So, you want to get started with pickleball but you only have tennis courts nearby? No problem! Experience Pickleball shows how to convert the court for the best game experience.
Pickleball is great fun and has some key differences from tennis that have made it one of the biggest success stories of the last few years. There are 36 million players in the US alone, according to the APP Tour.
But if you only have tennis courts nearby, you’re probably wondering how to get started with this fast-growing sport. It’s all good, though, because this guide from Experience Pickleball shows exactly how to transform a court to enjoy a game with your buddies.
Get tips to enjoy a pickup game at https://experiencepickleball.com/how-to-play-pickleball-on-a-tennis-court/
The New York Times estimates that there are 250,000 tennis courts across the US. However, according to The Pickleball Dinks, there are only 10,724 specific locations for pickleball. In the Experience Pickleball guide, author Damien Dansel outlines tips for adjusting the net and drawing out new lines on a tennis court to make it more suited to play.
"You'll be happy to know that yes, you can play pickleball on a tennis court; you only need to mark a pickleball court in the tennis court to be able to enjoy a pickleball game in it," he explains.
The pickleball court is quite a bit smaller than its tennis counterpart: singles pickleball measures 20 feet wide by 44 feet long, while doubles pickleball courts are 20 feet by 60 feet. Comparatively, regulation tennis courts are nearly twice as big at 36 feet wide and 78 feet long. So when laying out pickleball lines on an existing tennis court, it's important to properly mark the smaller dimensions to create a playable area, the guide says.
Another important consideration is net height - pickleball nets are 36 inches high at the poles and hang 34 inches above the court at the center. Tennis nets are higher, so the guide offers safe methods for lowering a tennis net to the proper pickleball height. Techniques using net straps, bungee cords, and PVC pipe constructions ensure the net height and tension are suitable for competitive pickleball play, according to the expert.
The guide also addresses the pickleball 'kitchen zone': this is a non-volley zone located next to the net, where you cannot hit balls out of the air. Differentiating and properly marking the kitchen area is a key pickleball adaptation not found in tennis, Experience Pickleball adds.
Damien adds: "A standard tennis court can accommodate a maximum of four pickleball courts in theory - but to make sure your games run smoothly, you shouldn't create more than two."
If you want to enjoy a game in the easiest way, sometimes it’s best to just convert a tennis court. Use this guide to make the process as smooth as possible!
Check out https://experiencepickleball.com/ for any extra info you need!
