--- title: What color are tennis balls? Roger Federer says yellow description: What color are tennis balls? A man asked Roger Federer are tennis balls green or yellow and his confident answer did not disappoint canonical: https://time.com/5208361/roger-federer-tennis-ball-color/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-21T02:09:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:51:30.569Z og:title: Even Roger Federer Can't Settle the Tennis Ball Color Debate og:description: The GOAT has a strong opinion but the world won't stop debating og:url: https://time.com/5208361/roger-federer-tennis-ball-color/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Even Roger Federer Can't Settle the Tennis Ball Color Debate twitter:description: The GOAT has a strong opinion but the world won't stop debating twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Not Even Roger Federer Can Settle the Debate About What Color Tennis Balls Are by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Mar 21, 2018 2:09 AM UTC by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Mar 21, 2018 2:09 AM UTC The [internet’s debate about the true color](http://time.com/4979943/sneakers-optical-illusion/) of tennis balls just went pro. Nothing splits the internet like a good “The Dress”-like argument and it turns out the tennis ball is a polarizing piece of sports equipment. Is it yellow or green? This [debate](http://time.com/4848816/nike-outfit-viral-debate/) started like all of the greats with a [Twitter poll](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/02/what-color-tennis-ball-green-yellow/523521/). Depending on who you ask, some people firmly believe the fuzzy balls are yellow, green, chartreuse, lime green, or neon yellow. Surely, the world’s number one ranking men’s tennis player, Roger Federer, could settle things once and for all. That’s what one man thought when the GOAT was greeting fans in Chicago Monday, so he asked him to weigh in. “Hey Roger, are tennis balls green or yellow?” the man asked in a video that has gone viral. Not missing a beat, Federer answered with complete certitude. “They’re yellow!” he said with a smile. > [](https://twitter.com/delaneyanndold/status/975815880268550144) The guy has 20 Grand Slam titles under his belt. He must have collected more tennis ball expertise throughout his glittering career than the average internet expert. Be that as it may, his decisive response only revved the debate up even more. People continue to argue about it with the passion usually reserved for high school productions of _Inherit the Wind_. Thank the color perception phenomenon for the [strong differences of opinion](http://jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2661490). It all boils down to the way we [perceive light](http://time.com/4740154/photo-illusions-the-dress/). For what it’s worth (not much at this point) most tennis ball manufacturers [would side with Federer.](http://www.wilson.com/en-us/tennis/balls/value/grand-slam-extra-duty-ball-yellow-extra-duty-3-ball-can) See some of the takes below. > [](https://twitter.com/ensquaredx2/status/975870369784410113) > [](https://twitter.com/audra%5Fspiven/status/976132096015110145) > [](https://twitter.com/hellyeah1000/status/976245003218538496) > [](https://twitter.com/SSB%5FBAC/status/976265904622309376) > [](https://twitter.com/gmoneylee99/status/976264940775493632) > [](https://twitter.com/mitchellatencio/status/976260511389048832) > [](https://twitter.com/Jhollowayforday/status/976243871326851072) > [](https://twitter.com/kevinparttwo/status/976225428338888704) For some the question is a real eye opener. > [](https://twitter.com/tayloraIbums/status/976206402606727168) > [](https://twitter.com/romasfinest05/status/976132151270920192) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5208361/roger-federer-tennis-ball-color/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5208361/roger-federer-tennis-ball-color/"},"headline":"Not Even Roger Federer Can Settle the Debate About What Color Tennis Balls Are","datePublished":"2018-03-21T02:09:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:51:30.569Z","description":"What color are tennis balls? 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