Why the WTA tournament in Linz is gray: Instagram filters before it was cool

Since 2015, the WTA tournament in Linz has been betting on a gray surface. Apart from the Laver Cup, Austria's largest women's tennis event is the only one worldwide. The players enjoy a good contrast and are annoyed with their own outfits.

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It works like an Instagram filter that overlaps the seats of the TipsArena in Linz. A fine sepia filter. The field is painted dark gray, a much lighter gray shimmers outside the lines.

“When we were looking for perfection, we wanted to try something. We dared to do it then, today we are very happy about it, ”tournament director Sandra Reichel told tennisnet about the decision to say goodbye to the blue courts four years ago.

For TV viewers, the tennis ball is clearly recognizable over the gray color mixture. Significantly better than on a red clay court, for example.

Linz takes advantage of the status of an indoor tournament. At an outdoor event, a dark gray or black surface would be impossible: it would absorb too much heat when exposed to the sun.

WTA Linz: Sponsors play along

One can argue about the aesthetics, for Reichel the overall appearance was successful. “The setting matches our traditional tournament. It looks elegant, the sponsors are presented consistently, ”she says.

According to Reichel, it is no problem that the partners and donors give up part of their “corporate identity” because the company logos are placed in black and white on the boards behind the seats. "You understand that the effect is better. Less is more, the look is well received. It's just not that colorful and striking. "

In previous years, title sponsors even had a say in the choice of color for the seats. Today, the overall appearance plays a bigger role. Only in color on the LED boards on the sides of the square are advertised. "The result is a calmer picture that the players appreciate", explains Reichel.

Places in Linz "make a good contrast"

And indeed: When asked about the Linz gray, Jelena Ostapenko raved about the color of the squares. "I like it very much. The light can get very bright in the hall. The color creates a good contrast and feels pleasant to the eye, ”says the Latvian.

A side effect that results from the colors: The players stand out clearly, apart from the ball, they provide the only bright colors with their outfits.

Only Coco Gauff was annoyed that she didn't know about the gray places before arriving in Upper Austria's state capital. "I would have taken a more colorful outfit with me," she says with a smile. The color of the court was not important to her, but during training she had “problems from time to time if the background was too light” because she would see the ball worse.

Madrid Masters: experiment on blue sand

The 2012 edition of the Madrid Open showed that the color of the course can cause great trouble for professionals. At that time, tournament director Ion Tiriac converted blue sand. Officially, he spoke of a better look for TV broadcasts, but the main sponsor, a Spanish insurance company, was pleased that the corporate color was also to be found on the seats.

However, the players were annoyed by a slippery surface and an unusual ball bounce. In fact, the same bricks are said to have been chopped for the underground as in previous years and afterwards. However, due to the paint applied, the iron oxide was missing on the surface, which is said to have caused strange flight curves.

While Roger Federer won the title, Rafael Nadal even threatened a boycott after a third-round loss to Fernando Verdasco. Madrid has been playing on the usual wine-red sand since 2013.

Laver Cup takes on dark gray topping

The hard courts of this world are almost all in blue today. The color theory states that violet or pink would make an ideal complementary color to the yellow-green tennis ball. The ATP Masters in Shanghai comes closest to that with an indigo. A bright blue remains the preferred color for hard courts.

The women's tournament in Linz is one of the few outliers. The Laver Cup has been on similar terrain since its launch in 2017. However, the framing of the seats at the invitation tournament was much darker than that in Linz. “They pull this anthracite through more consistently. That would be a better match for a men's event, ”said Reichel.

Incidentally, no one ever came up with the idea of changing the color of the tennis ball.

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WTA Linz: color of the squares since 2000