A new playing surface at the BNP Paribas Open has pros talking, but early opinions are mixed

Posted by author March 5, 2025 Tennis

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In the early days of this year’s BNP Paribas Open, there’s a hot topic bubbling to the surface, and that topic is the surface — the playing surface that is.

For years the surface at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden was by the brand Plexipave, but this year they switched to a Laykold surface. Laykold also does the surface for the U.S. Open and the Miami Open — the two other biggest tournaments in the United States.

The question is what difference will it make, if any, for the players. The BNP Paribas Open has long been known to have a slow and gritty hardcourt with high bounces that perhaps favor an athletic player who can chase down more balls, rather than a hard hitter who relies on power.

The Laykold surface is believed to play a little faster than that, but depending on who you ask, the difference appears to be negligible. The top pros have only played a few practice sessions on the new courts, so many are reserving some judgment until the actual matches tell the real story.

Daniil Medvedev, who has made the last two finals at Indian Wells but has been critical of the slow playing surface in the past, said what he’s seen so far doesn’t seem much different and in fact may even be slower and grittier.

“I played two days, and they seemed very, very slow, so let’s see how it plays during the tournament. And I didn’t see the difference. Like, today I accidentally, my racket fell down from my hand … and the grip was completely, you know, torn, just because of how rough the court is, and when it’s rough it’s slow,” Medvedev said, but added with a laugh that he’s still jetlagged “So I won’t be able to tell you that I’m sure what I’m saying.”

Aryna Sabalenka, known for her power game, said she did feel like the new surface is playing a little faster, which is A-OK with her.

“I love them. They’re a little bit faster, which is good for me, right?” she said, before adding with a laugh. “I’ll tell you later after my first match. I hope I’ll still like it.”

Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz said Tuesday that he hasn’t had a chance to practice on them yet, but said when he heard the news about a surface change, he didn’t understand it. Why change?

“The court is faster, right? I don’t know. Honestly, it’s a change that I didn’t understand when I saw it, it was 25 years this tournament, it was the same court, and then right now has changed. I don’t know the reason why they did it,” Alcaraz said. “I don’t know. I have to practice on it. I think I consider myself a player who can adapt very well his game, you know, on the surfaces and all the conditions that you’re playing on.”

The 2023 women’s champin Elena Rybakina said one difference she’s noticed a little so far is the bounce height.

“I feel that it’s not much faster, but I will say maybe the bounce is a little bit lower,” she said. “But I think the court’s still nice.”

So at this point, I think it’s clear that there is no consensus on the impact the new surface will have. Slower? Faster? The same? The early takes are all over the place.

But it is a relatively hot topic among the players and the two weeks of the tournament, and who’s still standing at the end, will reveal just how much impact, if any, the new court surfaces have.

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.