You wouldn't use your grandad's racket, so why use his court?

Senior tennis pro and court specialist, Scott Windus, explains why old court technology doesn’t serve the modern game.

Who loved their wooden tennis racket? My first one was a Dunlop Maxply with the red stripes around the top of the shaft. But as much as we loved the golden era of tennis, as soon as the wider-bodied, new technology rackets became easily accessible to the public in the late 80s, an entirely new dynamic was created in the sport of tennis. The tennis racket sweetspot was coined, and tennis became faster and easier with greater control and accuracy.

The rise of the racket

Since those early years when new technology was first introduced to sports equipment manufacturing, the tennis racket industry has researched and studied the optimal tennis racket sweetspot for every shape, design and material possible. And it continues to invest in research for this area.

Tennis courts fall behind the pace of change

Meanwhile another partner in the game of tennis, the tennis court, has not followed the same trajectory. The court has been left behind in the technology stakes. With outdated design options that have not solved the pain and injury conundrum of hardcourt tennis, tennis courts find themselves in the high-tech shadows of tennis rackets and strings.

“The hardcourt surfaces of painted concrete, asphalt and very old technology liquid cushion systems have not met the challenge facing the modern game.”

Player injury and pain requires more than ‘just paint’

Tennis is the only international major sport that does not have enforced mandatory force reduction levels. This is tough on players’ bodies. As player pathways ramp up their required court time and player seasons expand, the tennis athlete is being punished. The hardcourt surfaces of painted concrete, asphalt and very old technology liquid cushion systems have not met the challenge facing the modern game.

Until now.

Having invested heavily in R&D, Laykold is taking tennis courts beyond their ‘just paint’ past. Our scientists have developed something just as revolutionary as the tennis racket sweetspot in tennis court technology.

The only Force Reduction courts to hit the tennis sweetspot

The result is our Laykold Gel court systems which balance the right levels of force reduction for the body (shock absorption built into the court), with the optimal energy return (foot speed), for player performance. These flagship Force Reduction courts incorporate a thin gel layer which serves up 17% force reduction and 70% energy return. This uniquely provides very long-lasting cushioning resilience (98% over 10 years). Essentially the high force reduction never ends. This means hardcourt tennis no longer has to be hard on the body. This also means happy knees and fast feet.

An essential Force Reduction Revolution

Hardcourts have a long legacy in the sport of tennis and Laykold has been around since the start of that way back in the 1930s. Hardcourt tennis is fantastic. It’s fun to play and equally fun to watch at the highest level of the game. When players of similar standard have an even surface, the level of tennis entertainment exponentially increases. It’s why nearly 70% of all Pro Tour events are played on hardcourts.

That is also why a Force Reduction revolution has been essential, because we care about the end user’s enjoyment of our courts and the long term welfare of the player.

While clay or lawn courts have natural (although inconsistent) in-built force reduction benefits, we realized at Laykold, that it was essential for hardcourts to innovate to continue to serve the modern game.

*US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center*

Changing the game at all levels

Our tennis court sweetspot innovation impacts all levels of the game.

At a club level it means:

More players playing, more of the time
Less injuries
Healthier clubs
Healthier players

At the pro end of the game, we will see fewer shortened careers and shattered dreams of young athletes who have poured countless hours into achieving excellence in their sport only to be foiled through knee, hip, and lower back injuries that curtail their training and playing ability.

Like your old Dunlop Maxply, old court technology should be a thing of the past. It’s time your playing surface joined all the other amazing innovations in the modern game.