By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday March 3, 2025
The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells has a brand new floor, offered by Laykold this 12 months. However is it any totally different than the previous one?
A lot has been made concerning the match’s resolution to change to a brand new supplier, with many inquisitive about why the choice was made and what it means for the way forward for the match with the kind of notoriously gradual taking part in situations that permit gamers like Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz thrive.
Fact be advised, the gamers don’t appear to know the distinction.
“They’re a little bit bit sooner, which is nice for me, proper?” Aryna Sabalenka mentioned on Tuesday. “No, however it feels good, feels good to this point. I am going to inform you later after my first match. I hope I am going to nonetheless prefer it.”
“The court docket is quicker, proper? I do not know,” mentioned two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, when requested.
“Laykold will carry a brand new dynamic to the occasion, making certain that the ATP and WTA gamers have the optimum taking part in surroundings to be one of the best they are often,” Laykold mentioned in a press release that was revealed on the match’s web site. “Laykold’s courts ship 10 x higher consistency than the accepted business commonplace. By fine-tuning court docket pace to inside 0.5 factors, Laykold’s scientists and professional installers will carry essentially the most constant courts in tennis historical past to California’s ‘fifth main’. This can guarantee an thrilling, high-level, action-packed BNP Paribas Open in 2025.”
“I really feel that it is not a lot sooner, however I’ll say perhaps the bounce a little bit bit decrease,” 2023 champion Elena Rybakina mentioned. “The previous few days have been, like, very windy and a number of solar got here, so it is also a bit totally different, the bounce. However I feel the court docket’s nonetheless good.”
Brad Stine, coach of Tommy Paul, who was on Stadium 1 for a two-hour observe with Alexander Zverev on Monday, says he seen little distinction – if any.
“I feel the court docket is taking part in fairly dang much like what it was final 12 months,” he mentioned. “It was fairly gradual final 12 months. We practiced yesterday with Sascha on Stadium 1 and it was bouncing actually excessive in there.”
Some consider that Laykold is making an attempt to homogenize taking part in surfaces world wide. They complain as a result of they discover it extra attention-grabbing to have many various floor speeds, which permits many several types of gamers to thrive. They make level, however they could be pointing fingers on the incorrect wrongdoer. It seems that Laykold didn’t pace up the courts at Indian Wells in any respect.
Daniil Medvedev, who complained concerning the courts throughout every of his runs to the ultimate, in 2023 and 2024, says they could truly be nearer. “It’s a shame to sport, this court docket,” Medvedev mentioned throughout a very making an attempt second throughout a match with Alexander Zverev within the desert in 2023. The Russian would love the court docket to be twice as quick.
He could also be complaining extra this 12 months…
“I like Indian Wells, I even just like the courts now, however they appear to be nearly slower than earlier than, very gradual,” he mentioned on Tuesday throughout media day. “I performed two days, and so they appeared very, very gradual, so let’s have a look at the way it performs in the course of the match. And I did not see the distinction. Like, at the moment I unintentionally, my racquet fell down from my hand, I did not throw it (smiling), actually, and from the low top, and the grip was utterly, , torn, simply due to how tough the court docket is, and when it is tough it is gradual.”
