Playrite Tennis Surface - Review of Qualities and Suitability

ADDED 30/11/2011

At Playrite, we are always going to be saying the best things about our synthetic surfaces, so it's great to hear our customer's feedback to ensure that it reflects our opinions on our products. Below is a report from Pensford Tennis Club who visited Ember Sports Club after Playrite's Matchplay 2 surface was installed. They played on the court for about an hour then Peter Dunning of Pensford Tennis Club put the following questions to Malcolm Baird from The Ember Club. The full news article can be viewed by clicking here.

How differently does the court play when it is wet? Lower bounce? Skidding off the surface?

Unlike some artificial grass surfaces, the playing characteristics of the carpet surface do not change much when wet. The bounce is not much different and the ball does not skid.

Is the bounce different when the ball hits a line?

The bounce is different when the ball hits the lines. Many types of court have this problem, even tarmac to a small extent. On our courts the ball tends to stay low. This may be partly due to the way that they were laid.

The carpets are not stuck to the tarmac surface underneath but the lines are joined by a wide sticky tape. The reason that the carpet is not stuck to the tarmac is so that it can be lifted without damaging the tarmac at the end of the life of the carpet.

Can the courts be played on in frosty conditions?

Frost does not prevent play and we do not find the surface slippery in these conditions. However, if they are icy (after snow has fallen and then frozen) then they are of course slippery.

Are there any circumstances when the court is slippery?

Apart from icy conditions, we have not found them slippery.

Does the amount of sand visible on the surface vary according to whether the courts are dry or wet?

The sand is slightly more visible when the courts are dry but this does not change the playing characteristics of the court.

What maintenance do you carry out on the courts, and how frequently? e.g. application of sand, re-distribution of existing sand, removal of debris, moss, etc.

As far as maintenance is concerned, we drag the courts monthly (we have a four-foot-wide stiff brush for this purpose) to remove debris and to prevent algae from forming. This also has the effect of redistributing the sand to remove footprints, etc. Our courts have been laid for two years this April and we have booked our first external maintenance visit. This is to vacuum up the existing sand, clean/filter it and redistribute it back on to the court. They will assess whether any additional sand is required and adjust as necessary. We have not needed to add any sand so far. If the courts are susceptible to algae/moss i.e. because of overhanging trees, continually damp/shady areas, a 6 monthly spray should prevent any problems.

Can the courts be played on immediately after rain, even after a heavy downpour?

We can play on our courts immediately after heavy rain but obviously the court drainage must be good.

To what degree do the balls pick up moisture from the court? Do the balls fluff-up? What balls do you use? Do balls last longer?

The balls do pick up a bit of moisture after rain but not as much as we have found when playing on astro-turf. We have found that the balls do fluff up, especially when wet. This can be a problem because they can get quite fluffy but it does depend what type of balls are used.

We normally use Slazenger Wimbledon Ultra Vis with Hydroguard and we were advised that these would be the best choice for water repellent qualities. They are fine when the courts are completely dry but, in the wet, these fluff up badly. We have therefore switched to using Wilson Double Core balls when the carpet is wet and these are perfectly okay as regards fluffing. They are a "harder" ball and our members sometimes remark that they prefer the Slazenger balls (but understand why we use them).

The balls do last significantly longer than when used on our all-weather tarmac courts.

Do players have to wear a particular type of shoe, or, like indoor carpet courts, is it preferable to wear a slightly worn out shoe?

We were advised by the court suppliers that ordinary tennis shoes should be worn (not trainers with ridged soles). Unlike indoor carpet courts, a sole with a good grip is preferred. There is some slight "slide" quality created by the sand.

Mr Baird indicated that the Club was very satisfied with the courts, so much so that they are to re-surface their two remaining tarmac courts with the same surface later this year.

Thank you to Pensford Tennis Club for letting us include this information on the Playrite blog and if anyone has any further comments or questions we'd be happy to answer them or click here to find out more about our Playrite Tennis Surfaces.