Why Laykold has been at the heart of tennis’ evolution
99 years of Laykold court innovations have raised the game worldwide.
Since the invention of hardcourt tennis in the 1920s to the modern-day era of Grand Slam quality pace precision, force reduction and green tech courts, the game has experienced an astounding evolution. The surface has had a fundamental (if little understood) impact on how, where and by whom tennis is played.
Over its 99 years, Laykold alongside brands like Dunlop, Wilson and adidas, has played a transformative role in the game’s development, evolution, global spread and overall success.
From influencing new skills and techniques, to enabling the explosion of public facilities and the standardization of play that democratized the sport, we explore how Laykold hardcourts have been a catalyst for growth.
The birth of hardcourt tennis increases accessibility
The first hardcourts in the 1920s borrowed technology from road surfacing that changed the direction of the game. Infrastructure manufacturers developed cold pour asphalt which was literally ‘laid cold’ and marked the start of Laykold.
At this time, Laykold took an early lead in the invention and development of durable, all-weather tennis courts which played a profound role in tennis’ shift from an elite club-based pastime to a broadly accessible sport in the new world – the West Coast of the US.
The democratization of tennis worldwide
Removing the need for hard-to-maintain and costly grass and clay, Laykold lowered the barrier to entry, enabling more public facilities, creating more consistent playing conditions, and helping spread tennis into clubs, schools, public parks and communities worldwide.
Our surfaces have helped tens of millions take their first steps onto the court and into the sport. It is reasonable to say that without hardcourts the sport would have remained niche and exclusive.
The skills evolution
By making high-quality hardcourts widely available, Laykold didn’t just grow tennis participation but helped evolve how the game is played.
Consistent surfaces with predictable ball-bounce and speed that players could trust, led to new playing styles, such as the development of Western grip styles which allowed today’s aggressive power game to develop and the ‘all court’ player to emerge. The base-line game, usually associated with clay, and the net game dominant in lawn, was transformed by players who were dominatingly effective in both. Cue Roger Federer.
New tech led to new techniques
Hardcourts also inspired greater variation in techniques. Single handed backhands, both slice and topspin, replaced the traditional slice backhand of lawn natives and the two-handed backhand that is the staple of those who had grown up on clay. With this variation came more excitement as players broadened their game styles giving them the scope to utilize every part of the court.
Closing the skills gap
Crucially, hardcourts reduced the skill gap between those who had access to perfect surfaces and those who didn’t, creating opportunities for players everywhere to train on surfaces that matched the professional game no matter where they started.
Greater pace precision
In the 1950s, an acrylic resurfacer layer was introduced to smooth the asphalt for better playability and durability. This innovation remains the backbone of a good tennis court system.
Sand was later added to control the ball speed and reduce sliding, and over the years, Laykold’s sand science has become increasingly exacting. The curvature and angles of the sand particles in the surface determine the levels of friction between the ball and the court. Through gradation analysis on our proprietary blend of sand, Laykold has developed the ability to pinpoint an unrivaled level of pace and playing accuracy.
This means that today, we can deliver court speed to within 0.5 of a point which creates consistently better tennis and allows players at all levels to be more confident with their shots.
Improving player welfare with advanced temperature reduction technology
In the 1970s, Laykold launched Colorcoat300, an acrylic system that reduces slip and kept courts up to 30°F cooler than traditional asphalt.
This first step in heat-reduction technology was followed by an exploration for UV reflective technology which we rejected due to its limited impact.
In 2023 Laykold scientists made a breakthrough with new Chill Court technology which uses patented Phase Change nanotechnology to dissolve rather than reflect heat. Tested in the harsh Australian climate, Laykold Chill technology delivers a 30% reduction in ambient to court surface temperature improving player welfare and club and event revenue for a sport that famously follows the sun.
The Force Reduction Revolution
Innovations continued focusing on player welfare, including joint safety, laying the early groundwork for cushioned systems and the Laykold Force Reduction Revolution that followed.
The early cushion courts, built for ball bounce, not athlete welfare, lost their cushioning in two to three years. In response, Laykold invested in further innovation which culminated in the current advanced force reduction courts.
Laykold Gel was launched in 2016 with +15% force reduction and 70% energy return, making it the only surface to hit the tennis sweetspot of player comfort with responsive performance. Laykold Gel courts retain 98% of their force reduction over 10 years, avoiding the hardening issues common in older surface technology.
The notion that ‘hard courts don’t have to be hard on your body’ is a fundamental reinvention of the hardcourt as it addresses major issues in the game, from player drop-off at club level to chronic player injuries at the elite level.
“Consistent surfaces with predictable ball-bounce and speed, led to new playing styles, such as the Western grip styles which allowed today’s aggressive power game to develop and the ‘all court’ player to emerge.”
Go on. Play on Green Technology.
Gel technology also heralded a new era of court sustainability. The Gel layer is made from 60% renewable materials, and the court system is made using enzyme technology which requires very little electricity.
As the only courts to use recycled tennis balls in their systems, Laykold began producing the world’s greenest courts. Not only was this good for environmental performance but it increased accessibility to the game again with the green tech unlocking funding for clubs and public facilities.
Trusted and chosen by the US Open and around the world
In 2020, Laykold became the Official Court of the US Open, the first time the USTA had changed its playing surface in 42 years. The trust placed in Laykold was the result of a culmination of technological advancements that had helped the game to move forward. As Danny Zausner, CEO of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center explained:
“We felt it was time to explore all new approaches and technologies to court surfacing. During this exploration, Laykold quickly rose to the top, and working with them, we are confident we will have the best-playing and best-performing courts in the world.”
Six years on, Laykold remains the trusted surface of the US Open and transports Grand Slam quality courts that are 10 x more consistent than the industry standard to clubs, events and facilities around the world.
Hardcourt tennis has come a long way and the surface that has been consistently beneath players’ feet for 99 years has, itself, been a major player.