Can you play pickleball on a tennis court?

Don’t you have a pickleball court near you, want to do some practice, or want to play a regular game? This question is coming a lot if you Can play pickleball on a tennis court. The answer is “Yes”. It is estimated that there are around 270,000 tennis courts in the USA alone. That means there are bright chances you have one near you.

But the question remains the same how is it possible? For this purpose, you first have to understand the logic behind it. Although the shape of a tennis court and a pickleball court are the same, they are different in size. A tennis court has a bigger size than a pickleball court with a difference of 34’ feet in length and 16’ feet in width.

Can you play pickleball on a tennis court?

The first thing you have to do to play pickleball on tennis court is to mark your lines on the court. You can also use other methods like placing cones temporarily on the court if it is a regular in-use court by tennis players water bottles are also useable for this purpose if you don’t have cones.

it is also possible that you could find a tennis court already having permanent markings for pickleball because many players who don’t have a court near to them marks it. but also keep in mind if you are thinking also same only do it if are a regular player and have permission from the officials.

The things you have to keep in mind while playing pickleball game on tennis court are:

• Base line: you have two options as you know the service line on the tennis court is 21′ feet from the net and on the other hand pickleball has 22′ feet so it is on you whether you compromise for 1′ foot on each side or mark a new line behind it.
• Sidelines: On the tennis court, you have to consider the sidelines for singles are the boundary. But these are still too wide 3 ½’ feet wide on each side so you have to mark a new one if you don’t want to move a lot across the court.
• Non-Volley zone: it’s the only major difference that a tennis court does not contain a non-volley zone (kitchen area) the solution for this will be discussed afterword.

Pickleball court size vs tennis court size.

Here is a visual comparison between the size of both courts that will help you to understand it more easily.

The difference between the dimensions of a pickleball court and a tennis court is mentioned in the pictures above. A standard tennis court is 78′ feet long and 36′ feet wide whereas a pickleball court is just 44′ feet in length and 20′ feet wide. A tennis court have double side lines but only one in pickleball.

Converting tennis court to pickleball.

There are two type of conversions the first one is temporary and second one is permanent. The things that will be used to draw pickleball lines on tennis court are:

• Measuring tape: Will help to measure and mark the new lines.
• Chalk/Paint: If you want to build a temporary court you can use chalk and if you are planning to draw a permanent one you can use a spray paint or simple paint with a brush.
• Rope: A rope could also be used when drawing line so that the measuring tape will not damage with paint.

For tennis to pickleball conversion.

The first thing you need to do is determining a starting point or a space on tennis court where you will build it. its better to choose the center of the court that will be helpful when placing net. Follow these steps to convert tennis court to pickleball.

1. Side lines: Starting from the side lines is a better option. start measuring from net towards back and mark 22 feet in total on each side of net. Now do the same to draw other side line. You have two option to find their exact position either 20′ feet distance between both or 3 ½’ feet inside from tennis court singles side line on each side.
2. Base lines: Now after marking the side lines its easy to draw base line. Just join the both ends of side line and one additional thing mark the center point of base line as well that will divide court into two equal sides.
3. Center line: Draw a line from one side line to other at 7′ feet distance from the net that will be your non-volley zone line and mark its center as well that will be 10′ feet from both side lines. Now join both Center points (one on base line and one on NVZ line).

The best practice is to use different color to draw lines from the color of the lines already drawn for tennis. Because during a game the lines with same color can cause distraction. If tennis court lines are marked with white color you can use black or any other color that should be different from those lines and court surface as well.

Only thing remain tp discuss is net. Both courts have different height according to their official rules and regulations.

Tennis net height vs Pickleball net height.

The height of a tennis net is 42″ inches at the polls whereas the height of a pickleball net is 36″ at the polls. The difference is 6″ inch which is not much but can affect the game of a regular player.

And also the height is different in the middle of both nets. The height of the tennis net in the middle is 36″ and the pickleball has 34″ inches at midpoint. In the middle, the height difference is only 2′ Inches so if you are playing a formal game you can compromise on that. Thankfully there are adjustable nets available in the market with adjustable height options.

Due to increase in pickleballs popularity and lack of their courts in different areas many tennis courts are already equipped with adjustable nets so that it could be used for both sports. And apart from this you can also buy your own adjustable net for pickleball.

Is pickleball like tennis?

Pickleball is mostly compared with tennis and this thing creates a misconception in people that maybe they both are similar to each other. But in reality, both games are completely different from each other. Want to know how is pickleball different from tennis?

The first thing is the size difference between their court’s tennis courts is way bigger than pickleball courts. Moreover, they both have different rules and regulations set by their official boards, and also the different parts of the courts like a pickleball court have a kitchen area but in tennis, there is nothing like that.

The equipments used to play these games are also dissimilar, in pickleball players use a solid paddle made out of different materials like fiber and has a rectangular shape and the ball used is made of plastic and has holes in it. On the other hand in tennis, players use oval-shaped racquets to hit back ball towards their opponents.

How to play pickleball on a tennis court.

To play pickleball on a tennis court follow these guidelines. If you have a tennis court near you and is available to play on it, the first thing you need to check is if it has markings for pickleball on it if yes then its almost ready to start toplay and if don’t you have to draw your own with the method given above.

The second thing is the net, if the court has an adjustable net attachment then lower it to the required size and if adjustable net is not there, you have to arrange a portable pickleball net and place it on the court.

And you don’t have both of these arrangement’s you can simply use cones to determine the boundary lines. You only have to compromise on the height of net and the court is ready to play. So to the question (can you play pickleball on a tennis court) hope you got the answer. For more information about pickleball you can check our pickleball rules guide explained in detail.