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LAYKOLD - 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW NEWS & STORIES | 48 | THE EVOLUTION OF THE COURT THE SCIENCE BEHIND COURT PACE RATINGS AUGUST 22, 2020 WHEN IT COMES TO THE SPEED OF A COURT, TOURNAMENTS SET THE PACE. It is the court manufacturer's job to pinpoint the tournament's desired pace ratings as accurately as possible - a simple sentence to write but much harder to achieve in practice. Here we explore the science behind building a court to specific pace ratings and why it matters. CREATING THE FASTEST COURTS ON THE PRO CIRCUIT. The speed of a court determines how a player plays it. It also, therefore, determines the fan experience. So, for every tournament, there is much riding on getting it right and never more so than with the U.S. Open, a tournament known worldwide for being the fastest on the pro tennis circuit and exacting in its objective to remain so. At the time of writing, the courts for this year's tournament are being laid and the margins are tiny. SAND IS THE MAIN AGENT OF PACE. And so too is the main factor that influences the court's pace. Sand. And down to a granular level. It is not just the presence of sand that is important but the type and blend of sand that is used. The specific angles of the grains and how they interact with the grains around them are both agents of pace because they determine the levels of friction between the ball and the court. The sand goes through gradation analysis to test its sieve curve. The tighter the curve, the less chance of deviation to court speed. HOW THE COURTS ARE INSTALLED IS ALSO A DETERMINING FACTOR. Environmental circumstances like the temperature of the court and the ball all have to be taken into consideration. Installation on site is a far cry from a controlled lab environment which makes the task more challenging. How the courts are installed impacts their speed. Wesley Baum, an R&D chemist and Technical and Field Support Manager for Laykold, explains; "A broom-finished court will create more peaks and valleys in the sand which creates superior abrasion resistance and reduces the court's speed. A squeegee finish will result in a tighter, smoother matrix which in turn, speeds the court up." SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE PROVIDE ADVANTAGE. The formula for success requires R&D investment and scientific know-how built up over time to get it consistently right. Over a period of more than 25 years, APT and Laykold have carried out extensive surface testing to determine how to achieve a variety of Court Pace Ratings (CPR) between the ITF Category 2, 3 and 4 data points. The results have been used to develop a formulation database enabling us to perfect how we dial in those pace ratings and tailor surface speed to individual tournaments. We've also developed a proprietary blend of sand which ensures consistency of surface pace and speed of play. PROVING PACE ACCURACY. But you don't need to take our word for it. The courts, once laid are independently tested by the ITF in three locations with 14 shots per location. This equates to 900 hours of testing in total for the U.S. Open alone. There is nowhere to hide. Using our formulation database for pinpointing pace ratings, we are currently delivering court pace ratings for the U.S. Open that meet USTA expectations within one point of the requested pace. This is the result of years of R&D, proving that even the fastest courts cannot be rushed.

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