Game-changing circular tennis and padel balls

The new, recycled balls have a 29 per cent lower footprint than regular equivalents

Spotted: Every year at the world-famous Wimbledon Championships, players go through around 55,000 tennis balls, which are notoriously difficult to recycle. In the Netherlands, for instance, 5.3 million of the 5.5 million tennis balls used each year end up being incinerated or sent to landfill, something that sustainable sports company and certified B Corp Renewaball is working to change.

Renewaball has created circular tennis and padel balls made from recycled balls that would otherwise end up as waste. Renewaball’s balls are also recyclable themselves, contributing to significant reductions in the use of virgin rubber and the elimination of harmful plastics. The cloth part of Renewaball’s balls is made from biofelt.

Currently available in the Netherlands, Renewaball’s collection containers encourage players to drop used balls in for recycling. Renewaball then shreds the balls and separates the materials, using the polyester and nylon fibre covering for other products and reusing the rubber in new balls.

Renewaball’s balls contain no plastics, instead consisting of natural and synthetic rubber, with felt made from English and Norwegian wool and cotton. Production is done in Europe, and the balls are available for delivery throughout the region. As part of its sustainable operations, the company does not plan to deliver worldwide unless local manufacturing becomes available.

The balls are International Tennis Federation and International Padel Federation certified for professional use and can be collected for continuous recycling through Renewaball’s processes.

Written By: Keely Khoury