Why pickleball and CoolTop® are a perfect match

By California Sports Surfaces. 

CoolTop is helping athletes by reducing the temperature of sports courts. 

Every year, Yeppon Tennis in Queensland, Australia hosts a nine-day pickleball event in July. This past year, the event saw over 100 players from both New Zealand and Australia come to play. The series of competitions, coaching and tournaments all happened on a world-class court, that got an upgrade this year. Prior to the start of this year’s tournament, California Sports Surfaces’ CoolTop product was installed on the acrylic courts. By using solar reflecting technology, CoolTop lowered the surface temperature of the courts, which are usually 30ºC (86ºF) or higher, assisting in overall player comfort.   

The project 

The six feature courts to the right of the marquees were surfaced with CoolTop in Nordic and Ice Blue colors.  

The eight courts to the left were surfaced with standard Sea Blue acrylic surrounds and CoolTop Nordic Blue centers. The court surface temperatures shown below were recorded on Friday 21 of July 2023 at 1:30 p.m. – with the ambient temperature of 30ºC (86ºF):  

• Existing sea blue: 125.6ºF (52ºC);  
• Nordic blue: 100.6ºF (38.1ºC); 
• Ice blue: 93.9ºF (34.4ºC). 

Tested in real world environments. 

California Sports Surfaces CoolTop is specially formulated with IR reflective pigments that help reduce surface temperature through solar reflectance (when compared to standard competitor court surfaces). CoolTop assists in overall player comfort by:  

• Reducing the impact of heat islands and banks, which can develop at large multicourt sports facilities. 
• Establishing surface speed performance and long term that matches California Sports Surfaces quality standards. 
•  Using colors specifically developed to maximize surface heat rejection, whilst offering an aesthetically pleasing look. 

With Solar Reflective ratings 20-30% higher than standard court coatings, California Sports Surfaces CoolTop coatings will retain less heat and help reduce the temperature of your court. Temperature reductions will vary depending on location, court color and site conditions. 

Kel Rasmussen, the former director of the Pickleball Association Australia, said that “having played pickleball outdoors on many surfaces and now playing on a surface that has reflective pigments, I can feel that change. It takes the heat off of me so I can put it into my play.” 

Original article source: California Sports Surfaces