NY Times asks about Recycling Tennis Balls

Read the article HERE and in the NY Times print edition (page SP3 on Sept 11th). During the Grand Slams, the discussion about “tennis balls” is typically some derivation of how a ball (Wilson, etc) is made. We applaud the NY Times for digging deeper and asking about recycling tennis balls – “isn’t someone in the industry doing something to recycle all the old balls (trash) we use for matches and practice?”

Supported by thousands of loyal tennis ball recycling partners (both individuals & clubs), reBounces’ partnership with Laykold and Ace Surfaces produced the first commercially viable solution – tennis balls being recycled and incorporated into a tennis court surfacing. This was first installed at Tenafly Racquet Club – an existing Green Machine owner & client of Ace Surfaces in the Fall of 2015. You can see the video discussing this installation HERE and a cool animated video HERE of how the recycling partnership works (hint it starts with everyday people & clubs that collect tennis balls for recycling).

Recycling Tennis Balls Background

reBounces collected the first tennis balls for recycling in 2008. The First National Tennis Ball Recycling Campaign began after a trip to Indian Wells in 2009. For the last eight years (8!!), we have been providing free shipping labels (YES… FREE of CHARGE) to anyone in the lower 48 States that can send in 200+ tennis balls for recycling. More than 3,000 individuals and tennis facilities have recycled with us over the years! We (collectively with our partners) cannot do this without continued support of tennis balls coming in by the thousands each week. It is quite expensive at this point to recycle tennis balls. However, with three industry leaders (reBounces – Eco Tennis, Ace Surfaces – innovative tennis court surfaces, Laykold – dominant tennis surfacing manufacturer) behind this effort, hopefully, the tennis industry (associations, manufacturers, etc) will wake up and join us and our thousands of recycling partners.

Recycling Tennis Balls via Green Machines

We began selling our Green Machines in 2011 to clients across the US & Canada — we’ve had ups (and downs), but we currently have more than 300 commercial units out there. The Green Machine literally puts air back in a tennis balls – yellow and all QuickStart balls – extending the life, bounce of the ball on the court. Most recently our technology has been shrunk to a size, price-point for the avid tennis player to purchase. The impact of the commercial Green Machines is staggering. When run at half capacity, Green Machines reduce tennis ball consumption by nearly 5,000,000 (5 Million) per year!

Industry Response to Innovative Tennis Ball Recycling

As noted in the article, the industry by-and-large has not listened nor supported what we’re doing to keep tennis balls in play and out of landfills (not a big shock to those of you in the tennis business). Statements such as these are ways to avoid or not promote the solutions already in existence:

• “challenges with recycling costs”
• “if the technologies have advanced to the point of viability”

reBounces has offered FREE (all you have to do is pay $1.00 for a box!!) tennis ball recycling labels since 2008 and has never turned anyone down who has more than 200 balls to recycle. Laykold Masters Tennis Courts that include recycled tennis balls have been installed in multiple locations across the country. The Laykold Masters court is world class and 100% viable!

Become Part of the Solution

We need your help to continue recycling tennis balls. Some ways you can help:

• Share the article on your Facebook feed AND with other players at your local tennis facility — http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/11/sports/tennis/yellow-fuzzy-and-flat-where-do-recycled-tennis-balls-go.html
• Put out a box and collect old tennis balls. Want a more formal receptacle/bin for recycling tennis balls? We can get you one that looks amazing!
• Ask for a FREE shipping label
• Let us know how we can support your recycling efforts.  reBounces has documented hours for community service, provided certificates for local display, etc.
• Like reBounces on Facebook

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Tennis Ball Recycling News

reBounces announces a partnership with Ace Surfaces and Advanced Polymer Technology (manufacturer of Laykold, official surface of the Miami Open since 1984) that will bring the world’s first complete all-tennis recycling solution for the more than 130 million tennis balls consumed every year in the United States. Tennis balls that have bounced their last on the court will now leave a legacy for the bounce of future generations of tennis balls as they can now be ground up and incorporated as a component in tennis court construction and resurfacing. And the surfaces are the best in the business, combining excellent playability with durability, while offering a shock-absorption that is unmatched, even by clay courts. You can read the full press release at tennisballrecycling.com

First Courts Incorporating Tennis Ball Recycling

Ace Surfaces will install the first of the Tennis Ball Recycling Courts at Tenafly Racquet Club in Tenafly, NJ at the end of August. Says Gordon Uehling, Founder and Managing Director of Tenafly Racquet Club, “We are extremely excited about the new Laykold Masters 5 courts we are installing at the Tenafly Racquet Club. We love being the first tennis facility in the country with tennis courts that are partially made out of recycled tennis balls. Those that find hard courts to be difficult on their hips, knees and back will be pleasantly surprised by the difference the surface will have on their body. We hope to see other clubs in the country follow our lead in making the sport more enjoyable while helping the environment”

Up to 10,000 tennis balls are incorporated into a single cushioned court surface and can provide a 21% force reduction. By lessening the impact traditional hard courts have on a player’s joints, these courts will extend the tennis careers of players of all abilities, protect young players whose bodies are not fully developed, and perhaps pull a few seasoned players out of a too early retirement.

Tennis Ball Recycling & You

Simply collect 200 or more tennis balls in one box. Fill out the request form – be sure to include email and phone. We’ll email you a pre-paid shipping label. Please complete form on this page.

Tennis Ball Recycling Video

Want to Recycle Tennis balls ?

Please join the nationwide tennis ball recycling movement!

1. Send us the following information in the description field of our contact form OR recycle at rebounces.com
   • Include your name AND shipping address
   • Include the number of tennis balls per box OR  the weight of each box you are sending….MUST be more than 200 tennis balls per box!
   • While the tennis ball recycling program is free to join, we cannot currently accommodate small packages, however you can send them directly to us.
     
   • FYI – Home Depot/Lowe’s offer an 18″ x 18″ x 16″ box for $1 that holds up to 325 balls
2. reBounces will email you a prepaid shipping label so you can join the tennis ball recycling movement.
3. Drop off the box(es) at any FedEx drop-off location

Click here to go to the RECYCLING LABEL REQUEST page. We’ll put them to good use and you’ll be doing your part to green the game.

Quick Fact — Rebounces began the First National Campaign to Recycle Tennis Balls in 2008!! We are the leader in “Eco Tennis”.

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BNP Paribas Open and Rebounces Recycle Tennis Balls

2015 marked the 7th year Rebounces has partnered with BNP Paribas to recycle tennis balls collected at the BNP Paribas Open.

This year 2,000+ tournament patrons helped to keep their used tennis balls out of the landfills.

To encourage the more than 456,000 attendees of the BNP Paribas Open to help green the game of tennis, reBounces and BNP Paribas sponsored a tennis ball recycling program onsite at the event. Tennis fans were asked to bring in six old balls in exchange for a can of three new ones. At the end of the spectacular event, over a ton (seriously 2,000+ pounds) of recycled tennis balls were packed and shipped back to reBounces Head Quarters in Arkansas diverting them from an immediate trip to the landfill.  Read about past BNP Paribas Open tennis ball recycling events OR get a pre-paid shipping label to recycle tennis balls today.

.@BNPPamericas has again partnered w/ @rebounces to recycle tennis balls at the #BNPPO15. Learn more in this video: https://t.co/QKoMY04lOz

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 21, 2015

Recycle Tennis Balls On-site

Find other testimonials throughout our site and be sure to get a GTM150 starting at $69/month.

If you’re a member of a tennis facility, Home Owners Assocation, Independent Teaching Pro or School (HS or College), you should consider a Green Tennis Machine as an option to recycle tennis balls on-site a few times before you send them to reBounces. Utilizing our patented, revolutionary technology, you can now restore dead tennis balls in bulk back to their original bounce! The Green Tennis Machine extends the life of your practice balls, improves ball consistency in your teaching baskets, helps by saving money on practice balls, and reduces the amount of tennis balls purchased and put into the waste stream.

On average our clients save over 50% on their practice ball budgets and are finding that they can cut back on purchasing enough new tennis balls to more than pay for their Green Tennis Machines. And with our various financing options, they are not having to make a capital investment.

Our list of clients includes leaders across the tennis spectrum nationwide – public and private, small and large facilities alike. See actual client testimonials by clicking Unpaid Client Testimonials.

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This is a timely update given the meteoric rise of Canadian Tennis in both rankings and Davis/Fed Cup. Led by tennis stars like Milos Raonic, Euginie Bouchard, Vasek Pospisil and Aleksandra Wozniak (prior to her injuries about 18 months ago), Canadian tennis is a real force on both the ATP and WTA.

Enough about the Canadian Tennis pros on the ATP and WTA … let’s talk about how to get a Green Tennis Machine in Canada!  

The Racquet Guys in Toronto are the official Green Tennis Machine distributor in Canada.  They offer lease and purchase options on all three models of the Green Tennis Machine – 150, 250 and 400 ball capacity.

Testimonials from Canadian Tennis Teaching Pros

	The Badminton & Racquet Club in Toronto
	Tom Kern – Director of Tennis Tom was awarded one of the highest coach honors in Canadian Tennis – the 2008 TPA Professional of the Year. Tom and the team at B&RC have been successfully using a GTM150 in their program. Tom had the following to say:
	I am a believer! When the Green Tennis Machine ball reviver came to the Badminton & Racquet Club, I was skeptical. Repressurize a tennis ball? Take a dead tennis ball and bring it back to life?  Are you kidding me?  But after cooking several batches of balls in the GTM I am a believer. My ball hoppers are full of good tennis balls and I can reuse all the compression balls for the juniors. I have even been helping my colleagues out by repressurizing some of their balls. Every club should have one!

	Ottawa Athletic Club & Noble Tennis School
	Tony Roth – Director of Tennis Tony was awarded one of the highest coach honors in Canadian Tennis – the 2006 Coaching Excellence Award. Tony and the team at OAC have been successfully using a GTM150 in their program. The Noble Tennis School is the largest and most comprehensive in Eastern Ontario. Tony was busy the other day, but had the following to say:
	The Green Tennis Machine is great and has revolutionized our whole tennis ball program!

	The Grant Connell Tennis Centre in North Vancouver
	Wayne Elderton – Director of Tennis When not running the day-to-day operations of a fantastic tennis facility, Wayne is Head of Tennis Canada Coaching Development and Certification in British Columbia. Wayne and the team at GCTC have been successfully using a GTM150 in their program. A little known fact is that Wayne has coached 3 wheelchair players to top 10 world. Wayne had the following to say:
	Our GTM150 works well and allows us to cut down on new ball purchases and be more “green”

	The Richmond Country Club in Richmond BC (Vancouver)
	Henry Choi – Director of Tennis Henry was a top NCAA collegiate player a decade ago as he helped the Indiana State team earn a top 10 NCAA ranking. Currently Henry is still an avid player even still competing on the ATP Satellite Tour. Henry and the team at RCC have been successfully using a GTM150 in their program. Henry had the following to say:
	The machine has been fantastic up to this point. I have had no problems and it has been great! I have cycled the balls through a couple of times now and was happy with the results. Very happy.

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Rick Calton leads Green Charge at Marco Island Tennis

We were recently in Florida at the USPTA Florida Conference. We met with Rick Calton, Director of Tennis Operations at Island Country Club, to discuss the impact his Green Tennis Machine has on their Marco Island tennis operating. Rick is a graduate of the Professional Tennis Management Program at Ferris State University, where he competed on the nationally ranked team from 1992 to 1993. He is also an USRSA Master Racquet Technician, PTR-Professional certified, USTA Sports Science Level I-and II-certified and a past NTRP verifier. He is a lifelong learner and has regularly been in the top 10% of the USPTA’s yearly educational points. He currently has over 300 continuing education points in his career.

The complete transcript of the Marco Island tennis leader, Rick Calton’s, unpaid testimonial:

I would highly recommend the Green Tennis Machine to anyone that uses ball machines or needs it for the teaching cart. It’s worked great to increase the service we offer to members.  Our ball machines are complimentary but we wanted to raise the quality of our tennis balls. By being able to recharge them, they’re getting a better product.

Since we purchased it in the middle of our budget year, we didn’t have any money set aside for capital for this expenditure. We started with a 6 month lease and when the 6 month lease ended, we were in a new capital year and we purchased it.

I’m Rick Carlton at the Island Country Club on Marco Island tennis Florida.

Rick has been active in fundraising & outreach.  He has organized free events with area elementary schools to increase tennis awareness.  Rick helped lead a fundraiser to raise $15k for an instructor with kidney disease.  Rick has directed a tennis tournament as part of the committee for Brian Hill Invitational for several years.  The event raised over $100,000 each year for Cystic Fibrosis.  He started a scholarship at Ferris State University titled “Professionalism in Business”.  The award was given each year to a Professional Management (PTM) Student. Rick is also a leader in the Marco Island tennis.

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Dunwoody Country Club Tennis

We were recently in Atlanta as a sponsor of the USPTA Southern Conference Welcome Party. We met with Dave Dvorak, Dunwoody Country Club Tennis Director, and discussed the impact his Green Tennis Machine has on all their club programming.  The word “amazing” was used a lot!  If you haven’t heard of Dunwoody Country Club tennis… your not in the Country Club business  That is okay, because we have tons of other testimonials for you to review. If you reside in the South, you probably know of Dave Dvorak.  Dave was recently inducted into the USPTA Southern Hall of Fame! Dave was honored in 1991, 1994, & 2001 as the USPTA Georgia Pro of the year. In 2003 he was named the USPTA Southern Professional of the year.

The complete transcript of the Dunwoody Country Club Tennis Director Dave Dvorak unpaid testimonial:

We’ve been really happy with [our Green Tennis Machine]. We recharge balls all the time and it’s been a big benefit to us to continue providing our customers with a lively ball in their teaching carts in particular.

My name is Dave Dvorak and I work at Dunwoody Country Club here in Dunwoody, Georgia.

Yes, I think it’s certainly a benefit to your teaching program and your members will be thrilled or your students (I should say) will be thrilled because they are using new balls all the time. We are a 14 court facility, we have 10 hard courts, 4 clay courts, very active tennis program. And we are very busy we have 4 pros, 5 pros on staff at our country club and just a lot of tennis crazy folks and we love that.

In 2003, Dunwoody Country Club tennis program was honored as the United States Tennis Association’s “Facility of the Year” in the category of private Clubs. In 2011 Dunwoody Country Club Tennis was named the “Tennis Program of the Year” by the Georgia Professional Tennis Association!!!

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ACE Tennis Academy Goes Green & Saves Big

We were recently in Atlanta as a sponsor of the USPTA Southern Conference Welcome Party. We met with Jeff Weaver, owner of the highly acclaimed Ace Tennis Academy, to discuss the impact his Green Tennis Machine has on all their academy programming.  The words “no brainer” and “amazing” were used a lot!  If you haven’t heard of ACE Tennis Academy this is a good statistic for you: Over 95% of ACE Tennis Academy graduates have gone on to play college tennis!

The complete transcript of the Jeff Weaver Ace Tennis Academy unpaid testimonial:

Yeah it works well, there’s not a second that we don’t have our Green Tennis Machine full. We have saved more than $10,000 in the last year. That’s incorporating the pricing of the machine. It was over $12,000 and now we’re [spending] about under $1,000 for the year for balls.
It’s simple to use. It’s just metal. You screw it on, screw it off and hook a hose up, that’s it. The pros are good with it. We’re good with it. There’s not a second of the day that we don’t have it full.

Jeff Weaver I own ACE Tennis Academy in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. We have around 100 kids that are competitive players and another 100 that are working their way up. Then we’ve got 15 to 16 adults alter teams. USTA teams in season each season. So that’s close to 100 teams year out.

Yes, I haven’t bought QuickStart Balls. I have bought them once and we recharge them every month. Takes about 15 minutes for about 10 carts. But we do it together.

ACE Tennis Academy has been a top producer of junior tennis players since 1994. ACE Tennis Academy players have won over 35 national titles including 12 Gold Balls (National Championships). Over 95% of ACE Academy’s graduates have gone on to play college tennis!!!

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Universal Tennis Academy Goes Green

We were recently in Atlanta as a sponsor of the USPTA Southern Conference Welcome Party.  We met with Tim Noonan, one of the Managing Partners at UTA, to discuss the impact their two (2) Green Tennis Machines have had on all their academy locations.

The complete transcript of the unpaid testimonial

I’m Tim Noonan and recommend the Green Tennis Machine to anyone who is looking to save money on tennis balls or re-pressurize tennis balls in bulk.  It has been a great thing for Universal Tennis Academy and Universal Tennis Management.

Here at Universal Tennis Management in Atlanta, GA. We manage nine (9) tennis facilities both public and private in the city of Atlanta.  We have two Green Machines!  We have been using the Green Machines for several years and has saved us thousands of dollars from buying new tennis balls and made it very easy for us to keep good balls in our baskets.

We do use the Green Machine with QuickStart, Green Dot Balls especially which need a little more compression than the Orange and Red.  We have been using with QuickStart balls for over two years now.

You have to be organized.  You have to go through and figure out which balls need to be recycled. It is not a difficult process. When you look at the time it takes to do it versus the savings and money saved it really is a no brainer!

Site Locations under Management:

• Universal Tennis Academy at Bitsy Grant Tennis Center
• Universal Tennis Academy at Chastain Park Tennis Center
• Universal Tennis Academy at Blackburn Tennis Center
• Universal Tennis Academy at Dekalb Tennis Center
• Universal Tennis Academy at Sharon Lester Tennis Center at Piedmont Park
• Universal Tennis Academy at McGhee Tennis Center
• Universal Tennis Academy at Washington Park Tennis Center

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Knoxville Racquet Club Discusses Free Court Supplies!

Practice Tennis Balls can Pay for Court Equipment.

Scott Patrick is the Director of Tennis at Knoxville Racquet Club.  He was kind enough to shoot this unpaid video testimonial discussing the court equipment he purchases with his practice tennis ball savings.

A full transcript of the video is here:

I am the General Manager here at the Knoxville Racquet Club. We have had the reBounces Green Tennis Machin for a year now. Prior to us having that we were spending $5,500 a year on balls for our teaching carts. As of now we are spending zero.

We run about 6 large tournaments with our leagues. People contribute balls to our program, and we are able to keep a higher quality of balls in the teaching court and spending zero. That frees up roughly $5,000 a year, for us to put back into the courts —  whether it will be wind screens, resurfacing the clay or set the money to re-line or repaint the hard courts.

So, it has been a huge success for us. With the minimum investment, we have been blessed to have years and years of $5,000 back into our budget. So, we are ecstatic about the reBounce Green Tennis Machine

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Raleigh Parks and Recreation Tennis Director David Bell Discusses Their Green Tennis Machine and the positive impact it has had on their practice balls.

David is the Tennis Director for the city of Raleigh parks and recreation tennis program, overseeing 112 courts at 25 locations. There are 5,000 participants involved with lessons, leagues and other programs offered through the tennis program. Located at the main tennis facility, Millbrook Exchange Tennis Center, David oversees a part time staff of over 20 instructors and office workers where he has been since 2004.  In 2004 David received a national award from the USTA for his work with Junior Team Tennis.  David is also very active in both the Raleigh Tennis Association, as an Advisory Board Member, and at the North Carolina USTA.

After having their Green Tennis Machine (“GTM”) for only a few months, David took the time to help explain how the GTM has already made a positive impact on their teaching balls without being a time/resource burden.

A transcript of the video is here:

The Green Tennis Machine is a Great system. I think that the short amount to time that you need to spend on it, make sure that you have somebody indentified that will take care of the balls on a regular basis just like anything. It doesn’t take much time to do it, assign somebody to do it. You get a much higher quality ball, and I think any club could use this.

Well we’re here at the Tennis Center in Raleigh where we have 23 courts. We have a system wide, 112 courts, at 25 locations. But this is primarily where all the instruction and league play are held throughout the city. I’m David Bell and I’m the Tennis Director for Raleigh Parks and Recreation and Cultural Resources.

Absolutely, I had to watch the testimonials, and see what people were talking about. I thought maybe it was only for the largest of operations, but found out that you could do is with any size operation. It’s going to help your average ball be a much higher quality bounce, and get a lot less complaints about dead balls in my cart.

Most of our balls are not new ones, so we’ve now been able to raise the standard of our average ball is now a much better pressurized. We don’t get the complaints as much with bad balls. Those are easier to sift out when you only have a few, versus whole carts full of poor balls. Now we have whole carts of really well pressurized balls.

Our practice balls from the ball machine and for teaching and for our junior league play. So what we’ve done is eliminated all the practice balls, because with the pressurized machine we know the ball is going to last longer, felt to be higher quality. So now we buy a premium ball, and don’t buy the practice ball. We can re-pressurize. So now our ball machine, junior leagues, and our teaching carts are all filled with a premium ball that is well pressurized. So it’s a much higher quality bounce. at raleigh parks and recreation

That’s less than 10 minutes. It’s pretty easy with the bags go in and the bags come out. The hose goes on, and you turn on the pressure and get it up to the needle at the right spot and that is the end of it. Had our first pressurized batch came out. We took them out with a group of people and we tried to bounce them around and find out what was different. After 5 or 10 minutes, we forgot about the fact that they were re-pressurized, and just started playing. So that was great.

Raleigh Parks and Recreation is a great community program. Check out Raleigh Parkks and Recreation here

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