Do you know Pickleball is now a fast-growing sport and is now played by more than 4.8 million Americans? There are more than 2,70,000 courts in the United States alone. So, by going through our articles, we know you will be excited to try your hands on a Pickleball game now. Are you wondering whether you can play Pickleball on the tennis court near you?? Yes, you can play Pickleball on the tennis court near your area.
Even though the lines and nets are different, a pickleball court is only 2 feet longer than a tennis court service box. The court’s service boxes are the boxes closest to the net. Pickleball can be played on the tennis court is the greatest advantage and reason for the fast-growing fan following of the match.
To play pickleball on a tennis court, you need 3 ½ feet wider long lines drawn than the tennis court lines. There are few tennis courts where pickleball lines are drawn permanently because they are used regularly by pickleball fans making the players leave them in a place. If so, these lines will be marked in different colors.
Even though the pickleball lines are not drawn on the tennis court, it is easily customizable. Let’s see the difference between the pickleball court and tennis court deeply so that it will be easy to know how to customize the ground for your game.
Differences between Pickleball vs Tennis courts
There are primarily three differences when a pickleball court is compared with tennis courts. They are Court size, Net height, and line configuration. Let us discuss each in detail below:
- Net height – A tennis court is 42” high at the sidelines and 36” in the middle for tennis matches while a pickleball court net is 36” high at the sidelines and 34” high in the middle.
- The Court Size – tennis court is 78’x27’ in size including the lines while the pickleball court is 44’x20’ in size including the lines.
- Line configuration – Both tennis and pickleball have a common line configuration of the boundary, middle, and sidelines. But pickleball courts have an extra 7-foot no-volley zone called “The kitchen”.
So, one tennis court can be divided into four pickleball courts. In one tennis court,16 members can play pickleball once at a time.
How to play Pickleball on the Tennis court
There are four sets of lines in the pickleball court to be remembered while playing:
- Non-volley zone line (also called kitchen line)
- The Sidelines
- The Baselines
- The Center Lines
Even though the other lines exist on the tennis court in different places. The kitchen lines are only specific for the pickleball court. Read the article further to learn how to draw your pickleball lines to modify the tennis court as a pickleball court.
How to Use Tennis Net for Pickleball??
You can play the pickleball game using the tennis court net if you are playing casually or will not mind the height difference of the net. Also, it’s great to use the adjustable net in a pickleball court as it is easy to customize to the height. A pickleball net is just 2 inches less than a tennis net.
A tennis net is 42 inches high at the posts and 36 inches in the center while a pickleball net is 36 inches attached at the side posts and 34 inches tall in the center. Even Though, that 2-inch difference may not look like a big difference it makes a big difference in the context of real gameplay.
Adjustable nets are becoming more common on the tennis court due to the rise of the popularity of pickleball games. Tennis net adjusters are easily available in the market which allows you to constrict a tennis net to a proper pickleball net on your own. Many players prefer to have their nets.
It is very common to place up to 2 courts on either side of the court while playing pickleball on a tennis court.
By this method, it is easy to make 4 pickleball courts in the space of 1 tennis court also making it easy to string up our pickleball net making less confusion with the tennis lines.
It is always recommended to use a Pickleball net of proper height but if you are playing a game just for fun with friends then you can play with a tennis net without minding the height differences.
Also Read: Pickleball Singles Rules: Everything You Need to Know
Drawing Pickleball lines on a Tennis court
A pickleball court is about ¼ the size of a tennis court. So, a tennis court can be subdivided into 4 pickleball courts. To make a tennis court into pickleball, you may need a few cones or makers (water bottles, and clothing can also be used for semi-permanent or permanent marking).
>Temporary tape
>Measuring tapes
>Chalk or temporary marking chalks to mark the lines.
Marking pickleball lines on a tennis court
- Make your net at the middle part of one side of the tennis court.
- Mark the first sideline: Mark a 22-foot line extending away from the net with the help of the measuring tape by keeping a foot inside the net.
- Mark the baseline: Mark by measuring 20 feet horizontally from the baseline to the 22-foot mark on the sideline. Measure 10 inches halfway from the baseline point which will be needed later.
- Mark the second sideline: Start measuring again by keeping a foot inside the net from the opposite side. Connect the end of the baseline with a straight line. This is the second sideline of the pickleball court.
- Measure the kitchen (non-volley zone): Mark 7’ from the net on each sideline and connect those two points across the court. Measure and mark the halfway point (10 feet)
- Join the halfway point along the baseline and another halfway point across the kitchen point and connect them (two 10’ halfway points).
- Stretch the tape from the base point to the endpoint and tape them along the lines. Then, gently press it down so it is even.
A better way to mark the pickleball lines on a tennis court is to use short rubber trips that are designed for this purpose. These stripes are inexpensive, easy to store, and less maintenance making them a better option.
Setting up a Pickleball Net on a Tennis court
Most of the pickleball players have their own adjustable nets which are readily available for online purchase and it usually costs about $100-$200. It only takes a couple of minutes to set up these portable adjustable nets.
The basic setup for a portable pickleball net will look like this:
- First, Make the baseline pieces. Set up the two baseline feet in places. Check for the middle-point base piece also in the net. All these bases are connected to form the poles.
- Set up the net posts into the net.
- Set up the net posts into the base.
- Set up the center rod in the middle of the net.
The adjustable portable nets have Velcro straps to help everything stay locked in place firmly. They may also have some butt caps that go over exposed rod ends.
Bottom Line
Do you want to have the same fun that you had in your early childhood days by playing with your friends? If yes, then join the pickleball community now which is a fast fast-growing sport in the world. Even people who are not interested in sports find pickleball games more interesting for socializing, exercise, getting into shape and more fun as pickleball games are more versatile and easier to play.
Also Read: 7 Pickleball Tips for Beginners and Intermediate Players
Now we learned how to change your nearby tennis court into your pickleball court easily in an affordable way. So, We would encourage you to go out and give the game a try with your friends. We are very sure; you would love to explore the game further as this game is so addictive.
We will be happy to hear from the experienced pickleball players how this game impacted your life. And those who have not tried yet must try a game once to enjoy back your childhood.