What Is A Tennis Court Slip Test? | How We Measure Slip Risk

The pendulum slip test — step by step

The test itself is straightforward. A technician arrives on site with a pendulum tester — a piece of equipment about the size of a suitcase that the HSE has endorsed as the UK's standard method for measuring slip resistance on any surface.

1. Setting up

We position the pendulum at several points across each court. For a standard tennis court we typically take readings in 6–10 locations, covering baseline, service boxes, and the net area — because a court's slip resistance can vary across its surface, especially as it ages.

2. Taking the readings

A weighted rubber slider is released from horizontal and swings across a short section of the court. The amount the pendulum is slowed down by friction produces a reading called the Pendulum Test Value (PTV). We repeat this at each test point, and do it twice — once with the court dry, and once with it wetted — because many surfaces behave very differently when damp.

3. What the numbers mean

The HSE publishes clear safety thresholds for the PTV:

PTV 36 or above — low slip potential. Considered safe under normal conditions.
PTV 25 to 35 — moderate slip potential. May warrant investigation, signage, or remediation depending on context.
PTV 24 or below — high slip potential. Should be addressed promptly.

For a tennis court specifically, most clubs want to see a wet PTV comfortably above 36 — that gives confidence that even in damp British weather, the courts are grippy enough to play safely.

4. The report

Back at the lab, all readings are compiled into a UKAS-accredited PDF report. It includes: a plan of the court with each test point marked, photographs of each location, the raw PTV readings wet and dry, a clear pass or fail against the HSE thresholds, and — if anything needs addressing — practical recommendations written so a club committee or facilities manager can act on them without needing a consultant to translate.

Beyond Slip Testing

Other things we can check while we're on site

Most clubs just need a slip test — and for most, that's all we'll do. But because we're a specialist sports surface laboratory, we can combine your slip test with other checks in the same visit if it's useful. These are the things we're sometimes asked to add:

ITF court pace classification — official ITF category 1–5 rating, useful for tournament-level clubs or anyone re-ranking their courts.
Ball rebound consistency — checks the court plays the same across its whole surface, which matters more with age.
Planarity check — looks for dips, bumps and drainage problems that affect both safety and playability.
Floodlight survey — illuminance levels and uniformity, useful for clubs with evening play or LTA sanctioning requirements.

If you're not sure what you need, just tell us what's prompting the enquiry and we'll suggest the simplest, most useful scope — not the most expensive one.