Indoor tennis court back tarp color?

KungfuTennis

Semi-Pro
Have a quick question about indoor tennis courts. From what I've seen, most courts have the back walls are covered by that dark green tarp material. Would it be okay to install a lighter color, lets say grey or off white? Our club's courts are a bit dark feeling (not lighting, just "vibe"), and we were wondering if a light colored tarp would negatively affect ball visibility. Please let me know if you have any thoughts, thanks!

[edit] Sorry I'm not sure if this is the right section to ask in, but if its wrong I apologize. If a mod would like to move it to the proper section I would be grateful.
 

KungfuTennis

Semi-Pro
The real key is how it affects ball visibility. The ball is light colored. the lighter the tarp, the harder it is to pick up the ball...

Yeah that's what I'm worried about, I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with lightly colored backgrounds
 

stapletonj

Hall of Fame
I once played on a court with a pale gray tarp, it did not significantly affect picking up the ball and brightened the court considerably.

Unlike that yellow court where that recent pro tourney was..... geeze louise, I lost the ball on every point and that on an 86" 4K TV!
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
Courts typically have dark tarpaulins or wind covers to make it easier to pick up the ball visually. I don’t think I‘ve ever played on a court with a light background and can’t comment on how much worse it is to see the ball. But, I’ve played on many courts outdoors with no wind covers and it is tougher to pick up the ball than when you have a dark wind cover to offer contrast. Actually I’ve never played indoors.
 

PRS

Professional
You really want to avoid light tarps due to ball visibility. My old club got a new logo and wanted to show it off, so they put it at the back end of the first court. The problem was, it had some light colors on it... I don't think it even lasted a month before they had to move it due to all the complaints. I recommend sticking with dark colors if at all possible.
 

KungfuTennis

Semi-Pro
Thanks guys, we're still thinking about going with a *slightly* lighter blue, but we'll be sure to test it first.
 
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loosegroove

Hall of Fame
Facilities near me have both darker blue and lighter royal blue, and ball visibility is not an issue. There is one spot at my club where the ball toss on serve can end up briefly in front of a white backdrop, and I’ve encountered a few returners complain about losing sight of the ball when this happens. So I’d imagine white makes an awful back curtain.
 

innoVAShaun

G.O.A.T.
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nyta2

Legend
Have a quick question about indoor tennis courts. From what I've seen, most courts have the back walls are covered by that dark green tarp material. Would it be okay to install a lighter color, lets say grey or off white? Our club's courts are a bit dark feeling (not lighting, just "vibe"), and we were wondering if a light colored tarp would negatively affect ball visibility. Please let me know if you have any thoughts, thanks!

[edit] Sorry I'm not sure if this is the right section to ask in, but if its wrong I apologize. If a mod would like to move it to the proper section I would be grateful.
i would hate a lighter colored backdrop, especially with indoor lighting.
my club has one court that has a grey wall as a background on one side of the court.
against bigger servers (90-110mph), i have a really hard time picking up the ball when the light grey wall is the background.
part of the issue, though, is that my indoor courts are hartru, so the ball does get dirty faster over time.

caveat: i don't have great eyesight, need glasses when i play, and am in my 50's, so the light receptors in my eyes don't work as well as they did when i was in my teens/20's (night driving issues are definitely a thing for old folks like me!)
 

KungfuTennis

Semi-Pro
i would hate a lighter colored backdrop, especially with indoor lighting.
my club has one court that has a grey wall as a background on one side of the court.
against bigger servers (90-110mph), i have a really hard time picking up the ball when the light grey wall is the background.
part of the issue, though, is that my indoor courts are hartru, so the ball does get dirty faster over time.

caveat: i don't have great eyesight, need glasses when i play, and am in my 50's, so the light receptors in my eyes don't work as well as they did when i was in my teens/20's (night driving issues are definitely a thing for old folks like me!)

Very fair, we're going with more of a reddish color close to pantone 2431u but a bit darker. Hope it'll be ok. Higher management has certain requirements about aesthetics and so we are trying our best to make both management and players happy.
 

nyta2

Legend
Very fair, we're going with more of a reddish color close to pantone 2431u but a bit darker. Hope it'll be ok. Higher management has certain requirements about aesthetics and so we are trying our best to make both management and players happy.
would be terrible if your court surface is red clay :p
i imagine the majority of players (beginnner to ntrp3.5) won't care, because the ball moves slow enough (and they definitely aren't trying to read the ball immediately off the racquet contact)... but for ntrp4.0+ you have guys serving 100mph+, and 50mph+ fh's - where reading the ball off contact makes a big difference (which is the minority of players at most clubs i imagine)
 

PRS

Professional
would be terrible if your court surface is red clay :p
i imagine the majority of players (beginnner to ntrp3.5) won't care, because the ball moves slow enough (and they definitely aren't trying to read the ball immediately off the racquet contact)... but for ntrp4.0+ you have guys serving 100mph+, and 50mph+ fh's - where reading the ball off contact makes a big difference (which is the minority of players at most clubs i imagine)
Lol, in my experience it's the 3.5 and below ladies that will make the complaints first (and loudest), not the 4.0+ players, even if they're the ones that are actually affected more.
 

nyta2

Legend
Lol, in my experience it's the 3.5 and below ladies that will make the complaints first (and loudest), not the 4.0+ players, even if they're the ones that are actually affected more.
if that group is complaining the most, from a biz standpoint, i'd worry more, as they are a larger % of a tennis club's profits (than 4.0+)
 
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KungfuTennis

Semi-Pro
would be terrible if your court surface is red clay :p
i imagine the majority of players (beginnner to ntrp3.5) won't care, because the ball moves slow enough (and they definitely aren't trying to read the ball immediately off the racquet contact)... but for ntrp4.0+ you have guys serving 100mph+, and 50mph+ fh's - where reading the ball off contact makes a big difference (which is the minority of players at most clubs i imagine)
No no we're using Aus Open finishing lol
 
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