Belgian Designer Transforms 400 Million Used Tennis Balls Into Sustainable Furniture Ahead of Wimbledon

Ahead of the Wimbledon tennis tournament in London, where approximately 55,000 tennis balls are replaced during the event from June 29 to July 12, a growing design trend is repurposing used tennis balls into unique furniture and acoustic elements. Typically discarded after only about nine games, tennis balls contribute to a global waste problem, with an estimated 400 million balls thrown away annually and only about 1% recycled.

Belgian designer Mathilde Wittock, founder of MWO Design and a graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, is at the forefront of this movement. She collects used tennis balls from courts and transforms them into benches, chairs, partitions, and acoustic panels, preserving their original texture, color, and wear marks rather than breaking them down completely. Her pieces, which start at 500 euros, highlight the balls' distinctive tactile and visual qualities while addressing environmental concerns.

Wittock’s process involves manually sorting and cutting the balls along their white seams, removing brand logos, and integrating the parts into frames made of birch, oak, aluminum, or metal. This method maintains the balls’ elasticity and acoustic properties, offering an alternative to traditional upholstery. Unlike conventional recycling methods that degrade the material and pollute the environment, her approach retains the balls’ identity and history, turning waste into valuable design assets.

Her work has gained international recognition and is showcased in various design exhibitions. Wittock envisions a future where recycled and bio-based materials become central to design, reducing reliance on natural resource extraction. She emphasizes the emotional and sensory significance of materials, including their color, texture, and sound, and hopes to collaborate with researchers to develop ecological and sensory solutions for interior spaces.

By reimagining discarded tennis balls as "the gold of tomorrow," Wittock challenges the design industry to rethink waste and sustainability, offering innovative ways to reduce environmental impact while creating functional, artistic furniture.