Guide
Court dimensions, with the room around them.
The lines are the easy part. What decides whether a court plays well is the run-off around the lines, the slope under them and the fence beyond them. Here are the numbers we lay out to, sport by sport.
Tennis
78 by 36, in a 120 by 60 pad.
The ITF and USTA court. Doubles sidelines 36 feet apart, singles 27, service lines 21 feet from the net, the net 3 feet high at the center.
| Element | Dimension |
|---|---|
| Court length | 78 ft (23.77 m) |
| Doubles width | 36 ft (10.97 m) |
| Singles width | 27 ft (8.23 m) |
| Service line from net | 21 ft |
| Net height | 42 in at posts, 36 in at center |
| Net posts | 3 ft outside the doubles sideline |
| Run-off behind baseline | 21 ft minimum (USTA); 27 ft for tournament play |
| Run-off beside sideline | 12 ft minimum; 18 ft tournament |
| Pad, one court | 120 × 60 ft |
| Between adjacent courts | 24 ft net post to net post is the comfortable figure; 12 ft shared is the minimum |
| Slope | 1 percent, one plane; never crowned at the net |
| Fence | 10 ft is standard behind baselines; 10 or 8 ft on the sides |
Pickleball
20 by 44, with a 7-foot kitchen.
USA Pickleball's court. The same lines for singles and doubles; the non-volley zone runs 7 feet back from the net on each side; the recommended playing area is 30 by 60 feet at minimum and 34 by 64 for tournaments.
| Element | Dimension |
|---|---|
| Court | 20 × 44 ft (6.10 × 13.41 m), lines included |
| Non-volley zone (kitchen) | 7 ft from the net, each side |
| Service courts | 10 × 15 ft, four of them |
| Line width | 2 in, in a color that contrasts with the surface |
| Net height | 36 in at the sidelines, 34 in at center |
| Net posts | 22 ft apart, center to center |
| Playing area, minimum | 30 × 60 ft |
| Playing area, preferred and tournament | 34 × 64 ft |
| On a tennis pad (120 × 60) | Four dedicated courts at 30 × 60 each |
| Slope | 1 percent, one plane, as for tennis |
| Fence | Fenced per court or per bank; 4 ft rails between courts keep balls in |
Basketball
High school, college, pro.
Outdoor courts are usually built to the high school court (84 by 50) or the NCAA and NBA court (94 by 50). Half courts and playground courts scale down from there; the rim stays at 10 feet.
| Element | High school (NFHS) | College (NCAA) | NBA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court | 84 × 50 ft | 94 × 50 ft | 94 × 50 ft |
| Three-point arc | 19 ft 9 in | 22 ft 1¾ in | 23 ft 9 in (22 ft in the corners) |
| Key (lane) width | 12 ft | 12 ft | 16 ft |
| Free-throw line | 15 ft from the face of the backboard, at every level | ||
| Rim height | 10 ft | ||
| Backboard | 72 × 42 in regulation; 54 or 60 in boards on playground goals | ||
| Run-off | 3 ft minimum outside the lines, 10 ft where a fence or a wall is close | ||
| Half court | 47 × 50 ft (college) or 42 × 50 ft (high school); a playground half court is often 30 × 30 to 40 × 50 | ||
| FIBA (international) | 28 × 15 m (91 ft 10 in × 49 ft 2.5 in); three-point arc 6.75 m | ||
Before you draw
What the numbers do not tell you.
A court is a slab with lines on it, and the slab is what costs the money. Before we quote a new court we look at four things the diagrams leave out: where the water goes (the slope and the swale around the pad), what the ground is (clay in most of Northeast Ohio, which heaves when it freezes), how the court faces the sun, and how a truck gets to it with 300 tons of stone.
The layout itself we do the old way, with a long tape, a square and the 3-4-5 rule, checked twice before a post hole is dug; the court lands on the drawing to a fraction of an inch and the fence posts and net footings go in the right holes. GPS line-marking robots are arriving in the trade, and the article on robotic line marking says what they do and do not change.
Questions people ask
How much land does one tennis court need?
The lines cover 78 by 36 feet, but the court needs room to run: a minimum of 21 feet behind each baseline and 12 feet beside each sideline, which makes the usual fenced pad 120 by 60 feet. Tournament and college courts go bigger. For two courts side by side the pad is typically 120 by 120 with a shared 24-foot gap, or 120 by 108 where the courts share run-off.
How many pickleball courts fit on a tennis court?
Four dedicated courts fit on one 120 by 60 foot tennis pad, two on each side of the net line, each with the 30 by 60 foot playing area USA Pickleball recommends as a minimum. Two fit comfortably with generous run-off. One tennis court can also keep its tennis lines and take two or four pickleball courts in a second color; see the multi-sport courts page.
What is the right slope for a court?
Hard courts are built with a planar slope of 1 percent (1 inch in 100 inches is the common way to say it, or 0.83 to 1 percent in the specifications), in one plane, usually side to side or end to end, never crowned at the net. Flat courts hold water; steeper courts play badly. Getting the base to that plane is the whole art of court construction.
Which way should a court face?
North to south along the length, so that neither player serves into a low sun. Most Northeast Ohio courts are built that way; where a site forces east-west, the hours of play that matter decide which end gets the sun.
How high is the net?
Tennis: 42 inches at the posts and 36 inches at the center strap. Pickleball: 36 inches at the sidelines and 34 inches at the center. Basketball rims are 10 feet above the floor at every level from middle school up.
Free estimates
Have a pad in mind?
Send the dimensions of the space, or just the address, and we will tell you what fits, which way it should face and what it would cost.
The yard
4000 East 86th Street, Cleveland, OH 44105
Off Broadway Avenue, south of downtown, ten minutes from I-77 and I-490.
Serving Cuyahoga, Summit, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Geauga, Portage, Stark and Ashtabula counties. Municipal, school, club, HOA and commercial work; residential courts by the job.