| With the older generation of Bjorn Borg and Martina | | | | Hall, it was discovered that they made their tennis balls |
| Navratilova providing the spark, the rivalries of | | | | from putty and human hair. In 16th century Scotland, |
| Sampras- Agassi fueling the fire in the 90s and with | | | | balls made from animal fur, animal intestines and pine |
| such greats as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal | | | | wood were discovered in castles. The forerunner of |
| taking up the torch today, tennis has became a | | | | the modern tennis ball was developed in the 18th |
| sensation around the world. With major tournaments | | | | century with strips of wool wound tightly around the |
| being played from Australia to Japan to the USA to | | | | nucleus with string tied in many directions around it. The |
| Dubai, it's safe to say that the world does indeed | | | | same technique is used to make the modern ball |
| speak the international language of tennis. | | | | except that it has a core of rubber. |
| But if you've ever seen those little green balls moving | | | | There are some balls called pressureless balls that |
| at about 200 kph after being smacked with a | | | | have a stiffer, woodier feel than the average ball. And |
| forehand, doesn't it make you wonder what they are | | | | as they loose weight, they get bouncier. Each year |
| and how they came to be that way? The average | | | | about 300 million balls are reproduced which results in |
| tennis ball is about 2 and a half inches in diameter. The | | | | about 32.3 million pounds of waste in the form of |
| earliest incarnations of this were made of leather | | | | rubber that is not very biodegradable. Bad news for |
| stuffed with hair or wool and were made by Scottish | | | | the environment. |
| craftsmen. In the recent restorations of Westminster | | | | |