Second Serve Sustainability
Reducing Tennis Waste.
Expanding Access to Tennis.
Second Serve Sustainability is a student-led initiative that collects used tennis balls, redistributes those that remain usable, and sends worn balls for recycling.
7,500+
Tennis Balls Collected
5,250+
Tennis Balls Recycled & Redistributed
See Our Full Impact →
5+
Partner Organizations
Founded ene2025
Student-Led since Day 1
OUR MISSION
Giving Tennis Balls a Second Serve
We reduce tennis waste while expanding access to the sport. Through partnerships with clubs, schools, teams, and community organizations, we collect used tennis balls and determine their best next use.
Balls suitable for continued play are redistributed for practice and instruction. Balls that can no longer be used for tennis are sent for recycling.
WHY IT MATTERS
A Ball Can Lose Its Bounce Without Losing Its Value
Although many tennis balls are discarded once they no longer meet the standards required for competitive play, they can still support drills, beginner instruction, physical education, youth programs, and community tennis.
Second Serve Sustainability redistributes these used tennis balls to the people and programs that can continue using them.
330M
Tennis balls produced each year
125M
Used balls are estimated to enter U.S. landfills annually
OUR STORY
Started by Athletes Who Saw a Better Use
Second Serve Sustainability began in December 2025, after we saw how many balls were simply discarded by our school's and club's tennis teams after they no longer served a purpose. To fix what we saw as a major waste issue, we started a local collection effort. Over time, through partnerships with our friends from school, local tennis clubs, and community organizations, this effort grew into a student-led system for collection, sorting, redistribution, recycling, and partnership outreach. We have been student-led since the start, and we look to collect and repurpose 50,000 balls by June 2027.
Co-Founder, Nikhil Shah
Co-Founder, Karsh Sinha