How Some Tennis Brands are Working on Sustainability
It has taken several hundred years for tennis to evolve into the modern form it is today. Advances in technology have affected every aspect of the game from racquets, strings and balls to shoes and clothing. Tennis is now an exciting sport with millions of people playing and even more fans on the sidelines.
Polyester has become a key player in performance tennis apparel. It is lightweight, durable, crease and stain resistant, and, perhaps most importantly in today’s fast-paced game, quick-drying. Until recently, most athletic clothing was made with virgin polyester. Virgin polyester is made from petroleum and according to Forbes, nearly 70 million barrels of oil per year are used in virgin polyester production. In the past few years, there has been a growing movement to make polyester more sustainable.
Clothing from Recycled Water Bottles
Did you know that the single-serve disposable water bottles we bring to the tennis courts are made from the same polyester material used in our tennis apparel? That’s where recycling comes into the picture. Recycling is one of the most effective ways to reduce the use of virgin polyester. When we recycle, we reduce the amount of plastic in our oceans and landfills. It is also the best way to leave more oil in the ground and utilize resources that exist already.
The process of recycling plastic bottles into polyester is mechanical – no additional chemicals are needed. Here’s how it works:
- Bottles are collected, sorted and baled.
- They are then cleaned and chopped into high quality flakes.
- The flakes are then melted into small usable pellets called chips.
- These chips are melted and extruded into fibers or yarn.
- The recycled polyester yarn is then woven or knitted into sustainable fabrics that are made into performance apparel.
It takes between eight and nine plastic bottles to make enough recycled fabric for one shirt. As more and more companies embrace recycled polyester in their apparel, think about how much oil can stay in the ground and how much plastic can stay out of our oceans and landfills!
How Brands are Setting Sustainability Goals
adidas
adidas embarked on its sustainability journey in 2016, when, according to its website, adidas removed plastic shopping bags from its retail stores.
In its annual sustainability report in 2025, adidas reported reducing carbon emissions by 9 percent per product compared to 2022. It also noted that 60 percent of the materials adidas uses are recycled or sustainably sourced, and 98 percent of the product protection bags were made of recycled plastic.
Nike
Nike is developing sustainable innovation with its Move To Zero program. The end goal is zero carbon and zero waste. Nike is hoping to achieve this with a combination of recycling and refurbishing. Currently, recycled polyester is making up a larger percentage in its clothing. Nike Forward is a new collection made with recycled fiber layers that create an ultra-lightweight and warm material with an average 75 percent reduced carbon footprint.
The Nike Grind program is taking recycled shoes and manufacturing scrap and turning it into products such as tech accessories, gym flooring, carpet padding and outdoor court and playground surfaces. It is also being recycled back into certain shoe components.
New Balance
New Balance has set a set of sustainability goals to achieve by 2030. This footwear and clothing maker aims by 2030 to:
- Source 100 percent of preferred polyester, with 25 percent recycled fibers derived from textile waste.
- 100 perent of its leather will be chrome-free, regenerative or be considered low emissions
- Use 80 percent perferred midsole and 90 percent preferred outsole compounds.
Tecnifibre
One of the more innovative approaches to sustainability in tennis comes from Tecnifibre, as it unleashes its patented X-Loop line. X-Loop products make use of recycled materials to manufacture fabrics from old tennis strings. The process starts by collecting old string scraps from tennis clubs, stringers and from the manufacturer itself. After the scraps have been collected, the strings are then ground down into little pellets. These pellets serve as the building blocks for producing the fabric known as X-Loop.
When in pellet form, the recycled strings can now be converted into thread, manufactured on giant spools. This fabric is incredibly lightweight yet strong, much like tennis strings themselves, of course! From there, the fabric can be dyed and converted into rolls and sheets of fabric. Once in fabric form, the X-Loop materials can then be made into t-shirts, the primary application thus far of Tecnifibre’s X-Loop application.
Tecnifibre's efforts extend beyond clothing. For example, the Reform bag series replaces PVC-coated polyester with EVA. This reduces the environmental impact by reducing the number of production stanges from five to two, and the number of layers of fabric is now one instead of three.
Wilson
Wilson brings sustainability efforts to tennis balls with Triniti. These balls are packaged in fully recyclable packaging and are not pressurized like a typical tennis ball. Instead these balls achieve their bounce and liveliness through its core. The Wilson LABS team worked iwth Dow Chemical Co. to create a new rubber mix that gives the ball its bounce without the pressurization. The felt was also adjusted to help the balls last longer.
How to Shop Sustainable Clothing at Tennis Warehouse
Many other companies are also starting to use more recycled content in their athletic clothing. Tennis Warehouse has taken the step to highlight these sustainable products on our site with a special icon. The apparel with the leaf symbol and sustainable note is made from at least 75 percent recycled or renewable materials.
