The surface change at Indian Wells gets mixed reactions from players: Faster or slower?

BNP Paribas Open (or Indian Wells), the ATP and WTA Masters 1000 in California, is played on a hard court, but this year the organisation has changed the surface. It used to be made by a company called Plexipave, but now it's made by Laykold, which also makes the surface in the other big tennis competitions in the country, the US Open and the Miami Open.

The dry climate in the desert, mixed with that surface, made Indian Wells court speed slower than most other hard court tournaments and lower bounces. And that has elicited different responses from players. Carlos Alcaraz, who has won two years in a row - and could be affected by this change - admitted to have heard that the court was "a bit faster. I think I adapt well to surfaces and conditions, even if courts are a little faster".

However, Daniil Medvedev, who has reached the final in the last two editions of the tournament - both times playing to Alcaraz - thinks the opposite: "They seem slower than before, very slow. I just had two days of jet lag so I can't tell you for sure what I'm saying, but I played for two days, and they seemed very, very slow". The Russian player is known for being very critical with the previous surface, and in 2023, after twisting his ankle, said that the court was "a shame" and it should be banned.

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev, second in the ATP ranking, said that "It seems the same to me, honestly. I trained here for four days, I didn't notice anything". And Alcaraz himself, after training in it, said that he didn't feel much different.