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Over 200,000 tennis balls are discarded from championship tournaments each year. Now, these once wasted objects have been given a new lease of life in the form of the HearO speaker — a portable, wireless, sustainable Bluetooth speaker housed inside the iconic Slazenger championship tennis ball.

Used tennis balls are naturally ideal as speaker material because of their durability, ergonomic shape and soft, felt exterior. Each speaker is made from a ball used at a championship tournament such as Wimbledon 2015 or the ATP World Finals. The speaker is controlled by a single button on the plastic stand on the underside of the ball and can play music from any device wirelessly.

The balls already carry worth as memorabilia, and now they have the added value of functionality. Could any other used sports equipment be given the same treatment?