Measuring the court pace rating of tennis courts using low-cost portable devices

Abstract

The International Tennis Federation measures the effect of ball-surface interaction through the coefficients of friction and restitution. The combination of both parameters results in the court pace rating which is used for classifying a tennis court. These coefficients are affected by the surface type, moisture content, level of wear and weather degradation. The result can be an uneven surface which degrades tennis performance and leads to player injuries. Two portable and low-cost devices were developed to measure horizontal and vertical components of force between the ball and the surface, and bounce height using acceleration profiles. Different tennis surfaces were surveyed in dry conditions using 20 distributed sample points. The error obtained for both the coefficient of friction and restitution was less than 5%, which lies within the International Tennis Federation approval test requirements. Variations across the surfaces and between surfaces of two different tennis courts were lower than 15%.