Does temperature have an effect on the bounce of a ball?

Answer 1

The answer depends in part on the construction of the "ball". However... e.g.,

...the higher the temperature of the air in a tennis ball the higher the pressure of that air will be and the more resistant the ball will be to deformation when it strikes surface or racket. The less deformation needed to absorb a particular amount of kinetic energy the less energy will be lost (converted to heat) by the deformation and subsequent (vibratory) reformation. More will therefor remain kinetic and the ball will retain more of its speed. It will therefor bounce higher, etc. The relative hardness of the ball will also effect friction and rotation off surface and racket, but these second order effects are not obvious (to me, anyway) from first principles.

In a lower range, the ball will shatter rather than bounce. Dip one in liquid nitrogen and see. Of course, now we are talking about the temperature of the ball rather than the temperature of the air inside the ball.

Answer 2

yes