Ballkids are essential to the smooth running of tennis tournaments. Yet some children face barriers that prevent them from taking on this coveted role.

By introducing Australia's first wheelchair ballkid pilot program Mastercard is taking a big step forward in demonstrating the potential of wheelchair users as ballkids in tennis tournaments around the world.

Ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne Park, a wheelchair user was given the opportunity to try being a ballkid for the very first time.

Meet 11-year-old Junior Wheelchair Tennis Champion, Sonny Rennison; the inaugural Mastercard Open Ballkid.

Trained by professional ballkid trainer, Diana Sutterby, Sonny hit the court to understand the foundations and skills required to fulfil the iconic Grand Slam role alongside five experienced ballkids, each with major tournament experience. The training program covered all aspects of ballkid responsibilities including on-court communication, rolling techniques, court movement and how best to service players during a match.

While in the program, Sonny met World No. 4 Wheelchair Tennis Player Heath Davidson, where they discussed the challenge that people in wheelchairs face as they pick up and store balls while on the court.

Through this collaboration, it was determined that Sonny could benefit from a device that would help him collect the balls at ground level and store them while he undertook his ballkid duties.

To support Sonny in the flow of the game, Mastercard brought together creative technology production company Streaker and disability consulting firm Get Skilled Access to design an innovative ball holder and collector created specifically for wheelchair users.

Mastercard has open sourced the prototype for all to access for free, because Mastercard believes innovation should always be driven by the impulse to include.

It's hoped tournaments around the world will be inspired to make the game more inclusive in the future and utilise the technology created by Mastercard, and its network of partners who made this possible.

The 3D design template can be downloaded here.

The FAQs can be found here: FAQs

Fine print:

User Instructions below:

Anyone with this can access it and download it in a variety of formats if needed.

Contained in the 3D design templates, are the following files:

1. .STL (good for 3d printing)
2. .3MF (good for 3d printing)

Notes on printing:

1. The object is designed to be printed in two parts in an FDM format machine.
2. We have been printing in PLA, but ABS or similar is also suitable.
3. The machine we are using is a Raise E2, which has a max build volume of:
4. 330 x 240 x 240 mm.
5. It's held together with 4 x M5 screws (15-20 mm long).