CHOOSE A COLOUR WHICH CONTRASTS WITH THE BALL
Swiss fives players have shown the way forward with their recent decision to colour their courts blue, radically improving visibility of the ball during play. The colour of the walls will contrast with fives balls whether they’re white, yellow or brown.
On top of this, the courts at the David Lloyd club in the border village of Veigy-Foncenex are now a beautiful advertisement for our game. For the first time in decades, these will be able to attract instead of puzzle (or worse) the club's tennis players and swimmers.
Many congratulations are due to Filippo Variola and the other Old Zuozers of western Switzerland for taking this step and investing in this important centre of the game on continental Europe.
Previously the courts were bare concrete, a weathered light grey, covered in grafitti and moss. This made for a poor contrast with white balls, and the balls' visibility got worse as the white wore off a little: the balls effectively became the same colour as the background.
Unfortunately this is a common problem around England, where courts are often plain render and often quite light in colour, either whiteish or slightly tan, depending on the colour of the render's constituents. This can make it hard for players to pick the ball out – and play can become difficult and potentially dangerous. There are courts – sometimes even recently built courts – where I personally can't see the ball because the walls are too pale.
As far as I know, these are the first Eton fives courts in the world to be coloured. But there are some Rugby fives courts which have taken the step: the courts at Merchiston School were refurbished recently and they are now dark blue.
Meanwhile, real tennis seems to be ahead of the curve, as the most recent two courts to be built are both blue: at Radley and Wellington (pictured below).
One crucial aspect of the Veigy refurbishment is that the courts (at the David Lloyd Club in Veigy-Foncenex) have been coloured not with paint – which would have sealed the concrete and blistered in time – but an industry-standard colourant which binds chemically with the lime in the concrete.
This is an essential part of the story – other attempts to improve fives courts by painting them have instead ruined them, as paint will alter the texture of the wall, changing the way the ball plays off it.
Paint will also seal the render underneath and in many locations this will make condensation inevitable. Condensation occurs in fives courts because their walls are thick and are slow to respond to warmer weather. Air can hold more moisture the warmer it is: if it's present, it is then condensed by the colder walls.
However, bare render is slightly porous and this discourages the formation of condensation droplets, and encourages the dispersal of any moisture. Paint the render and you can seal it: your courts can quickly develop condensation and become unplayably and dangerously wet.
One example of courts which were dogged by this problem were those at Charterhouse. These were hugely improved by a refurbishment my contractors carried out, stripping the paint off and recolouring a mid grey. You can see the before and after photographs on my website: www.jprcourts.com.
Please let me know if you are interested in colouring your court, or discussing your options: you needn't be as radical as the Swiss, but even the application of an attractive grey could transform the look and practicality of your courts.
Please do get in contact if you'd like to discuss these or any other fives court issues. I'd be glad to help if I can.
John Reynolds