100 years of better courts and better tennis: Laykold®, an AstroTurf Company, returns as Official Surface of the US Open

From the beginnings of hard court tennis to Grand Slam-level pace precision, Laykold celebrates a century of inventing and reinventing tennis

NEW YORK, Sept. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When René Lacoste and Molla Bjurstedt Mallory were US National Championships winners in 1926, tennis was entering a new era. Hard courts were emerging, the game was democratizing and becoming increasingly international, and the surfaces beneath players' feet were beginning a remarkable evolution.

That was also the year Laykold began.

One hundred years later, Laykold is celebrating its centenary as the Official Surface of the US Open, a position it has held since 2020.

From the first hard courts to coloured courts, recycled materials, force-reduction systems and new temperature-reduction technologies, Laykold has spent 100 years innovating alongside the game.

100 years inventing and reinventing tennis

Few elements have influenced how tennis is played more profoundly than hard courts.

Following World War II, tennis boomed as it shifted from exclusive country clubs to public parks, driven in the US by an expanding middle class and the construction of thousands of new tennis courts by local governments. Hard courts also allowed the game to expand in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

Millions of players took their first steps onto a Laykold court. Without hard courts, tennis would likely have remained niche and locked away in private clubs.

Today's surfaces are expected to deliver precise pace and bounce, reliable footing and consistency, while increasingly addressing player welfare, environmental impact and court temperature. Laykold has evolved alongside those expectations.

Laykold has developed advanced capabilities to achieve pace precision and consistency

At Grand Slam level, consistency matters. The world’s best tennis players regularly hit the ball over 100 mph. They must react in a fraction of a second and their timing must be sublime. They play in the zone, flowing from moment to moment, within this rarefied space the pace of the court itself is crucial to performance and outcome.

Drawing on more than 25 years of extensive surface testing, Laykold has developed a formulation database that enables its technical teams to tailor court pace for individual tournaments to within approximately 0.5 of a Court Pace Rating point, a level of precision 10 times more accurate than the industry classification range.

Luke Burden, Head of Events at Laykold, said:

"Our proprietary blend of sand, combined with our formulation knowledge and testing, allows us to achieve an exceptional level of pace accuracy and consistency.

"Better courts make better tennis. When players trust the surface, they can concentrate on executing their skills. That's better for players, fans, broadcasters, sponsors and everyone involved in the tournament."

42 courts. One standard.

Achieving pace precision on one court is a challenge. Achieving it across 42 courts at one of the world's biggest tennis tournaments requires another level of expertise.

Players need consistency as they move between practice and match courts. Delivering that requires precise manufacturing, detailed testing and expert installation, with product and installation teams working together to control the variables that influence court performance.

That expertise extends well beyond Flushing. Laykold is now selected for more than 50 professional tennis events worldwide, building an extensive body of experience across different tournaments, climates and playing conditions.

The next 100 years

Laykold's centenary is an opportunity to celebrate everyone who has been part of the hard court story: the champions competing on the world's biggest stages, the millions of recreational players, and the coaches, clubs, tournament organisers, court builders and scientists who continue to push tennis forward.

Our love for tennis stretches across generations. From the first hard courts to today's advances in pace precision, force reduction and technologies aimed at reducing environmental impact, Laykold has been innovating alongside the game for 100 years.

Here's to the next 100 years of better courts and better tennis.

About Laykold

Laykold is one of the longest-established tennis court surface manufacturers and a leading provider of hard court technology. It is the Official Surface of the US Open and is used at more than 50 professional events worldwide, including the BNP Paribas Open, Miami Open, Abu Dhabi Open, Wuhan Open and Mexican Open.

Laykold is part of Sport Group and is manufactured in the USA, Australia and Germany.

laykold.com
Laykold Media Zone:
https://www.laykold.com/media-zone

About Sport Group

Sport Group is one of the world’s largest businesses dedicated to sports surfaces. The Group manufactures and installs synthetic turf fields, athletic tracks, courts and recreation areas in more than 70 countries. Headquartered in Burgheim, Germany, Sport Group’s brand portfolio includes AstroTurf^®, Polytan^®, SYNLawn^®, LigaTurf^®, Poligras^®, Rekortan^® and Laykold^®.

sportgroup-holding.com

Liam Kissinger
4437587009
Liam.Kissinger@astroturf.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b3fbc80d-73e1-4235-a702-683170cb7c8e