The Velociti Tennis Story

A Sustainable Future for Tennis

Do you love tennis but hate what it’s doing to the environment? That’s how I felt.

I started spending time at tennis stores and courts before I was even born. Honestly, that’s not an exaggeration. My dad has always loved tennis. He opened a local tennis store before I was even born, so I grew up in the thick of racquets, stringing machines, and tennis balls.

As much as growing up in the tennis community taught me to love the sport, it also opened my eyes to the waste of the tennis world.

It twisted my stomach when I took out the trash at the tennis shops or saw players throwing away tennis gear on the courts. How many landfills were tennis lovers filling up around the world?

Little did I know that taking out the trash would spark an idea that could revolutionize tennis.

Creating a More Sustainable World for Tennis

When I learned that tennis waste was amounting to tens of thousands of pounds in our landfills, I knew there was something I had to do. That’s the idea that sparked what is today known as Velociti Tennis.  

Velociti was a respected brand in the tennis industry for years during the 1980’s. When the opportunity arose for me to take over this brand, I knew it was my chance to change the world of tennis – improving both performance and sustainability.

We’ve been passionately focused on the goal of making tennis more sustainable ever since.  

How We Are Making Tennis More Eco-Friendly

When it comes to the environment, every piece of waste counts. That’s why I started with small steps as we worked up to industry-changing evolutions.

1. Single-use packaging: We started eliminating product packaging wherever possible. Sure, product packaging can help with marketing, but we don’t feel it’s always worth the environmental cost. So, we’re testing removing packaging to eliminate single-use waste on some of our products. That’s why our TurboPoly string and NEH string are sold without traditional packaging that is thrown away.
2. Greenhouse gases: We’re selling some of our products in bulk in hopes of reducing emissions. For example, our NEH string can be purchased in sets of 5 and Velociti Catalyst can be purchased as a reel so that players who know and love these products can reduce pollution from additional shipments.
3. Product duration: Making products last longer is another great way to reduce waste. Our Grip-Enhancing Towel can help prolong the life of tennis grips so they don’t need to be replaced as often. Durability is also a top priority in our tennis string manufacturing. 
4. Biodegradable products: The first three steps are all great small steps to an eco-friendlier world of tennis, but the real game-changer came in late 2022. In 2022, we invented the first-ever fully biodegradable polyester string, Velociti Catalyst. Catalyst biodegrades in just 3 to 5 years compared with the 400 to 600 years it takes other synthetic tennis strings to decompose. Velociti is continuing to research other uses for our biodegradable additive, and we hope to launch new biodegradable products in the near future.

I’m so excited about what each of these steps can do for the future of tennis, but I know it’s just the beginning. Will you join me in the eco-friendly tennis revolution?

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Meet the Velociti Tennis Owner: Ryan Burbary

Ryan Burbary is the owner of Velociti Tennis. His dream of creating high-performing, eco-friendly tennis products is revolutionizing how tennis waste impacts our world and environment.

Here are eight fun facts about Ryan:

Hometown: Ryan was born and raised in Lone Tree, Colorado. He went to school at CU Boulder where he studied Finance and Accounting at the Leeds Business School and played on the club tennis team.
Favorite tennis string: This is an easy one for Ryan – Velociti Catalyst, of course.
Fun tennis fact: Ryan learned to string a racquet at the age of 14. (Check out the pic on our Instagram account!)
Favorite tennis player: Roger Federer. Ryan even got to meet Roger at Halle in 2019.
His first coach: His dad, who was also his inspiration for falling in love with tennis.
Other favorite sports: Snowboarding, golf and hiking.
Favorite hike: the Manitou Incline in Colorado Springs and Turquoise Lake in Beaver Creek.
Favorite place to snowboard: Vail, Colorado.
“My goal is to show people that it’s possible to play sports, especially tennis, in a more sustainable way.” – Ryan Burbary, Owner of Velociti Tennis