网球颜色趣谈

文/马特·多米诺 译/范婕

生活中，网球是很普通的物件，我们从没把它当回事儿。谁没在自家储藏室或车库的某个旮旯里偶然捡到过被遗忘在那儿的网球呢？虽然它不起眼，但它特有的颜色却在2018 年引起了一场网络热议：网球究竟是黄色的还是绿色的？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传奇制作人戴维·阿滕伯勒对今日我们如何看待网球起到了重要影响。

2现代网球起源于英国的草地网球，大多数记载显示，草地网球出现于19 世纪70 年代。草地网球脱胎于“室内网球”——将这种室内球拍运动搬到了室外，而“室内网球”则由法国人的娱乐活动“手掌击球游戏”演变而来。使用的球在制作上用过软木、羊毛甚至人的头发等材料，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）。

3近100 年的时间里，网球非白即黑，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。

4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）进行了一项研究，发现黄色的球更容易让在家通过电视观赛的人看清楚。1972 年，ITF 正式调整网球规则，规定凡是正规赛事用球表面样式统一，颜色须为白色或黄色。然而，温网直到1986 年才改用黄色网球。

51991 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”。

6“视觉黄”是ITF 对网球那独特颜色的正式叫法。而用谷歌搜索“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。

7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？争论的源头是一个网名为cgpgrey 的人在推特发布的一个帖子（现已删除），此人请网友“帮忙解决一个夫妻分歧”，在网球颜色这个问题上投票。这个帖子还使《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。

8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确切答案。如果你是罗杰·费德勒的粉丝，可能会与这位瑞士传奇球星看法一致，认为网球是黄色的；而如果你是拉斐尔·纳达尔的粉丝，也许不加思考就觉得网球是绿色的。

9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。 □

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 hisPlanet Earthseries,played a pivotal role in how we see the tennis ball today.

2The 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 pastimejeu 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.

3For 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.

4Broadcasting 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.

5In 1991, theChicago Tribuneran 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.”

6The 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.”

7That 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 nowdeleted 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 likeThe Atlantictaking a deep dive into the topic that touched on human perception and color theory.

8The 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.

9Either 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. ■