Why Wimbledon keeps 55,000 tennis balls refrigerated and what happens to them afterwards

Wimbledon simply wouldn't function without its tennis balls, but why are they kept in the fridge and where do they go when they've seen better days?

You might have gotten swept up in all the celebrity guests arriving in South London and what they're wearing, or - hopefully more so - the incredible sports people battling it out at The Championships over 14 days. But we can't forget about the other stars of the show - the tennis balls themselves.

Distracted by the array of stars, blurred by the Pimms and strawberries and cream, it's not often many of us give a thought to the one crucial item which keeps Wimbledon going - or should I say, around 55,000 of them.

Yes, indeed, Sporting News has estimated the number at a staggering 54,250 balls. But they're not just stored anywhere; they're kept in the fridge, of all places.

But why? And what happens to them? Do I hear a Toy Story 6 based on the balls of Wimbledon calling?

After all, without the balls, what would Wimbledon do? (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

So, apparently, the balls are kept in the fridge to ensure they maintain a set level of bounce.

There's little I remember from year nine science, but I do have a vague recollection of heat being known to expand and contract materials and ultimately all this movement wearing them down.

The balls are subsequently kept inside fridges set at 20 degrees celsuis, as per Radio Times.

As for what happens when the balls do eventually lose their bounce - no matter how much refrigeration they've had? Well, they go on to raise money for a good cause.

What happens to the balls of Wimbledon?? (Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Sporting News claims the used balls are collected up by the ball kids and at the end of the match day they're organized into groups of three or six to be sold from the Wimbledon Foundation Kiosk at the Southern Village Store.

Priced at $3 for a tin of three or $6.10 for six, the proceeds go to the foundation's charitable causes.

Any balls which remain unsold are reportedly donated and recycled.

And there's 101 things to do with a used tennis ball, according to Resource Media.

Ball heel anyone? (Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Wimbledon is reported as having previously donated used balls to the UK Wildlife Trust, with tennis balls making the perfect snuggly home for harvest mice.

Resource Media reveals in 2001, 36,000 tennis balls from Wimbledon were donated, the initiative copied in 2015.

It also suggests doing a bit of your own at-home DIY, using them at the bottom of chairs to protect floors.

They can even be recycled into flooring, such as cushioned mats for the surface of tennis courts, or given to charity or other tennis clubs which need balls but who perhaps don't require balls of quite the same quality and prestige as the Wimbledon Championship players.

Or you could even turn them into a fashion statement and stick one on your heel like Love Islander Maura Higgins!