A specialist laboratory, not a contractor.

We're a sports surface testing laboratory based at Vicarage Farm, Sunbury-on-Thames. Surface Performance holds UKAS ISO 17025 accreditation for pendulum slip testing, and is accredited by every major international sports governing body whose standards we test against — including the ITF (International Tennis Federation), FIFA, The FA, FIH (International Hockey Federation) and World Rugby.

Tennis Court Slip Testing is our dedicated service for the UK and Irish tennis market — a sector where the combination of slip risk, pace playability and governing-body compliance is unusually nuanced. Generic slip testers can give you a PTV. Specialist tennis surface labs can tell you what that PTV means for a claim, an installation handover or an ITF pace rating.

What we test

Everything a tennis court can be measured for — slip resistance, pace classification, friction, rebound, planarity, drainage, shock absorption and lighting. On any surface type, across any venue sector, from one court to a regional facility audit.

What we don't do

We don't sell, supply or install tennis courts. We don't take commissions from contractors. We don't have "preferred" surfaces, adhesives or coatings. Every pound of our revenue comes from testing — which is why the results we produce can't be shaped by anything other than the measurements.

"The only thing we sell is the test result. That's what independence means."

Where we work

We operate across the entire United Kingdom — from Cornwall to Caithness — and the Republic of Ireland. Our technicians travel from our Surrey base; we plan routes efficiently to keep testing affordable even for smaller clubs outside the South East.

Who we work for

Our clients include LTA-affiliated clubs, independent and state schools, university sport departments, local authority leisure operators, five-star hotels and resorts, major insurers, loss adjusters, claimant and defendant solicitors, architects, SAPCA member contractors, and governing bodies. If a tennis court matters to you, we can probably help.

Accreditations & standards

Surface Performance is accredited by every major international governing body that sets the standards for sports surface testing — a breadth of recognition held by very few UK laboratories.

• ITF — approved test institute for International Tennis Federation court pace classification and ball rebound methods
• FIFA — FIFA Quality and FIFA Quality Pro accredited test institute for football surface performance
• The FA — accredited for FA 3G Pitch Register testing
• FIH — International Hockey Federation accredited for Global and National category pitch testing
• World Rugby — approved test institute under Regulation 22
• UKAS ISO/IEC 17025 — national accreditation for our pendulum slip testing methodology
• Technical standards — BS 7976-2, EN 15301-1, EN 13036-7, EN 14808 and related international standards
• Additional — SAPCA-affiliated, ROSPA-recognised, HSE-aligned methodology for forensic work

This matters particularly for tennis: the ITF approval means our measurements don't just indicate "safe enough" or "grippy enough" — they produce numbers directly comparable to the ones used for sanctioned ITF tournaments, Davis Cup venues and Grand Slam training facilities.