US Open pace consistency in a can.

Find out how Laykold has bottled the US Open courts

Pace precision and consistency are the key markers of a high-performance tennis court. That’s why Laykold scientists have leveraged 30 years of R&D to set a new standard in pace precision. Our courts deliver 10 x greater consistency than the accepted industry standard. By fine-tuning court speed to within 0.5 points, Laykold made the US Open courts the most consistent in tennis history.

But the consistency doesn’t stop at Flushing Meadows. Laykold has bottled the US Open courts so that they can be recreated time and again. The secret? It’s written in the sand.

Sand = speed

Court pace is controlled by the sand. It is the interaction of the tennis ball felt (nap) hitting the Laykold sand-filled topcoat that determines the speed at which the ball comes off the court. On the surface, this is a simple equation, but the science is much more complex. In our ISO certified factories, Laykold employs propriety sand sieving techniques to sift out the exact type and blend of premixed sand used on our court surfaces. Further, the specific angles of the grains, how they interact with the grains around them and the uniform spread across the surface determine the levels of friction between the ball and the court, rendering them agents of pace.

Old-world ‘traditional’ court systems manage speed from the base layer

Most international court brands, and the localized systems that have copied their designs, shape their court pace capabilities on the sand embedded down in the base layer, often some two or three layers below where the ball strikes the court surface. This, in contrast to the immediate topcoat ball interaction adopted by the Laykold court system design, means the traditional court system has many smooth non-sanded ‘finish’ coats, which are often, only micro-thin films of color pigment.

A court needs ‘bite’ for shot accuracy

With no sand content other than the sand that is applied in the base layer, the tennis ball tends to ‘skid-through’ on these old-world court systems. Conversely, the ball tends to ‘bite into’ Laykold’s sand-filled topcoat surfaces, allowing the player to gain more ‘purchase’ on their shot (slice, kick, topspin). This directly impacts court playability by enhancing player performance and is why many top players come off Laykold courts feeling like they could execute every shot in their game.

A ‘just paint’ approach to topcoats causes inconsistent pace

This old approach of managing speed through the base layer also means less pace precision and consistency. As the thin color layers wear over time, some more quickly than others, for example, in high tread areas around and inside the baseline, the sand becomes exposed, and these sand patches cause pace variation.

Laykold’s premixed sand-filled topcoat systems revolutionize the speed layer

Laykold’s specifically selected sand blends are premixed into the color topcoats, flipping the industry norm on its head. This provides not only much thicker color pigment layers (hence Laykold’s five-year color warranty), but also ensures the specially selected sand is in the part of the court surface that comes into direct contact with the ball.

“The ball tends to ‘bite into’ Laykold’s sand-filled topcoat surfaces, allowing the player to gain more ‘purchase’ on their shot… and is why many top players come off Laykold courts feeling like they could execute every shot in their game.”

ISO Guaranteed Speed

Depending on the desired speed of the court, Laykold provides a tailored premix product manufactured and mixed in ISO certified factories. The larger the mesh size of silica sand the smaller the particle size – therefore 70 is much smaller than 60 for example. The color topcoat that is premixed with larger, angular shaped sand gives a Medium court pace rating (M3 CPR) because the ball (nap) is grabbed by the larger sand particle size, slowing it down.

Where a Medium-Fast court pace rating (M4 CPR) is required, finer, rounder sand is premixed into the product. The smoother sand does not grab the ball as much, so the ball does not lose as much speed and the contact time with the court is less, creating the faster court surface without the ball ‘skid-through’ of traditional courts.

Sand-filled topcoat systems keep your courts playing for longer

Laykold topcoats have the longest wear-life and court pace rating (CPR) consistency on the market. Logically, the rounder smaller sand particles in the M4 CPR product wear out faster (up to four to six years) than the larger, angular sand particles in the M3 CPR (up to six to eight years) but in both cases, the wear life of Laykold topcoats is unsurpassed in the industry.

Because the color pigments are so thin on traditional non-sanded topcoat systems, the real court life and CPR accuracy is only good for one to two years.

Advantage All

This traditional court system, while mirroring the pro tour court surface, is designed to be resurfaced every year (like pro tour events need to be). For club owners this is a needless expense which has, unfortunately, become the standard finish in the industry.

Laykold topcoats, however, are flipping the advantage in favor of court owners, clubs and local facilities. Through friction science, Laykold is giving court owners greater pace precision, more consistent courts and longer-lasting surfaces which means greater value and performance. Laykold topcoats provide guaranteed Grand Slam quality, in a can.