The Rules of Tennis
The ITF Science & Technical Department has two programs that assist in the tennis court construction process. The Court Pace program classifies the category of the speed of the court material. The Court Recognition program is to quantify the quality of installation.
The Court Pace program measures the surface material to determine how fast a court constructed with the material should play when installed. As discussed last week, this can range across five tiers ranging from Slow to Fast. The testing uses an air cannon to fire a ball into the surface and uses infrared timing gates to measure the speed of the rebound. The testing can either be performed on-site or in a laboratory.
The Court Recognition program is used to assess whether an installed court meets ITF recommendations. That includes the absence of cracks and a uniform appearance in the surface. Any bumps and dips in the surface are measured. The slope is also determined. ITF recognition includes an assessment to ensure that the court markings and net positions are within acceptable tolerances. Court Recognition is awarded in terms of stars.
Court manufactures are recognized as Elite Gold if they are awarded at least 50 certifications in a five year period. Elite Silver recognizes manufacturers who receive at least 10 certifications in the same time period. Current there are no Elite Gold and only one Elite Silver manufacturer, California Sports Surfaces.
A star system is used for the courts themselves. One-Star Recognition is for courts that meet the recommendations contained in the ‘ITF Guide to Test Methods for Tennis Court Surfaces’. Two-Star requires the court to be within 5 points of the advertised Court Pace Rating value for the surface product. Two-Star courts also have to fulfill all requirements for One-Star Recognition.
In practice, very few courts are recognized by the ITF. One prominent example is the Ariake Tennis Park. That is the site of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The testing was performed on request of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee on 17-18 May 2021. Centre court, Courts 1-11 and Court B4 all received a Two-Star Rating. Court B10 was also tested a year earlier on 17-19 Feb 2020 and carries a One-Star rating. That initial test was performed before the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee announced the selection of DecoTurf and resurfaced all the courts. DecoTurf is a product of California Sports Surfaces.
Officially the courts at Tokyo are listed as “Medium” in terms of court speed by the ITF, which puts them squarely in the middle of the court pace ratings. Episode 305 of the No Challenges Remaining podcast briefly discussed a random comment by a Dutch coach indicating that the courts were playing “Slow.” With play underway, there hasn’t been any comment by the players on the court pace.
I think that makes it a happy medium.
- ITF Approved Tennis Balls, Classified Surfaces & Recognised Courts, ITF, 2021.
- DecoTurf Chosen for Tennis Courts at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, ICP Group Press Release, August 1, 2019.
- Ringing in the Olympic Tennis Draws (With Alex Gruskin), No Challenges Remaining Podcast, Episode 305, July 23, 2021.
