Case Study

Ace Lighting Design for Court Tennis Championships

Precise indirect illumination results in an efficient, glare-free, and flicker-free space, for the high-stakes 2023 World Championships.

World-Class Illumination with One Source Associates

One Source Associates’ exceptional lighting design for the Westwood Country Club’s court tennis court has earned them a prestigious Section Award from the IESDC Illumination Awards Committee. This project, one of only about ten court tennis venues in the United States, successfully met the demanding lighting standards set by the United States Court Tennis Association (USCTA).

The USCTA’s satisfaction with the project was evident when they selected Westwood Country Club as the venue for the 2023 World Championships.

Mastering the Lighting Challenges of Court Tennis

The design challenge posed by the asymmetrical shape, dark walls, and sloped ceiling of the court tennis facility required innovative solutions to meet the USCTA’s strict lighting requirements. These stipulations included an average illumination of 80 – 90fc and a uniformity ratio of 0.8.

Westwood Country Club, VA

To achieve evenly distributed indirect lighting, 24 Bolt fixtures with 60° asymmetric flood optics were strategically mounted along the wall perimeter and directed towards a highly reflective ceiling. These fixtures were a mix of 440W and 560W luminaires, emitting at 4000K with an 85 CRI.

To minimize shadowing in the corners, the fixtures were installed with precise adjustments, tilting 9.5° and 10° outward on the Y-axis, and another 10° toward the room center on the X-axis achieved by the Bolt’s on-site adjustability.

This careful alignment required extensive trial and error calculations, and Meteor worked together with One Source Associates on the lighting simulation to ensure the best illumination possible.

In court tennis, the upper portion of the walls serves as an ‘out-of-play’ zone. Fixtures were therefore installed just above this line. To ensure durability against impacts from dense cork balls, samples were sent to the USCTA to test rigorously, striking them to simulate real conditions.

Moreover, our VX Driver™ technology was instrumental in ensuring a flicker-free broadcast.

A Wire Guard accessory, rated IK10, is available to enhance rigidity further

Swing Into Action

Court tennis, also known as real tennis in England and Australia, is an ancient sport that originated in 12th-century France. It combines elements of tennis, squash, and chess, played on a court with walls and a sloping roof. Known for its rich heritage and complex rules, the sport requires players to strike a ball over a net, aiming for designated openings or walls within the playing area.