Rebound Ace
Rebound Ace is a cushioned tennis hardcourt comprised of layers of polyurethane rubber, fiberglass, and other materials on top of an asphalt or reinforced concrete base. It is manufactured by Rebound Ace Sports Pty Ltd, based in Brisbane, Australia. Among other things, the friction of the surface can be varied by increasing or decreasing the amount of sand in the top layer thereby customising the ball bounce and general speed of the court.[1]
Some tennis players argue that it gets very sticky with high temperatures, increasing the chances of injuries, [2] but this is under dispute as the surface has been tested by manufacturers at temperatures of up to 70 degrees Celsius, and other tennis players (Ivan Ljubicic, Pete Sampras, Marat Safin) have argued the injuries are more due to the timing of the Australian Open in the tennis calendar. Rebound Ace is sometimes compared with DecoTurf, which is used at the US Open, however Rebound Ace has more cushioning.
Although Rebound Ace is most well known for its use in tennis courts, also branded under the name Rebound Ace are a wide range of hardcourt and cushioned sports systems. e.g. Rebound Impact used at Seaworld in Orlando, and its newly released Rebound Ace GS Club. Rebound Ace GS Club is a tennis hardcourt surface that differs from Rebound Ace in that it has less cushioning, and also has been shown to retain less heat.
It has been used at the Sydney 2000 Olympics[3] (Homebush Bay - Sydney Olympic Park) and other major tennis venues. It also has been used at the Australian Open since 1988, but will be replaced at that event in 2008 by Plexicushion.
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