However, if your town doesn’t have a pickleball court or your regular court is full, you may be wondering, can you play pickleball on a tennis court?
Well, you’ll be glad to know that the answer is yes! You can. Since pickleball is essentially a mix between ping pong, badminton, and tennis, you can easily, and quickly construct a makeshift pickleball court in what you have available.
With this in mind, get ready to grab your plastic ball and paddle as we walk you through everything you need to know about playing pickleball on a tennis court.
Let’s get straight into it!
What Is The Difference Between A Pickleball And Tennis Court?
While tennis and pickleball share many of the same features, they are by no means the same sport.
Below, we have outlined some of the main differences you’ll find between the two different sports.
Regarding the size of the two courts, pickleball courts tend to be much smaller compared to tennis courts – which are only 20 feet wide and 44 feet long.
In comparison, a tennis court’s dimensions tend to be around 36 feet wide and 78 feet long.
The main reason for the stake difference is that tennis players tend to require a much larger court when playing teams of two.
However, when playing pickleball, players don’t require this much extra space, even when they are playing single or even double games.
When putting it into perspective, a whole pickleball court tends to be only two feet longer than the service boxes found inside tennis courts. If you’re unfamiliar with tennis, these are the lines closest to the court.
When you’re comparing this to the singles lines found in tennis courts, these are only 3.5 feet wider than the longest part of the pickleball court.
In terms of net height, the average pickleball player is unlikely to notice much difference between the 36-inch middle of the tennis court compared to the 34-inch of pickleball net.
How To Play Pickleball On A Tennis Court
Option 1: Playing Pickleball Over The Tennis Net
The first thing you’ll want to do is make sure your net is the correct height. Tennis court nets are slightly taller than pickleball nets.
However, all you have to do to make it the right size is to lower the center of the net to around 34 inches in the center and 36 inches at the sidelines. You can achieve this using a temporary adjuster.
Although a downside to having to use a tennis net is that there is a lot of space behind you for the ball to get past. Therefore, going back to the fence from the pickleball baseline can become annoying.
Option 2: Playing Using A Pickleball Net
Typically, tennis courts are aligned to avoid direct eye contact with the sun (for instance, oriented north/ south) while playing tennis.
Here, you can take advantage of this by replacing the tennis net with your very own pickleball one – using the same direction as you would in tennis.
The beauty of this is that there is a range of portable pickleball nets to choose from when playing the temporary game.
If the court is primarily used for tennis as opposed to pickleball, then you’ll need to invest in some portable or temporary equipment such as posts or nets.
That said, if you’re extremely committed to the game, you could think about building your own removable posts and embedding them into the ground.
The best thing about setting up your tennis court like this is that it acts as a barrier – preventing your ball from getting too far away from you.
Can Pickleball Damage The Existing Tennis Court?
Since pickleball uses plastic balls, you don’t have to worry about the game harming the tennis courts you’re using.
Although, if you have ever played tennis or have access to some tennis shoes, then it is a good idea to wear them here since it will help preserve the tennis court’s surface.
If you don’t have any, you could even consider purchasing pickleball shoes! Just make sure to avoid wearing anything that contains spikes. For instance, golf shoes.
Can You Play Pickleball On Any Other Sports Courts?
Now that you understand everything you need to know about playing pickleball on tennis courts, you may be wondering what other kinds of courts you can transform into your own pickleball courts – whether this is basketball or badminton.
In these instances, as long as you have a portable pickleball net, you can play the sport wherever you want. Some courts, such as basketball, don’t contain a net which can be difficult if you don’t have one. Plus, badminton and tennis courts tend to contain higher nets too.
Therefore, if you have tried your hand at some other racket sports and are looking to jump onto the pickleball bandwagon – since it is one of the fastest-growing sports, after all. Then having a portable net is one of the best ways to make use of the spaces you have around you.
Final Thoughts
Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in America. As such, many people have a lot of different questions when it comes to the game.
One of which includes whether or not you can play pickleball on a tennis court. Well, luckily for you, this is perfectly achievable with the help of a portable pickleball net.
Hopefully, this guide has informed you on everything you need to know about whether you can play pickleball on a tennis court.
Hello, I’m Damien Dansel and I have been playing pickleball for almost six years now. It all began in my first year of college when I was drowning in coursework and finals. I needed a stress reliever, but none of the usual suspects were working.
That’s when I saw that the pickleball court was free. I had a paddle, a ball, and a dream, and plenty of stress to unload. I encouraged some of my friends to come and play with me, and eventually, we even started a pickleball club at our college.
I started this site to get more people clued in and excited about pickleball. Please, take a look around and get as excited about this underrated sport as we are!
