Specification · Updated 2026
Paddle tennis and platform tennis
are two different courts
A paddle tennis court (now usually called POP Tennis) is an open 50 by 20 foot court, or 60 by 21 feet in the newer format, played on the ground with a solid paddle and a depressurized tennis ball. A platform tennis court is a 60 by 30 foot raised, heated aluminum deck with a 44 by 20 foot playing area inside 12 foot wire screens that are in play, built for winter. Neither is padel, and all three get confused with each other.
Platform tennis is the sport most often converted to or paired with padel in the Northeast, because the clubs, the players and the winter season already exist.
Key figures
- Paddle tennis (POP) court
- 50 × 20 ft classic; 60 × 21 ft POP format; no alleys
- Paddle tennis net
- 31 in at center, 32 in at posts (classic); POP uses a tennis net at 31 in
- Platform tennis deck
- 60 × 30 ft raised aluminum or wood deck
- Platform tennis playing area
- 44 × 20 ft; net 34 in center, 37 in posts
- Platform screens
- 12 ft high, 16 gauge wire, in play (APTA)
- Platform heaters
- Propane or gas under the deck to melt snow
- Paddle tennis court cost
- $20,000–45,000 on a new slab
- Platform tennis court cost
- $75,000–140,000 installed, heated
Free to cite with attribution and a link. Full set at courtbaseline.com/reference.
Fig. 01
Paddle tennis, platform tennis and padel: what is the difference?
Paddle tennis is small tennis with a paddle, on the ground, no walls. Platform tennis is paddle tennis raised onto a heated deck inside wire screens that are in play, for winter. Padel is a larger enclosed glass court from Spain with its own rules. They share the solid paddle and almost nothing else.
| Factor | Paddle tennis / POP | Platform tennis | Padel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court | 50 × 20 ft (60 × 21 POP) | 44 × 20 ft on a 60 × 30 ft deck | 65.6 × 32.8 ft (20 × 10 m) |
| Walls | None | 12 ft wire screens, in play | 13 ft glass and mesh, in play |
| Surface | Any hard court | Aluminum deck with grit coating | Sand-filled turf on concrete |
| Net | 31 in center | 34 in center, 37 in posts | 34.6 in center (88 cm) |
| Ball | Depressurized tennis ball | Dense rubber sponge ball | Depressurized tennis ball |
| Serve | Underhand, one serve | One overhand serve | Underhand after bounce |
| Season | Year-round | Winter; heated deck melts snow | Year-round |
| Where | California, Florida, NYC beaches | Northeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic clubs | Everywhere, fastest-growing |
| Court cost | $20,000–45,000 | $75,000–140,000 | $40,000–75,000 |
What are paddle tennis court dimensions?
The classic paddle tennis court is 50 feet long by 20 feet wide with no doubles alleys, service lines 3 feet inside the baselines, and a net 31 inches high at center. POP Tennis, the rebranded modern version, is played on the same 50 by 20 court and on a 60 by 21 foot court that fits inside a tennis court's singles lines.
Paddle tennis court construction is a small hard court: the same asphalt or concrete slab and acrylic surface as tennis, on a 60 by 30 foot area for the classic court. The paddle tennis court cost is $20,000 to $45,000 on a new slab, or a few thousand dollars to line one on an existing tennis or pickleball court. Most POP Tennis today is played on lined tennis courts, which is why dedicated courts are rare outside Southern California and the New York beaches where the game started.
How is a platform tennis court built?
Platform tennis court construction is a structure, not a slab: an elevated 60 by 30 foot deck of extruded aluminum planks (older courts used treated lumber) on a steel or aluminum frame 2 to 4 feet above grade, coated with a gritted acrylic surface, surrounded by 12 foot tensioned wire screens, with propane or natural gas heaters underneath to melt snow and ice. Lighting is standard because the season is winter evenings.
The American Platform Tennis Association specifies the 44 by 20 foot playing area, the 12 foot screen height, the 16 gauge hex wire, and the net at 34 inches center and 37 at the posts. Courts are almost always built in pairs sharing a frame and a hut, which is the warming room that is as much a part of the sport as the court.
Platform tennis court cost is $75,000 to $140,000 per court installed, including deck, screens, surface, heaters and lights, with the pair-and-hut configuration at $200,000 to $350,000. A handful of US manufacturers build the entire system; the trade is small and concentrated in the Northeast.
Platform tennis clubs adding padel: the player base, the paddle and the walls-in-play instinct transfer directly. A padel court fits next to a platform pair on most club sites, and is the common 2026 expansion. See padel vs pickleball for the comparison and padel court cost for the numbers.
Why do people call padel "paddle tennis"?
Because padel was called paddle tennis in English for decades, and because "paddle" is how most Americans hear it. In the US, paddle tennis is a distinct 1920s sport from New York and Los Angeles, platform tennis is its 1928 winter cousin, and padel is the 1969 Mexican-Spanish sport with the glass court. Searches for "paddle court" and "paddle court construction" are almost always about padel.
If you are pricing a court with glass walls, you want what is a padel court and padel court dimensions. If you are pricing a heated winter deck with wire screens, you are on the right page.
FAQ
Paddle and platform tennis courts, answered
Is paddle tennis the same as padel?
Is platform tennis the same as padel?
How much does a platform tennis court cost?
How much does a paddle tennis court cost?
Why are platform tennis courts raised?
Can you play padel on a platform tennis court?
Any paddle court
Building a paddle, platform or padel court?
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