally outdated. Most pneumatic machines have now been discontinued.

  

How do ball machines create ball spin?

Our machines generate spin on the ball by revolving one counter rotating wheel faster than the other. So if the top wheel spins at a higher speed than the bottom, the machine will impart topspin on the ball. If the bottom wheel spins faster, you will get a slice. Some machines cannot create spin? Some tennis ball machines use the counter rotating wheel system, but choose to place the wheels on horizontal sides of the ball, rather than on the top and bottom. Therefore they are unable to get any top spin or slice.

  

What is random oscillation?

Random oscillation is where the tennis ball machine replicates a match situation by shooting balls randomly around the court. This allows a player to focus on footwork, fitness and practice shots in a more realistic environment.

 

Why does the machine move on the court in use?

This could happen on some slippery courts when the external battery option is used. When the battery is taken out of the machine, the machine may be too light to be stable. It could move a little bit due to recoil when the machine shoots out the balls. To keep it stable, it is suggested the user either puts a weight in the battery cage, or hangs the battery or other weight on towing handle to increase its weight.

 

How to position the machine before use?

For The Plus and The Player model, the machine will start a power-up initialization after you turn on the power.  This initialization will turn the machine to a factory preset direction. When the initialization is completed, the user needs to position the machine in the PROPER direction to the baseline. For most cases, the user can first position the machine perpendicular to the baseline, then try the horizontal oscillations by changing HORZ value between 1 and 20. If the machine sends the balls out wide to your left side, you should accurately re-position the machine facing more to the right side. Similarly, if the machine sends the balls out wide to the right side, you should properly re-position the machine facing more to the left side. This is just to make the machine shoot balls evenly across the court. So next time when you use the machine, you know which direction you need to place the machine.

  

What is the difference between the AC module and the Charger?

The AC module powers the machine without a battery but you have to have mains power on the court. The charger is plugged into the control panel of the machine to charge the internal battery or to the external battery/hybrid kit's extension cable. The charger is not powerful enough to drive the machines main motors.. The AC module is 10 times more powerful than the charger.

  

Can I install both AC module and battery inside the machine?

No. The power-supply cage can only fit one module. So if you require both AC option and battery option, you should install hybrid module in the cage and then use battery externally.

 

Why does the ball machine shoot balls slower than when it was new?

If the machine produces high speed deliveries but after a while they slow down the issue could be the battery. If the machine is delivering slow balls from the start, the possible reason could be too slippery service wheels. That happens if you use new balls (too much wax) or always use machine outdoors. Follow the User Manual to sandpaper the wheels which will fix it. If you are using a new machine and you feel the speed has dropped, please check whether you have high spin set on the shots. The high spin setting will slow down the balls.

  

What is the main difference between the high spin model and normal model?

Spinshot provides the high spin model for Player and Plus2. The high spin model has more powerful service motors which will enables a faster delivery at high spin levels.

  

Can spinshot sports provide overseas warranty support?

Yes, Spinshot Sports will provide overseas warranty support. In case the machine is faulty, Spinshot sports will find a way to fix the machine for you.

 

What are the default drills on a new machine?

For Player or Plus2, the default drills are listed at http://spinshotsports.com/drills.html. (D1-Flat ; D2-TopSpin; D3-BackSpin; D4-Forehand; D5-BackHand; D6-Narrow 2-Line; D7-Wide 2-Line; D8-LOB; D9-Net to Baseline; D10-RandomHORZ; D11-Random Height; D12-Fully Random). Each machine may perform the drill slightly differently (balls used, voltage etc.) even for the same drill values, so the customer needs to update each drill based on the shots produced. Once you get familiar with that, you will make better use of your machine.

  

How to use the remote watch?

Please read the instructions for the remote watch.

  

Can I use any type of tennis balls in a tennis ball machine?

To get the most out of your machines, we recommend you use pressureless balls. Most typical tennis balls are pressurised which become considerably flatter after a couple of days of hitting. If you throw these old balls into the tennis ball machine, you will get varying results. For example on the same machine settings a flat ball may hit the net whilst a new ball would land on the baseline. Pressureless balls avoid this and are designed to have the same bounce and shape for years to come, they only need to be replaced when they lose their felt. The average person will get at least 1 - 2 years out of pressureless balls (depending on court surface, amount of usage, etc).

Purchase presureless balls here