Laykold delivers non-stop court consistency from the US Open to the Sunshine Swing
Grand Slam consistency elevating tennis across the professional tour.
The 43 courts at Flushing Meadows are ready to host the 2025 edition of the world’s fastest Slam. Each of them has been meticulously installed and tested to meet the exacting pace requirements and the unique character of the US Open.
As Laykold heads into its sixth year as the Official Court Surface of the famed tournament, a careful mixture of installation experience and product quality ensures that across and within courts, the surface will play consistently as the world’s best players step out into New York’s heat and humidity.
With the biggest ever purse at stake, court precision is paramount.
Grand Slam pace precision across the hardcourt swing
Known for its pace precision and consistency, the key markers of a high-performance tennis court and one of the biggest challenges professional events face, Laykold courts deliver 10 x greater consistency than the accepted industry standard. As the official court surface of the US Open for the last 5 years, Laykold has consistently maintained Flushing Meadows’ court pace to within 0.6 of a point, year on year, court to court. This unrivalled precision is now being exported across events, elevating playing conditions and allowing the players to be the best they can be.
Consistency that is tailored by tournament
This step-up in playing conditions is not the result of a one-size fits all formula. Each stop on the elite tennis circuit has its own requirements and identity which need to be upheld and celebrated.
Famed for following the sun, each of hardcourt tennis’ stops, nonetheless, has its own unique climatic conditions to contend with, from extreme heat to atmospheric dust, humidity and air density. To deliver consistent court pace and quality, each surface has to be tailored to the individual tournament.
US Open: setting the pace for the fastest Slam amidst heat and humidity
With speed comes smaller margins of error. Famed as the fastest Slam, the courts at the US Open come under greater scrutiny than any other tournament. A player can recover an inconsistent or bad bounce on a slow hardcourt or clay court, but this isn’t possible on a fast hardcourt. Add to that the heat and humidity which bring their own unique environmental challenges for the installation team and some of the biggest court battles begin weeks before the players set foot on them.
Adam Williams from Grand Slam Surfaces consults with Laykold regarding the US Open court. He knows every inch of Flushing Meadows like the back of his hands, and working alongside the installer RS Site and Sports, they have tailored the US Open courts to a tee. He explains;
“The focus each year is on making sure we hit that speed accurately and consistently across every court. You just don’t get that kind of testing elsewhere. It’s intense, and the standards are extremely high.”
Abu Dhabi: the challenge and the solution is written in the sand
The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open presented by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, is a WTA 500 event which attracts players with its prime positioning on the WTA calendar, right before Doha and Dubai, its incredible facilities and good climate.
In terms of climatic conditions, sand provides both an issue and a solution here. The desert environment means an increase in atmospheric dust which can cause issues on court, especially if the wind picks up and makes it hard to remove sand particles from the court’s surface. But it is also Laykold’s unique type and blend of sand within the court that allows pace ratings to be dialed-in to within 0.5 of a point. The specific angles of the grains in the court and how they interact with the grains around them determine the levels of friction between the ball and the court, rendering them crucial pacemakers. This level of precision allows Laykold to maintain the medium court pace the tournament requires to mitigate the impact of atmospheric sand.
“With speed comes smaller margins of error. Famed as the fastest Slam, the courts at the US Open come under greater scrutiny than any other tournament.”
Recreating the Miami Open feel in the Dominican Republic and Arizona
The Cap Cana Open is an ATP Challenger Event held in the Dominican Republic. A competitive tournament in its own right, it also serves as essential preparation for the Miami Open, so ensuring the event has the same feel as Miami is key. The two tournaments share coastal humidity but the Cap Cana Open tends to be windier. Delivering consistency of court pace and therefore better ball control removes one less variable for players.
Similarly, players who are knocked out in Indian Wells will head to the Arizona Tennis Classic to prepare for Miami. As a springboard tournament for future stars, it seeks to recreate the top playing conditions of the Miami Open.
With 40 years of experience as the official court surface of the Miami Open, the R&D and installation know-how to mitigate against atmospheric moisture and the ability to secure an exact pace rating, Laykold is uniquely placed to recreate the Miami court experience in these springboard tournaments.
Indian Wells: balancing ball pace through the air with court pace
The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells marks the first instalment of the Sunshine Swing and is one of the most prestigious events on the ATP and WTA calendars. A self-proclaimed tennis paradise, it has earnt the title of tennis’ fifth major as the Coachella Valley plays host to some of the best players in the world. As well as desert glamour, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden experiences much dryer conditions and the air is thinner. This means the ball pace through the air is much faster than Miami. By controlling the court pace to the exact tournament requirements, Laykold is able to provide a court surface that is balanced with the atmospheric conditions.
The Miami Open
Since its inception in 1985 the Miami Open has seen four venue changes from Delray Beach to Boca West to Crandon Park, to the world-famous Hard Rock Stadium. Laykold has been there for every one of these reinventions. Now settled at the Hard Rock Stadium, the event still comes with the huge yearly challenge of transforming the home of the Miami Dolphins NFL team into a world-class tennis tournament in what is undoubtedly tennis’ biggest ‘pop-up’ event.
Over its 40-year history, Laykold has continually innovated to meet the tournament’s changing needs whilst maintaining the consistency of court pace and quality required by the Fifth Slam.
The move to the Hard Rock Stadium in 2019 came with the challenge of new colors to reflect a new identity, a prescriptive pace rating requirement which changed again in 2023 and the installation of 30 courts over an NFL field, F1 track and surrounding car park. Laykold’s R&D and installation teams customized the product mix and installation method to consistently achieve the desired ball speed and maintain the quality of the event while flexing to the tournament’s changing needs. Court to court, year to year, and now with its recreation at other tournaments, the finale of the Sunshine Swing is a sizzling example of tailored consistency.
An elevated experience for players and fans
By tailoring courts to match the playing conditions, from pace precision to color consistency, Laykold enables tennis to move seamlessly around the world. From Grand Slam speed and precision at the US Open to the Middle East to the Caribbean, this cross-country consistency ensures that within and between events, both the player performance and the fan experience is elevated.
As Flushing Meadows swings into action this week, buckle in for an unmissable US Open…