Requirement:
Some of the 55,000 balls used during the Vimbledon Tennis Tournament are accumulated every year for threatening harvest mice.
Rating:
Rating: Outdated
Since the annual Vimbledon Tennis Championships were played from June to July 2025, social media users said thousands of tennis balls used in tournament live like houses for small mice facing habitat loss.
For example, one Instagram user shared an image (archive) with a text that reads: “55,000 tennis balls are converted to homes for harvest mice after Vimbledon.”
The entry title, which has been given nearly 20,000 sympathies since this writing, states that the balls are “donated to security groups”, which have cut small entrances to enter the grassy meadows and hedges.
Similar rumor iterations appeared on Facebook (archived) and Reddit (archived).
In short, although Vimbledon has previously donated some of his tennis balls for nature conservation groups to use homes for harvest mice, these victims seemed to be disposable. For this reason, we have evaluated this statement as outdated.
It seemed that the oldest source of the alleged sacrifice came from 2001. The BBC article stating that some 36,000 tennis balls were donated to The Wildlife Trotsts at the time – Federation of British Wild Conservation Charity Organizations – be recycled like houses from harvest mice. 2003 The BBC article presented a small further inscription of this story stating that Vimbledon had donated 350 tennis balls to wildlife TVs two years earlier.
Snopes contacted The Wildlife Trotsts and Wimbledon to confirm whether the tournament continued to donate such victims and, if so, to receive information about what is included. A spokesman for Wildlife Truss said: “Unfortunately, the story of the tennis ball is very outdated because we haven’t worked with Wimbledon for a while.” Similarly, Vimbledon’s spokesman confirmed that the story of the harvest mice was old.
2011 The Guardian newspaper reported that Wimbledon had again donated tennis balls to mice, this time at the aquarium request in Northern England. The Guardian didn’t say how many tennis balls were donated at the time.
It was not possible to find newer articles about the tournament that donated such donations, although other tennis clubs in the UK are reported to give tennis balls to the same purpose.
Although “harvest” mice are not dangerous worldwide, the UK, according to the Mammalian Society, the British charity “almost threatened” in the UK. Harvest mice are the smallest rodents in the UK, which means that a tennis ball with a sliced hole, which can be a place for mice to rest from their predators.
During the tournament, Vimbledon sells his usual tennis balls on the spot, and his revenue goes to his charity to the Vimbledon Foundation. According to a spokesman for the tournament, Wimbledon has sold used tennis balls for the last few years.
There was no information on the fate of unsold and unsold tennis balls on the Wimbledon website, but Keith Prowse, a sports hospitality company cooperating with Vimbledon, said they were donated or recycled within weeks and months from the end of the tournament. Keith Prowse website added: “Previously, some balls were donated to the UK Wildlife Trust Foundation, which cut them and used their home to make harvest mice!”
Sources:
“Harvest mouse”. Mammalian societyMammal.org.uk/british-figuolis/haryvest-pel. Accepted 2025. July 16th.
“Having a ball in Vimbledon!” BBC2003, News.bbc.co.uk/Sportacademy/hi/sa/features/newsid_2997000/2997504.stm. Accepted 2025. July 16th.
“New Balls, please for” mouse homes “. BBC2001 June 25, News.bbc.co.uk/2/uk_news/1406612.stm. Accepted 2025. July 16th.
“Championships, Vimbledon Facts and Figures”. Wimbledon.comwww.wimbledon.com/en_gb/atoz/faq_and_FACTS_AND_FIGUREES.html. Accepted 2025. July 16th.
Wainwright, Martin. “What happens to the used vimbledon balls? Ask the Cambi mice.” Guardian2011 June 29, www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2011/jun/29/wimbledon tennis- balls lakes-aquarium-mice-slazenger-barsley. Accepted 2025. July 16th.
“Watermead County Park Mice living in tennis balls.” BBC2013 April 26, www.bbc.com/news/uk-enngland-lecestershire-22314712. Accepted 2025. July 16th.
“What happens after Vimbledon | Tennis | Keith prowse.” Www.keithprowse.co.uk2022 August 16, www.keithprowse.co.uk/news-and-blog/2022/08/16/whappens-post-wimbledon/. Accepted 2025. July 16th.