NZ sheep help give US Open balls that extra bounce

Every ball fired back and forth by the world's elite tennis players in this year's US Open will carry a piece of rural New Zealand.

Wool from the sheep on Philip and Anne Munro's farm near Fairlie in South Canterbury is being exclusively used in the making of the balls for the open, to be held in New York from August 28 to September 10.

It is the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world.

"It's quite a buzz for us that this has happened. The whole situation is quite surreal," Mr Munro said.

"It has to be taken as quite significant, not only for ourselves, but also for the New Zealand wool industry."

The opportunity arose after the pair hosted a group of foreign businessmen on their farm last year. The visitors were treated to a full tour of the farm.

"They were quite overwhelmed by that whole experience."

It turned out the guests were from global companies Tex Tech and Wilsons, which produce 3 billion tennis balls a year.

After being impressed by what they saw on the Munros' farm, the foreign executives came back with an offer to buy about 280 bales of New Zealand wool a month, for 12 months.

"They then decided that they would keep our wool totally separate from the rest of the order. They would use that wool specifically to produce balls for the US Open and they would brand those balls Wairewa Station, as a commercial advertising venture.

Mr Munro said the companies were after consistency of supply and the "warm and fuzzy feeling" they got from having a special arrangement with New Zealand farmers to help produce the highest-quality tennis ball they could.

Mr Munro and his wife were looking forward to being able to watch the Open on television and say they had played a part in it. "Anne and I are keen sports followers."

The couple will get its first chance to see the branded balls made from their wool at a function in Christchurch tomorrow.