If you don’t have a pickleball court near you, you’re likely exploring a number of alternatives. Maybe set up a court at home or play at your local gym. But then it hits you. Tennis is just like pickleball. I mean how different can they be. Maybe you could find a spot to play pickleball in a tennis court. Well, as it turns out, you can.
Can You Play Pickleball on a Tennis Court?
Pickleball is so early as a sport. Created in 1965, it’s still in its infancy. The first tournament wasn’t until 1976!
But its exploding! Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and because of that there are a lot of people wanting to play. But most are without a designated place to play pickleball near them. As the game is still relatively new, a space specifically for pickleball is hard to find in most places.
So where do people play?
Tennis is in the racquet sports family like pickleball. Seems like an obvious match. After all so many pickleball players were once and probably still are tennis enthusiasts. And although the two sports are quite different, you can play pickleball on a tennis court.
Not every tennis court though. Grass and Clay courts will not work well. One of the reasons the sports are so different is because of the ball. The pickleball doesn’t compress and has holes for airflow. This means you can’t generate even close to the force and momentum in pickleball compared to tennis. The grass and clay tennis courts absorb too much impact.
However, hard courts are perfect. They are actually where I first started playing.
Pickleball is surface agnostic. As long of the surface is hard. Gym floors, concrete, and asphalt surfaces all work nicely to play on. Tennis courts fall into this bucket as well.
Why do People Play Pickleball in a Tennis Court
You’d be hard pressed to find people who have a designated pickleball court close by them. But most people near cities have a tennis court nearby. This means access is much easier.
Most parks and country clubs haven’t built out designated pickleball courts. They cost a lot of money. Why install brand new courts when a tennis court isn’t much different.
It’s much easier to let pickleball players rent out tennis courts to play, or convert them into a dual purpose court.
This can be done either but the organization that managers the court or pickleball players can find ways to temporarily create their own pickleball court with a few adjustments.
This also makes hosting tournaments much easier as well. Many facilities have already built out an entire row of tennis courts. You can fit multiple pickleball courts on a tennis court. Making them perfect for tournaments.
Difference Between Pickleball and Tennis Courts
If you do decide to play pickleball on a tennis court there are a few changes you’ll need to make to due to differences between a pickleball court and a tennis court.
Pickleball Net Height vs Tennis Net Height
First of all you can’t play with a tennis net.
While it is obviously much too long to fit a pickleball court, the net is also too tall.
A tennis net is three and a half feet, or 42 inches tall at each post. The middle of the tennis net should be 36 inches high.
This varies much more than a pickleball net, which is roughly the same height all the way around. A pickleball net is 36 inches tall at the ends. And 34 inches tall in the middle.
This means you’ll have to bring your own pickleball net if there isn’t one there already. Luckily pickleball nets are fairly cheap and easy to transport.
Doubles vs Singles Court Size
There are also large differences in court size and layout. This means you cant use any of the lines on a tennis court as a substitute.
The courts are actually opposites. A tennis court has the service box closest to the net while on a pickleball court the service boxes are on the baseline.
Another interesting difference between the two sports is their court size changes. A pickleball court never changes. It doesn’t matter whether you play singles or doubles. You play on the same court.
In tennis, there is an increased area to play doubles. This is because they expand the space to include the two outer lanes which would normally be out in singles.
How Many Pickleball Courts Fit on a Tennis Court
One of the best things about using a tennis court for pickleball is it fits multiple pickleball courts.
Depending on the layout of the court, you should be able to fit up to four pickleball courts on one tennis court!
This means you can have up to 16 people playing pickleball at all once!
A tennis court is only 36 feet wide. Each pickleball court is 20×44 feet. So you may be wondering how we can fit four in one court.
Luckily those dimensions are just the outer lines. A tennis court has tons of space on either side of the lines. This is because there’s so much running to chase after balls that are hit hard or at sharp angles that they provide a ton of space.
Pickleball courts still need space between them. But not nearly as much. Unless there is less space than usual, you should have room for two pickleball courts on either side. Make sure you arrange the pickleball courts to match the tennis court layout. Meaning the baselines of the pickleball court and tennis court run parallel.
How to Convert a Tennis Court to a Pickleball Court
If people normally play pickleball on this tennis court, everything may already be setup.
In my experience, they will lay pickleball lines overtop of the normal tennis ones. However, they will be a different color. This way when you play it will be easy to tell the difference. Otherwise all the lines criss crossing and intersecting gets confusing.
They should also have good nets setup.
But if they don’t.
It’s pretty easy to setup your own pickleball court.
The first thing you should absolutely do though is find whoever runs the court. Make sure they are okay will you using their tennis courts to play pickleball. They may not want the extra wear and tear on the surface or the temporary lines you’ll need to put down.
As we talked about earlier the first thing to do it get a different net. A portable net is perfect can run anywhere from as low as $30 to $200+.
Obviously it’s up to you but a most of the time you get what you pay for. Although I’ve seen nets from walmart last hundreds of games carried across dozens of locations. You just have to be more careful with it.
From there you really just need the court layout.
Draw Pickleball Lines
From earlier we know that pickleball court lines are very different from a tennis courts. So we have to draw these on ourself.
This can be as easy as putting water bottles and hats down to mark corners to buying some temporary paint that will wash off over time(don’t recommend).
The best option is probably tape. Little risk of permanent damage. Easy to get up. And clearly stands out.
If the tennis court has white lines, buy some yellow tape and layer the pickleball court lines over the top of the tennis court lines.
You also know the tape will be straight. You won’t end up with squiggly lines as if a small child got a hold of some chalk.
Dimensions
When you’re ready to draw begin with a 20×44 foot box. This is the edge of your pickleball court.
7 feet from the net on either side put another line for the non volley zone. This will also be the edge of your service box.
Finally go to the center of your service line. 10 feet in from the sides, and make a line connecting the baseline to the non volley zone. This center line separates the two service boxes.
Now you’ve got your very own pickleball court.
Final Thoughts
Pickleball can absolutely be played on a tennis court. In fact I’d argue tennis courts are the best places to play if you don’t already have a designated pickleball court.
So what are you waiting for? Find the closest one near you and get out on the court.