Last year's balls. This year's courts

Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati) is the first major tournament to use recycled balls, on its Grandstand Court.

For the first time, a major U.S Open Series tournament is using recycled balls in its court surface, keeping balls on the court (literally) and out of landfill, a joint initiative between the USTA, Recycled Balls, Wilson Tennis and Laykold.

The statistics are striking: the US Open changes balls every nine games per match, which soon adds up to some 70,000 balls per tournament. In the US alone, over 100 million balls annually end up in landfill, and with a slow rate of decomposition (400 years), the challenge to keep tennis balls from heading straight to landfill is one that Laykold, the official surface of the Western & Southern Open (aka Cincinnati Masters) is keen to tackle.

“In the US alone, over 100 million balls annually end up in landfill, and with a slow rate of decomposition (400 years).”

The Western & Southern Open, a prestigious tournament dating back to the 19th century, is one of the Masters 1000 tournaments on the ATP Tour and Premier 5 tournaments of the WTA Tour, and this year, its Grandstand court has a little something extra in its base: a recipe for sustainability.

Due to Covid 19 and the need to reduce travel, last year’s W&SO tournament was played in New York. Balls from this tournament and the 2020 US Open (which switched to Laykold courts after 42 years of the same previous supplier), served, sliced and volleyed by stars such as Serena Williams, Dominic Thiem and Naomi Osaka, were collected and crushed, then added to the base layer of the Grandstand Court (capacity 5000), prepared and installed by Laykold.

With the tournament heading back to the Lindner Family Tennis Center this year, Laykold has completed the works on all courts: Center Court (capacity 11,500), Grandstand Court, Court #3 (capacity 3500) and Court #9 (capacity 2500), as well as nearby practice courts.

Laykold’s proven ability to provide surfaces that players can step onto with confidence goes beyond playing performance, demonstrating levels of environmental performance unmatched in the industry and aligning with the USTA’s own sustainability commitments and values.

Laykold courts are powered by Advanced Polymer Technology (APT), which ISO 9001 Quality Management certified, in addition to being the world’s only ISO 14001 environmental certified court manufacturer. With its integrated supply chain, APT is the market leader in warranties, meaning that Laykold courts have a lifespan unmatched in the industry, with a knock-on benefit to the environment.

Laykold is the choice of 7 of the top 12 hard court events in USA and Canada: with its ISO certification and commitment to innovation and sustainability, Laykold is the clear choice to give your court the competitive advantage.