Dropp won the Student Award at the Generali SME EnterPRIZE 2026

🏆 Dropp won the Student Award at the Generali SME EnterPRIZE 2026.

On Wednesday, September 2, we took home the award for a sustainable startup from the Generali gala evening—an award decided by students.

The decision was made by those who will live in the future we are creating together today. According to them, Dropp—which prevents worn-out tennis balls from ending up in landfills—has a place in that future. We are very happy about this.

It’s encouragement for what we do.

The SME EnterPRIZE competition shines a spotlight on an interesting ecosystem of companies and founders in the Czech Republic who are tackling circularity, sustainability, and new ways of doing business. We’re glad to be part of a community of people seeking practical ways to do business differently. They’re great. Even those who only got started a year ago and may not yet know which direction to take. And it’s great that this year they’ve turned the spotlight on sports.

“We’re thrilled that the students chose us; we’ve noticed for quite some time that we’re very visible among young tennis players and people passionate about recycling, and they love what we can make out of old tennis balls,” said Dropp founder Vít Gloser at the Generali awards ceremony.

Dropp introduced sustainability to Czech sports when it wasn’t even a thing here yet. It focuses on what happens to a tennis ball once its life on the court is over. And it recognizes that people in other sports disciplines are also grappling with the question: what to do with tons of equipment and gear designed to withstand the highest levels of performance? (Consequently, they aren’t easy to recycle; their materials are difficult to process, and once their athletic life is over, there’s no further use for them.)

Today, we have around 300 clubs in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria, and our network continues to grow. Top professional female tennis players have stood behind us and become the voice of clean tennis.

We’d like to thank Generali Česká pojišťovna, Roman Juras, and Petra Nováčková for this recognition and for creating a space where we can meet with people who are addressing similar issues from completely different perspectives.

Every ball counts. And it’s good to know that young people see a cleaner sport as part of their future.

#Dropp #SMEEnterPRIZE #CircularEconomy #SustainableBusiness