See a Flaming Tennis Ball Hit in Slow Motion

If you're a tennis player, there's something you've probably always wanted to do. OK, you probably don't want to hit a flaming tennis ball with a racket soaked in gasoline. But that's only because you hadn't thought of it yet.

The Slo-Mo Guys, though... they thought of it!

As you can see, the main risk of hitting a burning tennis ball isn't really lighting your racket on fire. It's lighting your glove on fire. But the results are hard to argue with.

But why is there a massive fireball in the path of the tennis ball after it's whacked? The racket moving through the air creates a good fuel/air mixture that allows it to ignite easily. And looks great in slow motion.