How long a court lasts

Courts do not usually wear out in the way people expect. The tiles are not the part that fails. What ends a court is the ground moving, water going somewhere it should not, or a surface specified for indoor use being put outside.

This guide covers what actually determines the answer, because "how long will it last" has a different answer depending on which of those you get right.

The three things that decide it

**The base.** A court is only as good as what is underneath it, and that is where nearly all long-term problems originate. A base that is flat, drains and was built on suitable ground will outlive everything on top of it. One that settles unevenly will show up as lifting tiles, ponding and repeated damage in the same spots, regardless of how good the surface is.

**Drainage.** Water that leaves the court quickly is water that is not freezing under it, not feeding moss in the joints and not softening the ground below. A tiled surface drains through itself, so the question is what happens to the water after that.

**UV stabilisation.** Polypropylene degrades under sustained ultraviolet light unless it is compounded to resist it. This is the single specification that separates a tile made for outdoor use from one that is not, and it is not visible by looking. An unstabilised tile outdoors will chalk, fade and eventually go brittle.

What does wear

Realistically: the net, first and by a wide margin. Then hoop hardware and fixings, which are steel and live outdoors. Then, on a court that gets serious use, the finish where players pivot most, which shows as a smoother patch rather than a hole.

Colour is moulded through the tile rather than applied on top, so a court does not develop the patchy, worn-through look of a painted surface. It may lighten slightly overall with years of sun, evenly enough that you would need the original photograph to see it.

Questions worth asking any supplier

Rather than take a headline figure, ask what it is actually attached to.

• Is the tile UV stabilised for outdoor use, and is that stated on the specification rather than in the sales copy?
• What does the warranty cover, and what does it exclude? Fading, impact damage and ground movement are commonly treated differently from one another.
• Is it transferable if the property is sold?
• Are replacement tiles available separately, and for how long is the colour expected to remain in production?
• What voids it? Sealing, painting or pressure washing above a stated limit sometimes will.

That last group matters more than the number of years. A long warranty that excludes the things most likely to happen is worth less than a shorter one that does not.

Getting the most out of it

Nearly all of it is decided before the court exists. Build the base properly, give the water somewhere to go, and specify a tile made for the environment it will live in. After that the maintenance is sweeping.

The one thing worth doing at purchase is ordering a few spare tiles per colour. Colour batches vary over the years, and spares from the original run are the only guaranteed match.