The Color of Tennis Balls网球颜色趣谈

马特·多米诺 译/范婕

The tennis ball is such an unassuming object in our lives that we take its appearance for granted. Who hasn’t stumbled upon one of them， forgotten， in the far corner of their closet or garage？ Despite its passive presence， one of the most frenzied internet debates of 2018 centered on its distinctive color： Is it actually yellow， or is it green？ The shade in question originates from an unlikely source： David Attenborough， the legendary British documentarian known internationally for his Planet Earth series， played a pivotal role in how we see the tennis ball today.

The sport of modern tennis was born out of the English game of lawn tennis， which by most accounts was invented in the 1870s. Lawn tennis was an outdoor adaptation of the indoor racket game “real tennis，” which itself was an adoption of the French pastime jeu de paume， or “the palm game.” After many iterations， including balls made of cork， wool， and even human hair， the tennis ball found what was then its ideal form： a ball made of a rubber core encased in white or black melton， a tightly woven and felted fabric.

For nearly a century， tennis balls were white or black. It wasn’t until 1972 that tennis balls took on their bright neon hue. At the time， Attenborough was working as a studio controller for the BBC. In the late 1960s he had led the charge for the BBC to broadcast Wimbledon， perhaps the most iconic of tennis tournaments， in color for the first time ever.

Broadcasting tennis in color brought the matches to life， but it made tracking the ball on screen difficult—especially when it fell near the white courtlines. So the International Tennis Federation （ITF） undertook a study that found that yellow tennis balls were easier for home viewers to see on their screens. An official 1972 ITF rule change required that all regulation balls have a uniform surface and be white or yellow in color. However， Wimbledon did not change the ball color to yellow until 1986.

In 1991， the Chicago Tribune ran a story about white tennis balls making a comeback. In reality， as the article states， most manufacturers never stopped producing white balls in smaller quantities. Grant Golden， a former United States clay court champion， declared that the comeback of white tennis balls would “go right down the toilet” because “the yellow ball is perfect.”

The unmistakable shade of the tennis ball is officially called “optic yellow” by the ITF. But a Google search for “optic yellow color” leads to the online color encyclopedia ColorHexa. There， the shade is listed as #ccff00 and marked as “Fluorescent yellow.”

That slight， blurry line between analogous shades led to the great internet debate： Are tennis balls yellow or are they green？ The origin of the controversy can be traced back to a now-deleted Twitter post by @cgpgrey who asked users to “help solve a marital dispute” and vote on the color of a tennis ball. The tweet led to outlets like The Atlantic taking a deep dive into the topic that touched on human perception and color theory.

The conversation grew to such a degree that even tennis legend Roger Federer weighed in， saying， “They’re yellow， right？” Despite the ITF’s position， the general consensus was that there may not be a true right answer. Maybe you’re a Roger Federer fan and agree with the Swiss legend that the ball is yellow. Or， maybe you’re a Rafael Nadal fan and， out of principle， side with green.

Either way， the next time a tennis ball comes rolling out from the recesses of your closet， take a moment to regard the power of its humble design.

生活中，网球是很普通的小物件，我们从没把它當回事儿。谁没在自家储藏室或车库的某个旮旯里偶然捡到被遗忘在那儿的网球呢。虽然它不起眼，但其特有的颜色在2018年却引起了一场网络热议：网球究竟是黄色还是绿色？网球颜色的起源让人意想不到——凭借《地球脉动》系列纪录片闻名世界的英国纪录片制作人戴维·阿滕伯勒对网球如今这个样子起到了重要作用。

法国休闲游戏“手掌击球（jeu de paume）”引入英国后，发展为使用球拍的“室内网球”，到了室外则成了草地网球。大多数记载显示，到了19世纪70年代，现代网球这个体育项目便由草地网球演变诞生。而使用的球在制作上用过软木、羊毛甚至人的头发等等材料，几经改良后，终于有了就当时来说造型最理想的网球：用橡胶做球芯，外面包裹白色或黑色的麦尔登呢（一种编织紧密的毛毡织物）。

差不多100年的时间里，网球都是非白即黑，直到1972年，颜色才变得鲜亮。那时，阿滕伯勒在英国广播公司任演播室主管，20世纪60年代末，他引领英国广播公司首次以彩色画面的形式直播温布尔登网球锦标赛，该赛事或许可以说是最具代表性的网球锦标赛。

彩色的播放画面让比赛看起来更鲜活，但要在电视屏幕上看清楚运动中的球却不容易，尤其当球落到赛场白色界线附近的时候。于是，国际网球联合会（ITF）进行了一项测验，发现黄色的球能让在家通过电视观赛的人比较容易看清楚。1972年，ITF正式调整网球规则，规定凡是正规赛事用球，其表面必须是统一的白色或黄色。然而，温网直到1986年才使用黄色球。

1991年，美国《芝加哥论坛报》刊登文章说，白色网球重回赛场。其实，正如文章所述，大多数生产商一直都在少量生产白色网球。曾获红土场网球赛冠军的美国运动员格兰特·戈尔登却认为“不可能”用回白球，因为“黄球才是最合适的”。

“视觉黄”是ITF对网球那独特颜色的正式叫法。用谷歌搜索“视觉黄色”，会出现一个名为ColorHexa的颜色信息网站，在这个网站上，网球的颜色被称为“荧光黄”，代码为#ccff00。

相似色度之间差别甚微、界限不明，这在互联网上引发了热议：网球的颜色是黄还是绿？争论的源头是一位网名为cgpgrey的人在推特发布的一条帖子（现已删除），这个人请网友“帮忙解决一个夫妻分歧”，在网球颜色这个问题上投票。这条帖子还使《大西洋》月刊等媒体在人类认知和色彩理论的话题上展开了深入探讨。

议论热度越来越高，连网坛传奇球星罗杰·费德勒也表达了自己的看法：“网球是黄色的，对吧？”尽管ITF说的是“视觉黄”，但人们普遍认为这个问题或许不存在正确答案。如果你是罗杰·费德勒的粉丝，可能会与这位瑞士球星看法一致，认为网球是黄色;而如果是拉菲尔·纳达尔的粉丝，也许不加思考就觉得网球是绿色。

不管你支持谁，下次再有网球从你家储藏室哪个旮旯滚出来的时候，注意看一下它简约而不简单的设计吧。