Nintendo Mario Tennis: Branded Giant Tennis Ball

At the start of summer, the team at BD Network got in touch with a fun and quirky request: they needed us to create a giant ball prop. One side would be branded to look like an oversized tennis ball promoting the Mario Tennis Open, while the other side would proudly display the Nintendo DS logo.

Now, here’s where it got interesting: sourcing actual tennis ball fabric turned out to be a bit of a Wimbledon-worthy challenge. Although the UK still produces loads of tennis ball material, it’s typically shipped abroad in massive rolls to be made into, well, tennis balls. Getting hold of just a small amount? Practically impossible!

So, we got creative. With a bit of colour-matching wizardry, we blended paint to perfectly mimic that iconic tennis ball hue. Then, we used felt to achieve a texture so convincing, you’d swear it just bounced off Centre Court.

The result? An ace of a giant tennis ball prop that looks absolutely smashing!