Rebound Ace
Encyclopedia
Rebound Ace is a cushioned tennis
hardcourt composed 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
.
of the surface of Rebound Ace 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.
Rebound Ace is sometimes compared with DecoTurf
, which is used at the US Open
, however Rebound Ace is built with more cushioning.
, when it was replaced by Plexicushion
.
It was subject to some controversy in recent years when some tennis players argued that it got very sticky with high temperatures, increasing the chances of injuries. However, evidence points to it being no worse than other hard courts. A recent quote by Paul McNamee
indicates that investigations found nothing, commenting that injuries are "inevitable on any hard court" and that:
Rebound Ace was also used at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, at Homebush Bay in the Sydney Olympic Park
,
in Orlando, Florida
. Rebound Ace HSA 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.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
hardcourt composed of polyurethane
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
, fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
, and other materials on top of an asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
or reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
base. It is manufactured by Rebound Ace Sports Pty Ltd, based in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Properties
Among other things, the frictionFriction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and/or material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:...
of the surface of Rebound Ace 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.
Rebound Ace is sometimes compared with DecoTurf
DecoTurf
DecoTurf is a tennis hardcourt comprising layers of acrylic, rubber, silica, and other materials on top of an asphalt or concrete base. It is manufactured by Decosystems, which is a division of California Products Corporation which also manufactures Plexipave, based in Andover, Massachusetts.The...
, which is used at the US Open
U.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
, however Rebound Ace is built with more cushioning.
Australian Open
From 1988 until May 30 2007, Rebound Ace was the official surface of the Australian OpenAustralian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
, when it was replaced by Plexicushion
Plexicushion
Plexicushion is a tennis surface system made by Plexipave, a company based in Massachusetts, USA.- Description :According to the Plexipave website there are four different types of Plexicushion...
.
It was subject to some controversy in recent years when some tennis players argued that it got very sticky with high temperatures, increasing the chances of injuries. However, evidence points to it being no worse than other hard courts. A recent quote by Paul McNamee
Paul McNamee
Paul McNamee is a retired Australian tennis player and prominent sports administrator.-Tennis career:...
indicates that investigations found nothing, commenting that injuries are "inevitable on any hard court" and that:
Rebound Ace was also used at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, at Homebush Bay in the Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sydney Olympic Park is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Auburn Council....
,
Other product uses
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, such as Rebound Impact used at SeaworldSeaWorld
SeaWorld is a United States chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature captive orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations in Orlando,...
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. Rebound Ace HSA 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.