BallMachineForTennis.com

Machines priced less than $1000 will be most suitable for beginners to intermediate level players. These ball machines are less complex, and don't have ball spin options or programmability, but do tend to have speed, feed rate, ball elevation and simple random oscillation sweep to get you playing forehands and backhands on the move.

They're also the most - generally between 25 and 35lbs.

Lobster's Elite Freedom, Tennis Tutor's Prolite, and SAM's i SAM (formerly the Little Prince) are all priced around the $750 mark and are packed with features for the price. Lobster scores in the areas of greater range of ball delivery speeds, random oscillation included in the price and for their inclusive 2 year warranty, exceptional in a machine of this price.

The Elite Freedom's big wheels make it one of the easiest to roll around court and on uneven surfaces, but at 35lbs it's not the lightest, and the low positioning of the lifting 'handles' make it a little bit more difficult to get into your vehicle.

This is the most competitive segment of the Ball Machine market and is chock-full of superb ball machines. Most are still very portable, yet have a range of performance to appeal to skilled players and beginners alike.

Many of these machines offer oscillation to 2 or more lines and sufficient ball elevation to allow your ball machine to shoot to any position on the court. Spin control is common (top and underspin), and pre-programmed shot sequences can test your tennis on the run - which is how you'll be playing the game for real.

Machines at the upper end of the price range will allow you to retrieve your own pre-programmed shot patterns at the touch of a button, from a state-of-the-art, multi function wireless remote control if you so desire.

Priced around $1000 more than the three machines above, Lobster's Elite3, Tennis Tutor's Plus Player and SAM's P4 compete for the attention of competant tennis players who demand more functionality and performance to challenge their tennis games, yet still want full portability.

Lobster's Elite 3 sets the standard for oscillation with it's triple - narrow, medium and wide - settings for it's two line throwing feature. It also has the abilty to combine side to side oscillation with vertical oscillation. This means your Lobster machine will deliver balls to all parts of the court and can recreate real life tennis play.

At only 44lbs, it's the lightest of the three, and as with all Lobster portable machines, is backed with a great 2 year warranty. This model has a 2 function remote control option, bringing the cost to $1750+.