Haverford Teen Keeps 40K Tennis Balls Out Of Landfills

HAVERFORD, PA — A local teen who's no stranger to the tennis court has made a major effort to keep tennis balls out of landfills.

Saige Roshkoff, 17, of Haverford, organized a ball recycling and donation program.

So far, Roshkoff's effort have kept roughly 40,000 tennis balls out of landfills.

A standout tennis player for most of her life, Roshkoff saw an issue with old tennis balls being thrown out and wasted, so she decided to launch a ball recycling program that provides used tennis balls to schools and animal shelters in her local community.

Earlier this fall, Roshkoff was recognized for her efforts by the United States Tennis Association who selected her to participate in its Net Generation Aces Program— an initiative engaging athletes between the ages of 13 and 17 who are changing the game both on and off the court.

As one of the Net Generation Aces, Roshkoff aspires to expand her recycling program across the country and looks forward to collaborating with the USTA on its existing sustainability efforts which include reducing the environmental impact of the US Open by incorporating recycling initiatives such as:

• Implementing sustainable US Open ballperson uniforms— each made from approximately 10 recycled plastic bottles.
• Recycling all of the used racquet strings from the event; that’s more than 35 miles of string.
• Recycling all shoes left behind by players and donating them to Souls4Soles.
• Utilizing paper products in the general concessions that are comprised of 100 percent recycled material.