Playing on public courts can be troublesome if you are new to tennis. You don’t want to disrupt the game in progress, nor do you want to trip over players on other courts.
If you are a seasoned player, you also may have trouble with crowded schedules on shared courts. You may want to investigate the option of installing a tennis court at your home.
Before this step, you’ve got to make sure you correctly measure the dimensions of a tennis court to ensure a quality setup.
Follow along to learn more about determining the size of tennis courts.
Dimensions of a Tennis Court
Tennis courts come in a variety of shapes and sizes. While the dimensions of a full-sized tennis court should always be the same, there is a lot of variation in the tennis court surface, surrounding space, and design.
A wealth of information on the internet explains how different court surfaces affect your game strategy. Changing between tennis courts can present a new set of challenges, from court speed to bounce height to movement patterns.
Tennis courts are 78 feet by 36 feet or 2,808 square feet. However, only doubles matches are played on the entire court. The singles court is 78 feet long by 27 feet wide, or 2,106 square feet.
If you are a fan of a tennis game, here are some guides on how to buy Wimbledon tickets.
The Lines of a Tennis Court
The lines that delineate the court are a total of 5 inches wide. The doubles sideline is two inches wider than the singles sideline, and the service line is four inches wider than the baseline.
Baseline
The baseline, which runs perpendicular to the net, designates the back of the court or the farthest border on each side. It is roughly where you will return serves and where you will hit the majority of your groundstrokes. The baseline dimension for doubles is 36 feet and for singles is 27 feet.
Service Line
The baseline’s midpoint is marked by the service line, which is parallel to the net. Additionally, it signals the end of service boxes. The width of the service line is 27 feet wide.
It only extends to the single’s sidelines instead of the baseline.
Center Mark
The size of the center mark is 4 inches long. When hitting a serve in the deuce or ad court, it defines the point you cannot cross. It’s a good reference point because coaches will always tell you to return to the center of the baseline after hitting a groundstroke.
Different Court Designs
As previously stated, the actual dimensions of a tennis court do not change because all tennis court lines are the same tennis court length. On the other hand, the run-offs at the back and sides of a tennis court can vary quite a bit.
There are also different court designs, such as clay courts, hard courts, and grass courts. Clay courts are made of crushed stone, hard courts are made of concrete or asphalt, and grass courts are grass.
Plan Ahead
To plan for a tennis court, one must first know the dimensions of a tennis court. Preparing for a tennis court means considering these dimensions so the court can be sized appropriately for the game.
If you’re looking for more information, check out the rest of our blog articles here.