This Perfume Smells Like Fresh Tennis Balls

One of the annual moments that signals the start of summer turning into fall is the U.S Open Tennis Championship. It’s a two-week tournament that’s become one of the biggest moments in both sports and pop culture, thanks to its high-profile players, high-stakes matches, and high camp outfits. I mean, there’s something equally classic and unserious about the quintessential tennis whites, right?

Grab your racket and get ready to hit the court, because D.S. & Durga’s new limited-edition fragrance, Crush Balls, is a tennis-inspired scent hitting shelves just in time for everyone’s favorite tournament. Whether you’re playing singles, doubles, or watching from the sidelines, this olfactory interpretation of tennis will serve a bit of summer sun to your fragrance collection, no matter when you wear it.

This isn’t the first time tennis has inspired a scent. Imaginary Authors’ The Soft Lawn is all about a tennis match on a breezy day surrounded by lush greens, and Otherland’s Matchpoint candle features notes of tennis balls, fresh-cut grass, and cucumber. Clearly, the scent of cracking open a fresh tube of new tennis balls and smacking them back and forth on the court has an irrevocable place in our psyche, whether or not we engage in the sport ourselves.

My Review

Admittedly, I was hesitant about a tennis-inspired scent. It’s just, I don’t want to smell like balls. Maybe what I mean is, I don’t want to smell like rubber. Yes, fresh tennis balls smell exciting! But on the body? I wasn’t sure.

But it’s so much more than that. Crush Balls doesn’t aim to be a literal interpretation of chartreuse tennis balls. Instead, it’s meant to capture speed, sport, the adrenaline felt on and off the court on a hot summer day.

Upon first spritz, it’s tart to the point of bitter. Green grass, rosemary, and a yellow fuzz accord pop like a cork off a bottle of champagne. It makes for a debut that’s fresh, pungent, and very clean, almost sterile, like a caricature of a classic cologne.

Airy notes like white cotton of a new tennis set and hedge flowers lining the court let the searing top notes breathe, opening them up and softening their edges, making them soft against skin. A crisp “sporty accord,” and a note of “hard court” that’s equally artificial and earthy ground the scent, giving some weight to the enthusiasm of the top notes and breathy heart. Taking another look at the notes, you’ll see that most of this scent is not made up of your typical notes, like cypress or bergamot, but storytelling accords like “yellow fuzz” and “hard court”.

An accord is a blend created from singular notes aiming to emulate the smell of something else. These can be used to replicate a plant that doesn’t lend itself to the normal process of oil extraction, like an easter lily, or a completely artificial object, like a tennis ball, that you can’t pull any natural materials from in the first place. Accords can be natural, synthetic, or a blend of both.

Because the build of the scent is just as much for your imagination as it is for your nose, it’s hard to pinpoint just exactly what makes it so good. But it is good.

Crush Balls is as bright as a solar flare, so tangy it makes your jaw ache. It warms up on your skin and becomes pleasantly sweet, like a brûléed citrus. To me, it brings in an ambery warmth or a melony dewiness — like sipping a Honey Deuce, the signature cocktail of the U.S. Open, in the stands under the hot summer sun as you watch the clock tick away the final moments of the tie-breaking match.

The Takeaway

There’s a lot to love here. Tennis or not, I would really enjoy this fragrance under any name or concept. As we know, fragrance is closely intertwined with memory. But to have memories, you’ve got to make them first. There are so many scents meant to celebrate seasons like summer or fall, which are great in their own right, but it’s so fun to get specific with the direction of your scent. This isn’t summer — it’s tennis, which is its own type of summer sport and culture, its own reason to celebrate. It just goes to show that with the right concept and the right nose, anything can be imagined into a beautiful scent.

I wouldn’t expect myself to like a tennis scent, but turns out, this one is an ace.