2026-08-14
54 分钟discussion keeps the world turning this is round table think about something you throw away every day without
a second thought now imagine it takes 400 years for that thing to disappear well that's the reality with tennis
balls and we go through millions of them but here's some good news in jingdao they've figured
out how to turn 20 000 dead balls into something that you can actually play on tell you all about it today.
Coming to you from our studios in Beijing, this is Roundtable.
I'm Steve Hatherly.
Thank you very much for being with us today.
And for the show, I'm with Yuxian and Yuxian.
First up...
Imagine standing on a blue tennis court in Jingdao overlooking the sea.
The surface is smooth, the bounce feels perfect, but beneath your feet is something unexpected.
That cushioning layer is made from 20,600 used tennis balls.
Balls that would otherwise take over 400 years to decompose in a landfill.
That's four centuries.
Once tennis balls lose their bounce, they're usually just thrown away.
And that...
Is an environmental burden that most players never even think about when they crack open a fresh can.
But that's changing.
From AI-powered recycling machines at the China Open to this seaside court built entirely from recycled balls,
companies and researchers are finding new ways to give old tennis balls a second life.