20/10/2026
🎾 Same surface, different speed. Why?
Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals are all played on hard courts. But they don't necessarily play at the same speed!
The Court Pace Rating (CPR) measures how fast a court surface plays, based on two factors:
⚡ Friction: how much the surface slows the ball down.
↗️ Restitution: how the ball rebounds after impact.
The ITF classifies courts into 5 categories, from slow to fast. The higher the CPR, the faster the surface.
And yes, court speed can even change between editions of the same tournament!
👇 Do you prefer fast or slow courts?