Specification · Updated 2026
A tennis court is
78 by 36 feet
Tennis court dimensions are 78 feet long by 36 feet wide for doubles and 78 by 27 feet for singles, 23.77 by 10.97 meters and 23.77 by 8.23 meters. The International Tennis Federation fixes every line off that rectangle, and the USTA recommends a total enclosed area of 120 by 60 feet so the ball can be chased beyond the lines.
The tennis court size that matters to a builder is the second figure, because that is the ground, the fence and the slab.
Key figures
- Doubles court
- 78 × 36 ft (23.77 × 10.97 m)
- Singles court
- 78 × 27 ft (23.77 × 8.23 m)
- Service line
- 21 ft from the net; service box 21 × 13.5 ft
- Net
- 3 ft at center, 3 ft 6 in at the posts; posts 3 ft outside the sideline
- Lines
- 1 to 2 in; baseline up to 4 in
- Recommended enclosed area
- 120 × 60 ft (36.58 × 18.29 m)
- Run-off
- 21 ft behind each baseline, 12 ft beside each sideline
- Source
- ITF Rules of Tennis, Rule 1; USTA facility guidance
Free to cite with attribution and a link. Full set at courtbaseline.com/reference.
Fig. 01
What does a tennis court layout look like with every line marked?
Nine lines and a net. The doubles alleys are 4 ft 6 in on each side, which is the whole difference between a singles and a doubles court.
Every measurement
What are the official tennis court dimensions?
Everything the ITF fixes, in imperial and metric. The rules are written in imperial with metric equivalents, so both are official.
| Element | Imperial | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Doubles court | 78 × 36 ft | 23.77 × 10.97 m |
| Singles court | 78 × 27 ft | 23.77 × 8.23 m |
| Doubles court area | 2,808 sq ft | 260.9 m² |
| Doubles alley, each side | 4 ft 6 in | 1.37 m |
| Service line from net | 21 ft | 6.40 m |
| Service box | 21 × 13 ft 6 in | 6.40 × 4.12 m |
| Baseline to net | 39 ft | 11.89 m |
| Net height, center | 3 ft | 0.914 m |
| Net height, posts | 3 ft 6 in | 1.07 m |
| Net posts outside sideline | 3 ft | 0.914 m |
| Center mark | 4 in long, 2 in wide | 10 × 5 cm |
| Line width | 1 to 2 in | 2.5 to 5 cm |
| Baseline width, maximum | 4 in | 10 cm |
| Run-off behind baseline | 21 ft | 6.40 m |
| Run-off beside sideline | 12 ft | 3.66 m |
| Recommended enclosed area | 120 × 60 ft | 36.58 × 18.29 m |
How much land does a tennis court take?
About 7,200 square feet, which is the 120 by 60 foot enclosed area the USTA recommends, against 2,808 square feet of painted court. The run-off is more than half the site.
Twenty-one feet behind each baseline sounds generous until you watch a player chase a deep lob. Twelve feet beside each sideline is the minimum for a doubles player to reach a wide ball without hitting the fence. Private courts are sometimes built tighter, down to around 110 by 55 feet, and the owners notice every time a rally goes wide.
For a multi-court facility the sideline run-off is shared between adjacent courts, so two courts side by side need roughly 120 by 108 feet rather than 120 by 120. Tournament venues add more behind the baselines for officials and seating.
Reusing the court: a tennis court's 78 by 36 ft footprint holds four pickleball courts at minimum run-off, or one padel court with 12 ft to spare in length. The conversion page works through both.
Tennis court size compared with pickleball and padel
A tennis court is 3.2 times the area of a pickleball court and 1.3 times a padel court. The playing area difference is larger still, because tennis needs the most run-off of the three.
| Court | Playing surface | Recommended total area |
|---|---|---|
| Tennis, doubles | 78 × 36 ft, 2,808 sq ft | 120 × 60 ft, 7,200 sq ft |
| Padel | 65 ft 7 in × 32 ft 10 in, 2,153 sq ft | approx. 75 × 43 ft, 3,220 sq ft |
| Pickleball | 44 × 20 ft, 880 sq ft | 64 × 34 ft, 2,176 sq ft |
Common questions
Tennis court dimensions, answered
What is the size of a tennis court in meters?
Why is the singles court narrower than the doubles court?
How high is a tennis net?
What is the minimum space for a backyard tennis court?
How many square feet is a tennis court?
Read next
From the lines to the build
Cost guide
What a tennis court costs to build
Post-tension versus asphalt, surfacing, fencing and lighting, with ranges.
Construction
How a tennis court is built
Base, slope, drainage and why the slab decides the court's life.
Conversion
Turning a tennis court into pickleball or padel
What fits, what the slab has to carry, and what it costs.
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