Six tennis balls are in circulation on each court. At Wimbledon, an enormous number is collected in two weeks
63,000 – this unimaginable number of new tennis balls is ordered for Wimbledon every year. That’s what it says on page 418 of the 566-page reference book with a whole host of statistics, records and information about the grass court classic. 63,000 – that means 21,000 cans of balls for the two-week Grand Slam tournament. There are three balls in each tin.
How many balls are used depends on how the matches go. After all, you never know how many sets they will last. 55,000 balls were used last year, according to “The All England Lawn Tennis Club”. The rest are also used for children’s ball training
Six balls in circulation
Included in the number of balls are not only the singles competitions, but also the doubles and mixed competitions as well as the junior men’s and women’s competitions, the wheelchair competitions and the invitational doubles with the ex-tennis pros.
Six tennis balls circulate around the court during the matches – be it in the rally, in a player’s trouser pocket or in the hands of the ball children. The balls are replaced after seven games at the start – including hitting – and then after every nine games.
The players are also provided with the balls for training. Two cans per training session will be distributed, according to the organizers. The used balls will be sold for a good cause.
Qualifying for Wimbledon, which will be held at a different venue in Roehampton, is excluded. There’ll be a whole heap of balls on top of that
