Can you Play Pickleball on a Tennis Court? 2 Things to Know

Yes, you can play pickleball on a tennis court, but consider these 2 things:

1. How to play BY the tennis court
2. How to play ON the tennis court

We will cover that next, but Did you know you can technically hold 4 pickleball courts on a tennis court? Most of the courts I’ve played on recently were converted tennis courts.

It’s technically not my favorite because the old tennis net becomes the separator and there is minimal area between the old tennis net and the pickleball outline. Still, you have options which I’ll explain later.

Let’s first discuss setting up a portable pickleball net by the tennis court.

1. How to play BY the tennis court

Playing by the pickleball court is my desired option.

To access this option, you have to purchase a portable pickleball net. Please note that some pickleball portable nets are terrible, so I tested a lot of different nets to find the best portable pickleball nets.

Some of my favorite pickleball portable nets also come with court markers, which is helpful when you play on a tennis court.

Next, when creating lines, you essentially make two rectangles, a large rectangle, and two more rectangles.

Pickleball court dimensions

Here are the pickleball court dimensions that are important to know.

• Overall court size: 20 feet wide by 44 feet long for both singles and doubles.
• Non-volley zone (kitchen): Extends 7 feet from the net on both sides.
• Service courts: The court is divided into two equal service courts measuring 10 feet wide and 15 feet long on each side of the net.

Here’s a picture to view. These individuals added lines within the kitchen area, which I find more confusing, but still works and may be easier.

Let’s next cover playing pickleball on a tennis court.

2. How to play ON the tennis court

One of the major benefits of playing pickleball on the tennis court is your sheer room. You have a much longer out-of-bound region, so you have no issue with room.

That said, one of the biggest challenges is that you lose the Erne ability because the tennis court has to

You also have to lower the tennis net because the tennis net is 42 inches at the post and 36 inches at the center, but the pickleball net is 36 inches (91.4 cm) at the sidelines and 34 inches (86.4 cm) at the center. So, that can be challenging if your tennis court is similar to my local tennis court where you need a device to lower the pickleball net. Note, I didn’t have one.

What should you do?

I would play with a portable pickleball net by the tennis court. It’s easy to get markers and measure the court sizes, and it’s potentially easier than finding a device to lower the tennis net.

Playing pickleball on the tennis court is also not a bad option.

In both settings, you get to play pickleball, so that’s a win.