What To Do With Old Tennis Rackets? (5 Great Ideas)

Depending on what your tennis racket is made of, its lifespan will come to an end sooner or later. In this case, it can be hard to think about what to do with it. Or you might be don’t with tennis altogether and want to find a purpose for your racket that you don’t no longer need.

Be that as it may, in this article you will find various things to do with your tennis racket whether it is still in playing condition or not.

Donating old tennis rackets to someone who may find them useful is the best way to repurpose them. These places can be charity organizations, schools, local tennis clubs, or even your neighbor. Also, you can create art, make a gift, recycle, or even sell your old tennis rackets.

There are many things to do with your old tennis rackets, so they don’t need to stay with you and hoard space from some corner. Let’s start by looking at great donation organizations and places for your rackets.

1. Donate Your Old Tennis Rackets

Below you can find 7 potential ideas to donate your old tennis rackets but don’t think these are the only ones out there. There are hundreds of charity organizations, schools, recreational centers, elderly homes, and individuals that would get a smile on their faces from functional tennis rackets to play with.

7 Best Ways To Donate Your Old Tennis Rackets (Click to the website)

1. Tennis Without Borders is a great nonprofit charity organization that specializes in giving tennis equipment, lessons, clothes, and shoes to children around the world! Tennis Without Borders has assisted in international programs in countries such as Cameroon, Uganda, Colombia, and Ghana. In the United States, they have collaborated with many National Jr Tennis and Learning Centers. This is an amazing place to donate your old rackets!
2. Kids Serving Kids is another incredible foundation that specializes in providing tennis equipment around the world. These include countries such as Puerto Rico, Mexico, and United States. If you want to be a part of international help, Kids Serving Kids is something worth considering.
3. Islington Play Association is based in the United Kingdom and has operated since 1971 so they know their stuff! A great thing about Islington Play Association is that it isn’t just tennis gear. You can send other sports equipment in addition to DIY equipment, paint, food, kitchen supplies, and clothes!
4. Goodwill is a multi-national charity organization that operates in countries such as United States, Canada, Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, and many more! Goodwill doesn’t accept broken items but rackets that are in playing condition will do great! Also, you can donate much more than sports equipment and even make quick money donations through their site. Find your local Goodwill Donation Center.
5. Kids Tennis Foundation is based in Australia with a long experience of over 30 years. They provide tennis lessons for kids from financially poor families and children with social problems. The values of the Kids Tenis Foundation are much based in raising self-confidence in children that come from poor starting points by having fun with tennis!
6. The Salvation Army is known for anybody that knows anything about charity. It is one of the world’s leading global charity organizations that is more than 150-years old! You can find your Local Salvation Army Donation Center by placing your city on the search on their site. You can donate your old tennis racket there where they will sell the racket and use the money to support their noble cause.
7. Your Local Tennis Clubs, Schools, & Individuals is one of my favorite ways because you can personally see the joy on someone’s face when you bring a racket that is well needed. This can be anything you can imagine such as elderly homes, schools, tennis clubs, private tennis instructors, your friend, neighbor, children from financially poor families that you know, or anything between.

Read also: What Are Tennis Rackets Made Of (Full Explanation)

2. Create Art

If you own an old tennis racket, I’m assuming that you have some passion for the sport. If that’s the case, why not include a piece that shows it in your home’s decoration? There are dozens if not hundreds of things you can create out of an old tennis racket that will become a beautiful, unique, and refreshing piece of decor.

For example, you could paint a tennis racket, nail it to your wall, and use it as a jewelry holder. Another great idea is to remove the strings and add a mirror in their place. Thus, you would have one of a kind mirror. There are so many other things to do, and only your imagination is the limit.

Although, many of the ideas will probably require handwork, patience, and resourcefulness skills. Below are more ideas to spark your creativity.

• Add a chalkboard in the string’s space and use it as a to-do list
• Use a tennis racket as a tool caddy in your workshop
• Multiple wooden rackets will make an ambient art formation on the wall
• Do embroidery on the strings creating unique art
• Hang the racket in your hallway and use it as a key holder

Read more: How To Add More Power To Your Tennis Racket?

3. Make a Personalized Gift

If you know someone that wants to learn tennis or is already a player and you have an old tennis racket that still is great to play with, gift it to them. However, do it with a twist, so it makes it much more special.

Before delivering the racket, you can tie a picture of you and the person on the racket, add a small gift such as keychains, envelope with a message, jewelry, personalized patch with meaning, or whatever comes in mind to the strings or frame to make it a great gift in addition to the racket itself.

4. Sell a Valued Old Tennis Racket

If you have a fairly expensive tennis racket or even a vintage one found in an attic somewhere, you can sell it so you would make something out of your racket. I said fairly expensive because if your racket cost $30 when you bought it, you are lucky to get anything out of it, so I would personally donate it in that case.

Anyways, you can sell your tennis racket on Craigslist, Etsy, or similar platforms where people can find it. Vintage tennis rackets are valued really high so if you have one, pat yourself on the shoulder.

5. Bring Rackets To a Recycling Center

Last but not least, you can always recycle your old tennis rackets. If you can’t find any other use to it, recycling is a great way to get rid of things that you no longer use without pointless garbage out in the world.

Finding your local recycling center can be hard from time to time; however, you should use a website where you can find your local recycling center by entering your city or zip code to the search.

Do Old Tennis Rackets Have Value?

If you have an old tennis racket, it might be worth investigating whether it has great value or not.

Old tennis rackets can have a great value depending on their age, rarity, and condition. Old wooden vintage tennis rackets can be extremely valuable for people that collect them; thus, you can earn a great sum from them. However, an old aluminum racket from a huge manufacturer won’t likely have much value.

Old wooden rackets often have value for collectors. However, if your racket is just old but nothing special in it, it probably doesn’t have much value.

Read also: How Much Does Tennis Rackets Cost? Examples & Comparisons

Are Old Tennis Rackets Still Good?

In short, many tennis players use older racket models that they have used for years because they know their ins and outs and can hit the sweet spot with it like with no other racket. However, no pro tennis players use wooden rackets anymore because they are too old models.

Do Tennis Rackets Deteriorate With Age?

Tennis rackets will deteriorate with age, especially the strings. Strings will lose tension immediately after the string job; however, the deterioration process will still take more time than the tension loss. Also, the frame will deteriorate over time, making it less stiff than it once was.