The year that has just ended marked an important growth of the tennis movement in Italy, we are facing an effect close to one that turns a sport into a collective mania, leading even those who do not know the difference between a racket and a frying pan to improvise as experts in slice and volleys [1]. This is obviously due to the great successes of Jannik Sinner in the men’s singles and Jasmine Paolini in the women’s singles, but also thanks to the national team victories and the Olympic medals last summer of Lorenzo Musetti and the Paolini/Errani duo. 

As in so many other sports, given the increasing global focus on environmental sustainability, the challenge of climate change in this discipline has also encouraged sports facilities and retailers to adopt more responsible practices, especially in managing one of its main elements, the balls. However, the question that is often asked is what happens to all the balls used during every international tournament? Every year, around 330 million tennis balls are produced worldwide, but 97% of them are no longer reusable and are either burnt in incinerators for energy recovery or disposed of in landfills, where they take around 400 years to biodegrade [2]. In the US alone, an estimated 125 million balls end up in landfills each year [2].

The iconic yellow and white spheres characteristic of the sport are essential to the game, but their management and replacement remain inadequate, relying largely on subjective assessments and arbitrary timing, this practice leads to their premature disposal, contributing to significant environmental waste [3]. The balls degrade due to repeated impacts and environmental exposures that alter their performance characteristics over time. Several publications have identified that the type of playing surface adopted (e.g. clay, grass or concrete courts), temperature and humidity levels can be influential variables in the degradation of their performance [4].

In modern tennis thousands of balls are used every tournament, as they are frequently changed after a certain number of games or at the request of the players, however, current techniques often lead to those still suitable for use being discarded prematurely. Nevertheless, recently their recycling and reuse rates have increased; organizations such as AceCycle were founded with the aim of reducing the overall environmental footprint of tennis. This non-profit company developed a method to collect used tennis balls, reuse them for community programs or recycle the materials in any way possible [5], but despite their efforts, current data on the lifespan of tennis balls is insufficient for an efficient reduction of the overall environmental impact of tennis.

This is why the ITF (International Tennis Federation) was invited, together with manufacturers and several national federations, to set up a working group with the specific aim of increasing the ‘life’ of each ball. A laboratory in Roehampton (England), south-west London, a few kilometres from the “All England Lawn” Tennis Club, houses a series of robots testing balls and rackets, as well as a wind tunnel powered by an ancient computer, used to test the aerodynamics of the balls [6]. A prototype was shown during a recent BBC Sport report in which Jamie Capel-Davies, head of the ITF’s science and technology department, presented a model with a polymer outer shell with holes, as opposed to the normal fabric covering over the rubber core. The researchers involved in the design say that it is still a prototype and that there may be a better solution, but it shows how the ITF is trying to stimulate innovation in the industry and be proactive [6].

Capel-Davies also stated that there could be the possibility of adjusting the current rules on when and how often balls are changed during matches to try to extend the lifespan of existing balls. “We are looking at the possibility of using fewer tennis balls, changing the size of the order that some tournaments make in terms of tennis balls and looking at the frequency of ball changes during matches so that fewer balls are needed”, he explained. “The second thing is to try to extend the life of the tennis balls. For example, repressurizing them to prolong their life” [6].

At the moment during the Wimbledon (England) tournament, ball changes occur every seven or nine games depending on the set. But in some events, the change can be as high as eleven or thirteen, the variability often depending on the length of the exchanges that occur in a single game. The working group also intends to consult the players on these ideas in the future, but Capel-Davies hopes that the athletes will recognize the considerable impact they could have. “I think sport has a very important role to play in terms of sustainability. It can use its profile to try to encourage sustainability and set an example to others in this area. So we want to try to use this influence in the most positive way possible” [6].

Incentivizing the collection of used tennis balls from clubs, schools and public courts to divert them from landfills can give them a new life in extremely innovative ways. Whether it is renewing court surfaces, designing dog toys or using them in other creative ways, the ITF must become more committed to finding solutions that can contribute to the well-being of our planet, one ball at a time.

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