If you care about the environment and the planet we live on, you could also be wondering if there were eco-friendly racquets which you could use to play your tennis. In this piece below, we look at the various options tennis players have if they want to go with racquets which reduce the waste on the planet.
The words on everybody’s lips right now are ‘Eco-Friendly’ and believe it or not, this applies to tennis too. While we are all aiming for zero waste, being eco-friendly can be really tricky when it comes to sport.
Most tennis shoes, tennis racquets and tennis balls are not made of eco-friendly products, but that does not mean they have to be eco- UNFRIENDLY. You should be looking at tennis racquets that use natural gut for their strings, grips that are leather and not synthetic and materials that are bio degradable.
We are going to take a look at the best eco-friendly tennis racquets you can buy, as well as ways of being eco-friendly with all your tennis equipment.
Eco-Friendly Tennis Racquets
There are no fully eco-friendly tennis racquets on the market, but there are tennis manufactures who are doing their level best to be part of the change. Let’s take a look:
1. Head Tennis Racquets
Head have a wide range of tennis racquets, including their Prestige, Gravity, Speed, Radical, Extreme, Challenge, Attitude, Spark, Cyber, Novak and Maria range. Under each of these ranges, you will find a variety of sizes, styles and designs.
Head use the best materials for each part of the racquets, including the frame, strings and grip, and while not all these materials are eco-friendly, Head source their materials ethically and do a lot of work towards protecting our environment.
Head have partnered with Cool Earth, a charity connected to fixing our global environment. Head buy credits that go towards preserving the rainforests of the world and aim to preserve 7000 acres of rain forest, the equivalent of 100 thousand tennis courts.
Head understand that climate change is real and needs to be reversed. Tennis needs a stable climate or the game as we know it, changes. Head, who manufacture a wide range of sports equipment, not just tennis racquet, are also doing their best for a greener environment as a whole.
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2. Prince Sports
For the last 15 years, Prince have been involved with Green Slam, working together with Billie Jean King, and launching an eco-conscious initiative, looking at the environment, climate change and ways to become greener.
The Prince tennis range include Phantom, Tour, Beast, Legacy and a Junior Range, and of course, are also made of the best possible materials and using the best possible techniques.
In 2007, Prince dedicated a team, time and money towards committing to the environment, by ensuring they are as green as possible when it comes to manufacturing, packaging and distributing their tennis racquets and tennis equipment.
They are also green when it comes to administration, or as green as can be. GreenSlam, which is spearheaded by Billie Jean King, comprises a Green Team, including Prince, that looks at all aspects of tennis, making changes one step at a time, helping to counter the negative effects that climate change has had.
3. Wilson Tennis Racquets
Wilson has been particularly vocal about the environment, with Linda Glassel, VIP of the Prince Sports marketing division, saying that the tennis industry is becoming more green overall.
Wilson have really tackled environmental issues head on. They have changed the way they manufacture, produce and deliver tennis equipment, and their strings and grips on tennis racquets are made from fully recyclable materials.
Wilson have changed the resins they use in the making of their tennis racquets, and the chemicals used. They are going for eco-friendly all round.
The Wilson range of racquets include the Pro Staff, Burn, Ultra, Clash, Blade, Triad, Roland Garros and US Open Tennis racquet range, and under each range, have a wide variety of design, size, style and speed.
Wilson is an innovative brand. They’re working hard on keeping their racquets as one of the top brand racquets, whilst looking after the environment, a quarter of their tennis balls are made of recyclable materials and they are working on tennis cans that will be 100% recyclable.
The bottom line is Wilson is trying to reduce plastics and their environment program should result landfill waste by over 300 thousand pounds.
4. Babolat Tennis Racquets
Babolat manufacture fewer tennis racquets than their major competitors but those they manufacture are pure class – Aero, Pulsion, Evoke and Drive are all part of their range, and they have a junior range too. Under each range, you will find diversity of sizes, styles and speeds.
Babolat are innovative. They are also the oldest racquet sport company in the world. They use high technology and have a brilliant team that look at sourcing their materials ethically, using only natural gut and where possible, innovative but eco-friendly materials.
Natural gut is controversial by the way. Yes, it’s natural, but – natural gut does come from animal products. So while it is not a synthetic material, it is not great if you are vegan or wanting to protect animals.
It is for this reason that it’s so hard to have a totally eco-friendly tennis racquet, but you can buy from a supplier that does good for the environment. Babolat is one of the manufacturers who make an effort.
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5. Dunlop Tennis Racquets
Dunlop make consistency good tennis racquets, including but not limited to their Team, Pro, Elite, Nitro, NT, CS and SX ranges. Again, under all these ranges you will find varieties, sizes and styles.
Some racquets have leather grips, some have synthetic grips. Some use natural gut, others use synthetic. You need to do your research to find out which racquet is right for you, and if you feel it is eco-friendly enough.
Being eco-friendly often means YOU have to be eco-friendly too. Don’t throw a racquet away, rather, give it to someone who will use it. Upcycle, rather than recycle. Share, if you can, which you probably can’t if you are a serious tennis player. And do your homework re the supplier and their ethics.
6. Yonex Tennis Racquets
Yonex have a good philosophy when it come to manufacturing tennis racquets and tennis equipment. They aim to contribute by using innovative technology and only high quality and advanced materials.
Yonex manufacture, in their own factories, in an environmentally friendly way, always being aware of the planet, and their research, design, development and production always meet international standards in energy and resource conservation.
Yonex have had a zero carbon footprint since 2014, pretty impressive! If you need to know any more, just know that a lot of wind turbines you see, are Yonex.
The Yonex tennis range includes EZone, VCore, Astrel and a Junior Series. They’re top quality. As we say, less is sometimes more.
Something To Think About With Eco-Friendly Tennis Racquets
This is not criticism about any specific tennis racquet manufacturers, but it is something for you to think about when buying a new tennis racquet.
Some manufacturers come out with new tennis racquets every few months, or change the colours of the frames often. While we get that technology is changing all the time, sometimes less is more.
Stick to a tennis manufacturing brand that uses new technology, but commits to the same colours or style over years. This can result in less waste. Babolat are the one brand that only change colours every three years, and they commit to their frames for three years, while still bringing out brilliant tennis racquets. Yonex have a small range and are fully committed to great tennis and to put a stop to global warming.
Final Thoughts on Eco-Friendly Tennis Racquets
We are living in an age where we have to reduce waste. This means not only your tennis racquet has to be eco-friendly, but you have to be eco-friendly too.
Give your old tennis racquet to someone who needs it.
- Don’t throw the tennis ball can into the trash.
- Don’t break your racquet in half in a temper, then toss it.
- Don’t ever toss your tennis racquet; donate it or sell it.
- Use tennis balls that are not purely synthetic, and epicycle them.
- Beginner tennis players will be delighted to have your old tennis racquets, or balls, and dogs will be delighted with third or fourth hand balls too!
And do your best to use tennis racquets bought from ethical manufacturers.