Swiroset.com

Of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the US Open and Australian Open use hard courts coated with Plexipave. Wimbledon is steeped in tradition and keeps the grass short, but that surface has mostly disappeared elsewhere. The French Open has a clay court, which is still widely used in some places, including South America and Europe; there are also some clay courts in the United States.

Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone, or brick. Clay has always been a much loved tennis court surface and generally allows for good playing conditions. It is a slower moving surface than hard courts and even slower than short grass, and this allows the best players to master the extremely strong topspin they put on their balls to make them “jump” off the surface, confusing or dominating. to your opponent. However, the clay court does not always provide consistently good playing qualities: a long set or match played on clay can cause the surface to wear and dimples, so that every now and then a tennis ball takes a strange and unpredictable bounce and costs the one that returns to the point. It is extremely smooth and unplayable during rainy weather. But during dry spells it can become like granite and tennis balls, and players’ feet can kick up dust. It’s also easier to slide too far and lose your balance on clay courts than on other surfaces.

But concrete and asphalt, where players don’t slip and slide as much, where there are no dimples with long play, and where those with a faster game can thrive, have a couple of serious drawbacks due to their extreme hardness: which means intense wear and tear on muscles and joints, and blisters on the feet, and its noticeable lack of elasticity. Then there is the heat that rises from the surface in the summer…

In the 1950s, Plexipave was developed in Australia for molding and placement on asphalt and concrete tennis court surfaces. This features a Plexicushion substrate made from a proprietary blend of rubber, latex, and plastic particles. What tennis players get is a resistant layer that absorbs body impacts and reduces muscle fatigue. The 100% acrylic Plexipave surface provides consistent and even ball bounce, can be specifically designed for desired speed of play, and provides the key footwork grips desired by tennis players on that court. The Plexipave system also comes with a proprietary color finish, which is a fast-drying, all-weather resistant color surface that provides the highest quality of resistance to UV deterioration.

Plexipave is a surface for all seasons. It dries quickly after rain and is a perfect anti-glare finish. Although it increases the visibility of the players on the court, it reduces the temperature of the tennis court by an average of 5°C to 7°C. The surface is allowed to breathe, but without losing any of its solid bond to the underlying asphalt or concrete.

From a financial point of view, a Plexipave surface on top of a well-constructed asphalt or concrete tennis court is easy to renew. There is no need for reconstruction or removal of the surface. For the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Plexipave was chosen as the “urban forest” pedestrian surface to be placed around the Australia Stadium. That Plexipave surface still remains, a testament to its incredible durability.