A University of Colorado Boulder alum created what he says is the world’s first-ever 100% synthetic, biodegradable tennis string through his Boulder-based company Velociti.
Ryan Burbary, who graduated from CU Boulder in 2022, came out with the biodegradable string at the end of last year. The International Alliance of Racquet Technicians also noted Velociti as the first to come out with this type of string.
“For synthetic strings, which are made of synthetic polymers, we’re the first,” Burbary said. “Nobody else has been able to make something that’s 100% biodegradable.”
Velociti Marketing Director Jessica Ouwerkerk said while tennis string seems like a small factor in waste and sustainability it adds up. There are 40 feet of string in every tennis racket, and players need to restring at least twice a year. At higher competition levels, players will restring once a day and touring professionals will restring after every match.
As a result, thousands of pounds of used tennis string are thrown away in landfills each year and take hundreds of years to decompose. Burbary’s string, called Velociti Catalyst, is made with a technology that allows it to decompose in three to five years, which is 100 times faster than other synthetic string.
In addition to its sustainability benefits, the biodegradable string is affordable and performs just as well as other synthetic string.
Burbary sent samples of the string for an evaluation and playtest to Racquet Sports Industry Magazine, receiving high ratings for durability, spin production and control.
John Hanna, advertising director of Racquet Sports Industry, said he was “intrigued” by the product because of the biodegradable factor. He said the string performed well in the playtests.
“The string played well. There was no difference in it at all even with the biodegradable string,” Hanna said.
Hanna said he does not endorse products, but that he was enthralled by Velociti’s product. He said it makes environmental sense and that creating a sustainable string “seems like a good, responsible thing to do.”
“My goal would be that this additive could be used by most of the other string manufacturers, if they’re interested,” Hanna said.
Damon Gillette is a former touring tennis professional and head teaching pro at Denver Tennis Club. He uses Velociti Catalyst string and said it’s consistent, durable, holds good tension and feels and plays great.
“When I first started using Velociti Catalyst I felt like it was a very explosive poly with excellent feel,” Gillette said.
As someone who is picky about his tennis string, Gillette said it performs great and has the added benefit of being biodegradable. He said professional tennis players go through a ton of string and that it’s great that this string won’t pile up in a landfill somewhere.
“I think it’s excellent that Ryan has spearheaded a string to be biodegradable,” Gillette said.
Velociti’s biodegradable string is also cost-effective with little to no price difference compared to typical synthetic string.
“The technology adds like pennies to the manufacturing cost, so there’s pretty much no reason anyone should make string without it,” Burbary said.
The average cost to restring a racket is $40, with the majority of string prices ranging from $15-75. Velociti Catalyst string costs $14 a set. The other option for a biodegradable string is made of cow intestine, which is a non-synthetic natural product that costs about $50 a set.
Burbary said he’s talked with a few mass manufacturers of tennis string in the hopes they will adopt the technology. He said they’re testing it out and have liked it so far, but nobody is jumping on it yet. He’s hoping one of those manufacturers, who produce millions of sets a year, will adopt the technology so there’s a bigger impact.
“I think it’s important to make a difference and push the boundaries of what the current market is doing,” Burbary said.
Ouwerkerk said Burbary saw an opportunity with Velociti in an industry where sustainability hasn’t been a focus.
“Unfortunately, there hasn’t been as much done in the sustainability realm in tennis as maybe some other industries,” Ouwerkerk said. “So I think Ryan saw an opportunity there and Velociti is really kind of leading the charge of the green tennis revolution.”
Burbary created the formula for the tennis string using his knowledge of the composition of string, what it’s made of, how it works, and then did a lot of testing.
“These are high-performance, high-quality tennis string and other tennis products that just have the added benefit of sustainability, so you’re not sacrificing performance,” Ouwerkerk said. “You’re getting the same quality with the same play ability in a string that’s better for the environment.”
Burbary joined the tennis business because his father owns a Boulder-based tennis and pickleball store called Game-Set-Match. He said growing up in the family business and playing tennis recreationally inspired him to create something of his own. Burbary started Velociti in 2019 and hopes to expand the business so he can work there full-time or hire someone to run it for him.
Burbary’s goal is to push people into looking at the products they use when playing tennis and what they’re throwing away to change their habits.
“It’s unrealistic to expect people to all shift their habits at once,” Burbary said. “But if we can start pushing it in the right direction, that’s how we can start making a difference.”
Velociti sells additional tennis products aside from string and ships its products throughout the United States and internationally.
For more information, visit velocititennis.com
