By Chris Oddo | @Thefanchild | Tuesday 3 March 2025
BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells has a new surface, provided by Loykold this year. But is it different from the old one?
Has very much for the tournament to move to a new, very curious provider as to why the decision was made and what it means for the future of the tournament with the kind of infamous games that allow players like IgA Swiate and Carlos Alcaraz to bloom.
The truth to say, the players do not seem to know the difference.
“They’re a little faster, which is good for me, right?” Sabalenka said Tuesday. “No, but it feels good, feels good so far. I’ll tell you later after my first match. Hope I will still like it.”
“The court is faster, right? I don’t know, ”said the defensive champion twice Carlos Alcarazwhen asked.
“Laykold will bring a new dynamic to the event, ensuring that ATP and WTA players have the optimal game environment to be the best that may be,” Laykold said in a statement published on the tournament website. “Laykold’s courts offer 10 x greater sustainability than the accepted standard of industry. By adjusting the court’s speed within 0.5 points, Laykold scientists and expert installers will bring the most stable courts in tennis history to California’s fifth major. This will provide an exciting, high -level BNP paribas, filled with open action in 2025. “
“I feel it isn’t that much faster, but I’ll say probably slightly lower,” 2023 Champion Elena Rybakina He said “The past days were, like, very smelly and came a lot of sun, so it’s also a little different, bounce. But I think the court is still beautiful.”
Brad Stine, coach of Tommy Paulwho was in Stadium 1 for a two-hour practice with Alexander Zverev on Monday, he says he noticed a little change-if there are.
“I think the court is playing a lot of Dang similar to what was last year,” he said. “It was pretty slow last year. We practiced yesterday with Sascha at Stadium 1 and was dancing really high there. “
Some believe that laykold is trying to homogenize by playing surfaces all over the world. They complain because they find it more interesting to have a lot of different surface speeds, which allows many different types of players to bloom. They make a good point, but they can point your fingers to the wrong culprit. It seems that Laykold did not speed up the courts in Indian Wells at all.
Daniil Medvedevwho complained about the courts during each of his runs in the final, in 2023 and 2024, says they may actually be closer. “It’s a shame for the sport, this court,” Medvedev said during a particularly proven moment during a match with Alexander Zverev in the desert in 2023. Russia would like the court to be twice as soon as.
He may be complaining more this year…
“I like Indian wells, I even like the courts now, but they seem to be almost slower than before, very slow,” he said Tuesday during the media day. “I played two days, and they looked very, very slow, so let’s see how she plays during the tournament. And I didn’t see the change. Like, today, my racquet fell out of my hand, I didn’t throw it (smiling), really, and from low height, and the control was completely, you are tough, just because it is tough.
