How to Play Pickleball on Tennis Court
You may want to do this because you have one in your yard and want to transition it to play this new fast playing paddle game instead! Many of my friends have been in this same situation and we talked about it over coffee. Can this be done? How do you do it? What should the measurements be? We talked about it all and one of them did it!
Not only did they love it because then their family could play together in an area that was never being used, but they were able to fit 2 courts in the existing area. I researched the dimensions you need to make a pickleball court out of a tennis court and made a free PDF pickleball printable for you below to reflect it too.
How big is a pickleball court?
A standard pickleball court is 20 feet wide and 44 feet long. This size is the same for both singles and doubles play. Now, while the court itself is 20 × 44 feet, you’ll want extra space around it for safe play as well though so you need to keep that in mind. When you are running for a ball that is on the outside line you don’t want to hit a fence or wall so really you need a total playing area of 30 feet wide × 60 feet long to be comfortable.
Key Measurements
- Total court size: 20 ft (width) × 44 ft (length)
- Net height: 36 inches at the sidelines, 34 inches at the center
- Non-volley zone (kitchen): 7 feet from the net on each side
- Service courts: Each half of the court is divided into right and left service areas
You can print out a copy of how to play pickleball on a tennis court pdf here. If you want to have the measurements on hand to refer to it is better to print out a copy of the above PDF above. There are dimensions of the length, width and what color each section should be as well.
How to Turn Tennis Court into Pickleball Court
You can print out this free Pickleball Court Dimensions pdf here if you want to go all out and transition your court to something all together new!! Know that this sport requires a lot less space so if you have boarders around your existing court usually you can make 2 pickleball courts out of 1 tennis court which is even more cool!
If you just want this to be temporary you will need tape or chalk to change the lines, heavy duty colored tape is best to see it well.
To create a permanent pickleball court(s) I will tell you that you need a reputable company to do this as you need it to be as smooth as possible first. All cracks and unevenness needs to be remediated to avoid injuries. You can use this company to build a pickleball court at your home if they are in your area. If not, they may have suggestions for you in your area.
If you live in an area where you have snow you can extend the life of the court itself, and allow you to play year round, if you go further and inclose the court with a structure. I have been in one of these and it’s pretty awesome. You can insulate from there or choose a lesser expensive steel structure to surround the area so you can play all the time no matter what time of year.
Beyond changing the measurements when converting a tennis court you will need to remove the tennis net. You can use portable pickleball nets if you don’t want to install permanent ones yet.
