Serve Up Sustainability: Eco-Friendly Tennis Tips
I’ve been playing tennis since I was little, and it’s a sport I still love. However, tennis has a long way to go in terms of sustainability. From the clothes to the equipment, almost all tennis gear is made with plastic. Here are some easy ways to green your tennis game.
Clothes
Tennis is known for its stylish outfits, but many mainstream tennis brands fall short on sustainable and ethical practices. These are a few clothing brands you can trust:
Adidas x Stella McCartney: This collection features pieces made from recycled ocean plastics and regenerated fibers, materials that reduce the use of virgin resources and prevent waste from entering landfills and oceans.
JGame: A female-founded, eco-conscious brand that uses high-quality recycled materials.
Girlfriend Collective: While not specifically a tennis brand, Girlfriend Collective has the cutest shorts, skirts, dresses, tops, and more made from recycled materials like post-consumer water bottles and fishing nets.
Tala: Known for ethically produced activewear made with recycled and natural materials.
Patagonia: You can never go wrong with Patagonia, a company whose only shareholder is The Earth. Although it’s an outdoors brand, their tops, shorts and skirts are still great for tennis.
Shoes
One of the most environmentally frustrating aspects of tennis to me is how often I need to replace my shoes. If you’re an active tennis player, you’ll likely wear through your shoes within months. This is why I believe shoes are one of the most impactful ways we can be more sustainable in tennis.
Recycle Your Worn Shoes: Innovative companies like For Days and Thousand Fell offer recycling programs to keep worn-out shoes out of landfills.
Adidas x Stella McCartney: I again recommend Adidas x Stella McCartney. The shoe that I am currently wearing and love is the Stella Court.
FILA Mondo Forza: Another eco-friendly option crafted from recycled and natural materials.
Rackets
Tennis rackets are relatively sustainable due to their longevity, but some are better than others:
Wilson Limited Edition Naked Series: These rackets are made without solvent-based paints or dyes, reducing carbon compounds and making for cleaner air, water, and ecosystems. The Naked Series also reduces the amount of water it takes to produce a racket by 10.8%, over two tons of water. They also feature a grip made of biodegradable polyurethane and bumpers, grommets and a buttcap made with agiplast, a bio-based plastic derived from castor bean oil.
Donate Used Rackets: Organizations like Second Serve, Kids Serving Kids, and Play It On collect gently used tennis equipment and distribute it to those who don’t have access to tennis gear. Whether you just bought a new racquet or simply have an extra one collecting dust, the above organizations are great ways to put your rackets to better use than they would be in the landfill.
Balls
Tennis balls are particularly harmful to the environment. They are predominantly made in South East Asia under unethical working conditions. Tennis balls also shed microplastics as the polyester and nylon felt wears, and 97% of tennis balls end up in landfills, and do not decay. Here are better alternatives:
Wilson Triniti: Lasts four times longer than a traditional ball and is encased in a 100% recyclable paper sleeve.
Phoenix: Made entirely out of used tennis balls. Instead of tossing these balls out when worn, simply return them to Phoenix and they will recycle them again into new balls.
Renewaball (Europe): Made with recycled materials and biological felt, these balls are fully recyclable and spread no plastic particles.
Ball recycling: To recycle any tennis ball, check out Recycle Balls. They will send you a shipping label to send in your old balls, which are then used in constructing tennis courts or horse footing.
Pro tip from the legendary coach Amy Barber: Collect and bring tennis ball cans with the full lids to a local food bank. Coach Amy takes many cases of cans each week and every time they are extremely thankful. All dry bulk products can be handed out in these cans with lids and repeat customers bring their cans in for refill.
Strings
Most tennis strings are made of polyester and take centuries to decompose. Each time we re-string a racket, we add to the tens of thousands of pounds of tennis string that is dumped into landfills around the world. Thankfully, scientists have made great strides in creating more eco-friendly tennis strings. Here are a couple of my favorite sustainable options:
Luxilon LXN Eco Strings: Made entirely from recycled PET bottles and packaging materials. The spin string is also biodegradable!
Velociti Catalyst 16g Strings: These synthetic strings are completely biodegradable.
While I am not a fan of using animal products, it is important to note that natural gut strings, made of cow intestines, are an organic material and biodegradable. Natural gut is also a by-product of the meat industry, which means that cows are not being killed specifically for the production of strings, but merely to not waste.
Grips
Grips are also replaced and discarded frequently. Most grips are made out of polyurethane, a material that sits in our landfills for hundreds of years. A more eco-friendly option is EcoGRIP, a grip that decomposes naturally in the environment within one year.
Dampeners
While dampeners can be fun and cute, the popular emojis that slide between your strings are made out of polymers that do not decompose for many, many years. For a more sustainable option, EcoGRIP’s OTZ dampeners decompose naturally in the environment within one year.
By making these small changes, you can play the sport you love while being kinder to the planet.