The Foundation: Color Science With ZEISS™
Not all sunglass lenses are created equal when it comes to giving the best contrast on the tennis and pickleball court, and this is where we leaned into color science to build the foundation of Court HD+. Measurements of the light reflected from a tennis ball and a pickleball show that these balls reflect mostly yellow and green light. With this information, we tuned our lens to give the highest transmission in this wavelength range to give the ball the “pop” effect against the court background. This contrast boost improves your depth perception, making it easier to judge the trajectory of an incoming shot to better time your movement and your ensuing shot.
Relaxed Eyes: Blue Light Management
Despite most of the concern about blue light on the eyes coming from computers, the biggest producer of blue light is still the sun. Blue light is very easily captured by the eye and adversely affects the ability of the eye to focus, making blue light management paramount to success on the court. By reducing the amount of blue light coming into the eyes, the differences between colors and the brightness of objects becomes more pronounced making it easier to track the ball. Court HD+ blocks over 95% of the harshest blue light to keep your eyes relaxed and focused while playing, but doesn’t block out the higher end of the blue light spectrum to avoid color distortion and a washed out visual experience.
Light-Tuned For Performance: Not Too Dark, Not Too Light, Just Right
If you’ve served into the sun or tracked an overhead on a bright day without sunglasses, you know the pain of looking into the sun unprotected. And if you’ve played in the wrong sunglasses you know that the minute one wispy little cloud gets in front of the sun you have to take your usual sunglasses off because it's too dark to see the ball. This is where environmental analysis and pro player testing comes in. We spent months having pro players train in multiple lighting environments in order to tune our lenses to hit the sweet spot - dark enough to provide ample protection in bright sun, but light enough to keep the eyes relaxed during the rest of the point instead of squinting to track the ball.Non-Polarized For The Win: Why This Feature is KEY
Ever felt “slightly off” while wearing your normal sunglasses on the court? This is a common issue if you wear sunglasses that are polarized, which are not recommended for sports where ball-tracking is paramount. Polarized filters are constructed to cut down on reflected glare, something that is rarely an issue when playing tennis, pickleball, or any outdoor court sports compared to being on the water or skiing. The mechanism in polarized filters that dampens surface glare also flattens the image that you see, negatively impacting your depth perception and making it more difficult to track the ball in space and time your next shot. This is why we do not polarize our Court HD+ lenses, and instead opt for a blue anti-reflective coating that combats glare and keeps your depth perception intact.
The Post-Game Summary
Court HD+ is the definitive sunglass lens solution for the advanced tennis and pickleball player looking to get a visual advantage on the court. When it comes to the tools in your gear bag, don’t overlook the impact that the right sunglasses can have on your performance by improving your depth perception and visual acuity. Check out our two frame styles with Court HD+ here: Model One [Court HD+] and Reflex [Court HD+].See you on the courts.
