Have you ever thought, “Can you play pickleball on a tennis court?” The short answer is yes!
You might have also heard that some individuals play pickleball on their tennis or basketball courts.
When people play pickleball on tennis courts, they have more places to practice and play than if they didn’t have any tennis courts.
Continue reading as this article provides steps and costs on converting tennis courts for pickleball.
So, Can You Play Pickleball on a Tennis Court?
Yes, as long as a tennis court is available, you can play pickleball there.
The service boxes on a tennis court are 2 feet longer than the whole pickleball court.
The long lines that run down the middle of a tennis court are called “singles lines.”
They are only three and a half feet wider than the pickleball court’s long lines.
Playing pickleball on a tennis court requires at least a few cones or markers.
You can use water bottles, clothing, or anything that will not permanently or semi-permanently mark the court.
Remember not to use chalk, paint, tape, or other permanent or semi-permanent markings without the owner or manager’s permission.
If the tennis court’s management lets you, you can use permanent or temporary markers, tapes, chalk, or paint to play pickleball on a tennis court.
An average tennis court has enough room for four pickleball courts, but changing to one or two is easy if you measure carefully.
Using short rubber strips made for this purpose is an easy way to mark the pickleball lines on a tennis court.
The strips are inexpensive, straightforward to store and relocate and cause less disruption on the court.
They also make it easier to play the game overall.
Related Reading: Pickleball Equipment – Read About It Here.
Rules For Playing Pickleball on Tennis Courts Without Pickleball Lines
The rules are as follows.
- The backline of your pickleball court will be the lines that run from the service box to the net.
- Your pickleball court will be in the middle of the service box.
There are two options for constructing the sidelines of a pickleball court:
- The best choice is to make a sideline 3 1/2 feet away from each singles line on the tennis court. You can just walk it off, but ensure that the same person’s foot is used for each line. Then you can put some cones or other signs along the sidelines. Line calls will be close, so just assume that the ball is “In” if you’re not sure.
- You could also use the lines for singles on a tennis court as your sidelines. With this option, the court will be wider than a standard pickleball court, so much more will move from side to side.
You should only choose this option if you don’t have enough cones for the other options and can physically cover the extra court.
You will also need to mark the “kitchen” or no-volley zone.
This is the only part of a tennis court that needs to be marked off to play pickleball.
After all, what makes pickleball what it is, is ‘the kitchen’.
To mark the no-volley zone, walk 7 feet away from the net towards the baseline and put your markers there.
We suggest putting up two or three markers, one on each sideline where it meets the kitchen line and one in the middle, as long as it doesn’t get in the way too much.
Even though it seems obvious, make sure your markers don’t put you or other players in danger.
The net is the last thing you have to choose.
The net for tennis is 2 inches taller than the net for pickleball. You can do either of these:
a. The middle of the tennis net can be lowered by 2 inches.
To do this, slide the center strap of the tennis net about an inch to one side.
We don’t recommend making permanent changes to the center strap of a tennis net, and we also recommend putting the strap back where it was when the game was over.
If you leave the strap on one side, the net can lose tension, which can be bad for both tennis and pickleball.
b. You don’t have to change the tennis net.
If you do this, the standard net will look much easier when you get to the pickleball court.
Costs When Converting a Tennis Court Into a Pickleball Court
Whether you want to convert a tennis court or merely add lines permanently affects the cost.
A complete switch from tennis to pickleball will cost between $25,000 and $40,000.
However, adding pickleball lines to an existing tennis court will only cost between $6,000 and $4,000 for permanent lines and $250 to $300 for temporary lines.
Every year, many tennis courts in parks that aren’t being used are turned into pickleball courts.
Even tennis courts in the neighborhood are adding pickleball.
It costs about $25,000 to completely rebuild a tennis court and turn it into a permanent pickleball court.
But remember that a tennis court can fit more than one pickleball court.
So, if you want to tear down one tennis court and resurface two brand-new pickleball courts, you can expect to pay between $42,000 and $50,000.
You can leave the tennis court the way it is and add lines for pickleball to it.
Putting down a new surface and adding pickleball lines will cost about $6,000.
Depending on how bad the tennis court is, it might be a good idea to resurface it.
If you don’t want to resurface and just want to paint lines, a professional-grade paint line kit will cost $561.
However, the price of labor could be several thousand dollars, depending on the chosen contractor.
But the labor cost will depend greatly on where you live, so it could be even cheaper than you think.
Related Reading: Is Pickleball Easier Than Tennis – Read About It Here.
Final Thoughts
You can play pickleball on any tennis court.
You can also easily convert tennis courts into pickleball courts with tapes and markers.
Pickleball is easy to start and does not need excessive amounts of money to get into.