Yes, you can play pickleball on a tennis court today. The quickest setup is one pickleball court laid across the existing tennis net with the center strap lowered two inches to 34 inches; with portable nets you can fit two courts, or up to four on a full-size fenced court. A pickleball court is 20 x 44 feet, so it sits comfortably inside a 36 x 78 foot doubles tennis court.

That's the short version. Below are the exact numbers, three layouts with diagrams, what to use for temporary lines, and what to know if your HOA or parks department wants to paint permanent ones. If you're comparing the two sports more broadly (ball, scoring, learning curve), that lives on our pickleball vs. tennis page.

Pickleball court on tennis court dimensions, side by side

Pickleball numbers below come from the USA Pickleball Official Rulebook. Tennis numbers come from Rule 1 and Appendix X of the ITF Rules of Tennis, which the USTA plays under.

	Pickleball	Tennis
Court size (doubles lines)	20 x 44 ft	36 x 78 ft
Singles width	20 ft (same court)	27 ft
Net height at center	34 in	36 in (3 ft), held by a center strap
Net height at the edge	36 in at the sidelines	42 in (3.5 ft) at the posts
Net post spacing	22 ft, inside to inside	42 ft (posts 3 ft outside each doubles sideline)
Kitchen / front zone	Non-volley zone, 7 ft from the net on each side	None; the service line is 21 ft from the net
Total playing area	30 x 60 ft minimum, 34 x 64 ft recommended	About 56 x 114 ft for recreational play, 60 x 120 ft for competition

The tennis "total playing area" figures come from the ITF's recommended run-off: 18 feet behind each baseline and 10 feet beside each sideline for club play, 21 and 12 feet for international events.

Two takeaways. First, a pickleball court uses less than a third of the lined tennis area, so there's room to spare. Second, the tennis net is close to pickleball height but not quite: 2 inches too high in the middle and well over at the edges. For full construction specs (surfaces, slopes, fencing, lighting), see our court construction guide. This post sticks to borrowing a tennis court.

Layout option 1: one court using the tennis net

This is the "we want to play in ten minutes" layout. You keep the tennis net, center the pickleball court on it, and mark four lines.

Here's where everything lands, measured from the tennis net:

Kitchen lines: 7 feet from the net on each side.
Baselines: 22 feet from the net on each side. That's 1 foot behind the tennis service line and 17 feet inside the tennis baseline.
Sidelines: 10 feet either side of the tennis center line. That puts them 3.5 feet inside the singles sidelines.
Centerline: the tennis center service line already covers it from 7 to 21 feet. You only need to extend it 1 foot to the pickleball baseline, and players ignore the stretch inside the kitchen.

        ONE PICKLEBALL COURT ACROSS THE TENNIS NET (not to scale)
        |  = tennis lines     # and = = pickleball lines

tennis baseline  +---+----------------------------+---+  39 ft from net
                 |   |                            |   |
                 |   |                            |   |
PB baseline      |   |     ==================     |   |  22 ft from net
tennis svc line  |   |-----#-------+--------#-----|   |  21 ft from net
                 |   |     #       |        #     |   |
                 |   |     #       |        #     |   |
PB kitchen line  |   |     ==================     |   |  7 ft from net
                 |   |     #                #     |   |  (kitchen)
NET              XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  34 in at center
                 |   |     #                #     |   |  (kitchen)
PB kitchen line  |   |     ==================     |   |
                 |   |     #       |        #     |   |
                 |   |     #       |        #     |   |
tennis svc line  |   |-----#-------+--------#-----|   |
PB baseline      |   |     ==================     |   |
                 |   |                            |   |
                 |   |                            |   |
tennis baseline  +---+----------------------------+---+

Lowering the net. Loosen or re-hook the center strap until the top of the net reads 34 inches at the middle. A tape measure and two minutes does it. Put it back to 36 inches when you leave; tennis players will notice.

The catch. A tennis net is 42 feet wide and 42 inches tall at the posts, so at the pickleball sidelines (10 feet from center) it will still sit a couple of inches above the regulation 36. For rec play nobody cares. For anything rated or competitive, bring a portable net.

The lazy version. Some groups skip the baselines and play to the tennis service lines. That gives you a 42-foot court instead of 44. It plays slightly short, but it costs zero tape.

Layout option 2: two courts with portable nets

Two courts doubles your capacity and is the layout the USTA's own Statement of Guidance on tennis and pickleball describes for blended lines: up to two pickleball courts on a 78-foot tennis court, one on either side of the net.

Each court runs perpendicular to the tennis net, across the width of the tennis court:

The 44-foot length runs sideline to sideline. A 36-foot tennis court is 8 feet narrower, so each pickleball baseline lands 4 feet outside the tennis doubles sideline.
The 20-foot width fits in the 39 feet between the tennis net and the baseline. USTA suggests sharing a line where you can: use the tennis baseline (or the service line) as one pickleball sideline, so you only mark the other.
A portable net goes across the middle of each pickleball court, roughly where the tennis center mark sits.

The tennis net can stay up. It ends up between the two pickleball courts, away from play.

Run-off is the thing to check. On a 60-foot-wide fenced court, a 44-foot pickleball court leaves 8 feet behind each baseline, which matches the minimum the USTA document cites from industry standards. Narrower enclosures leave less. Measure before you buy nets.

Layout option 3: four courts on one tennis court

Four courts is the maximum most facilities get from one tennis court, and it works best on a full-size 60 x 120 foot fenced area. Turn every court perpendicular to the old tennis net and give each one a 30-foot-wide slot.

      FOUR PICKLEBALL COURTS IN A 60 x 120 FT TENNIS ENCLOSURE (not to scale)
      # = sideline   = = baseline   . = kitchen line   x = portable net
      ! = old tennis net line (crank it down or remove it)

+-----------------------------------------------------------+
|      C1             C2      !      C3             C4      |
|  #=========#    #=========# !  #=========#    #=========# |
|  #    :    #    #    :    # !  #    :    #    #    :    # |
|  #    :    #    #    :    # !  #    :    #    #    :    # |
|  #.........#    #.........# !  #.........#    #.........# |
|  #         #    #         # !  #         #    #         # |
|  oxxxxxxxxxo    oxxxxxxxxxo !  oxxxxxxxxxo    oxxxxxxxxxo |
|  #         #    #         # !  #         #    #         # |
|  #.........#    #.........# !  #.........#    #.........# |
|  #    :    #    #    :    # !  #    :    #    #    :    # |
|  #    :    #    #    :    # !  #    :    #    #    :    # |
|  #=========#    #=========# !  #=========#    #=========# |
|                             !                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+

The math: 120 feet divided by four is 30 feet per court, and the enclosure is 60 feet deep. That's exactly USA Pickleball's 30 x 60 minimum. Each court gets 8 feet behind each baseline and 5 feet on each side, so neighbors are 10 feet apart.

What you give up:

Run-off. You're at the minimum, not the recommended 34 x 64. Deep lobs and wide sideline chases end at the fence or in the next court.
The tennis net. It sits in the gap between courts 2 and 3, and its posts stay there even with the net cranked down. Mark that gap as a no-run zone.
Smaller enclosures. At the ITF's recreational minimum of about 56 x 114 feet, four courts get roughly 28.5 x 56 feet each. Playable for casual games, tight for anyone who moves.

Four courts also means four portable nets, and some way to stop balls rolling between games. Many groups use the four-court setup for busy open play and drop to two when it's quiet.

Temporary pickleball lines on a tennis court

Before you put anything down, ask whoever runs the court. Many parks departments and clubs have rules about tape, and a 30-second question beats a ban letter.

What works:

Painter's tape. The USTA guidance specifically recommends painter's tape for temporary lines because it won't damage acrylic court surfaces. Use 1.5 to 2 inch tape; USA Pickleball lines are 2 inches wide. It holds for a session or a few days outdoors, then heat and rain lift the edges.
Throw-down line kits. Flat rubber or vinyl strips and corner markers. Fastest setup and teardown, nothing left on the surface, but they can slide and they're a mild trip hazard. Fine for open play, less fine for hard-charging singles.
Chalk. Cheap and clearly temporary. Rain and foot traffic erase it fast, so it's for one session at a time.
Cones or flat disc markers. Mark the four corners and the kitchen line ends. Not exact, but surprisingly playable when everyone knows the court.

What to skip: duct tape and gaffer tape. They leave residue and can pull up the court coating, which is the fastest way to get pickleball banned from a tennis court.

Permanent dual lines: what blended lines look like

If your group plays there every week, permanent lines are the next step. This is where tennis and pickleball players most often disagree, so it helps to show up with the tennis side's own rules.

Both tennis bodies have written guidance:

USTA (the Statement of Guidance linked above) recommends blended lines for sites with two or fewer tennis courts, up to two pickleball courts per tennis court. Lines should be textured paint one shade lighter in the same color family as the court surface, 1.5 inches wide, stopping 3 inches short of the tennis lines. Sites with three or more courts are pushed toward dedicated pickleball courts instead.
ITF (Appendix X of the Rules of Tennis) says blended lines should be lighter than the surface and in the same color family, made by adding no more than 25% white paint to the surface color, slightly narrower than the tennis lines, and stopping 8 cm (about 3 inches) short of the white tennis lines.

The idea is simple: muted lines that pickleball players can see and tennis players can tune out. Pickleball players sometimes push for bright contrast colors instead, but that's the version that makes tennis players angry.

Why tennis players object:

Extra lines are distracting, especially at speed and in low light.
Tennis leagues sometimes worry that extra lines will affect whether a court can host sanctioned play, so expect that question and point them to the USTA guidance above.
Lines are usually the first step toward pickleball taking over the court time, and they know it.

How to approach the parks department:

Bring numbers: how many people play, which days, and how often the tennis courts sit empty at those times.
Propose the blended-line spec above, not neon stripes.
Offer a shared schedule (tennis mornings, pickleball evenings, or similar).
Offer to help pay for or volunteer on the work, and ask when the court is next due to be resurfaced. Adding lines then is far cheaper.

A word on noise and neighbors

Pickleball's paddle pop carries farther than a tennis ball. If the court backs onto houses, keep early-morning and late-evening play reasonable and talk to the neighbors before they talk to the city.

Add the court to the map so others can find it

Here's the frustrating part: dual-use tennis courts are some of the hardest pickleball spots to find, because nothing online says pickleball is played there. In Pickleball Plus, anyone can add a court or edit an existing one. Add the tennis court, set the number of outdoor courts, pick the surface and access type, and use the notes to say what a visitor needs to know: "pickleball lines painted on 2 tennis courts," "bring your own portable net," or "nets provided Tuesday and Thursday evenings." Tag it with things like Lights or Free to Play so it shows up when people filter. Then the next person searching pickleball courts near me actually finds it.

If you just want somewhere to play this week, browse public pickleball courts or open the court search map and check the reviews and court chat for whether a tennis court has lines or nets.

Put your court on the map. Pickleball Plus is free on the App Store, with thousands of community-added courts, reviews, and court chat. Download Pickleball Plus and add the tennis court your group plays on so new players can find the game.

FAQ

Is a tennis net the same height as a pickleball net?

No. A tennis net is 36 inches at the center and 42 inches at the posts. A pickleball net is 34 inches at the center and 36 inches at the sidelines. Lowering the tennis center strap 2 inches gets the middle right; the edges stay a little high, which is fine for casual play.

How many pickleball courts fit on a tennis court?

One court fits using the tennis net, two fit with portable nets (one per side), and four fit on a full 60 x 120 foot fenced tennis court. Four courts leaves each one at USA Pickleball's 30 x 60 foot minimum playing area, so run-off is tight.

Where do pickleball lines go on a tennis court?

For a single court across the tennis net, kitchen lines go 7 feet from the net, baselines 22 feet from the net (1 foot behind the tennis service line), and sidelines 10 feet either side of the tennis center line. The tennis center service line doubles as most of the pickleball centerline.

What is the best way to make temporary pickleball lines on a tennis court?

Painter's tape is the standard choice because it won't damage acrylic surfaces, and it's what the USTA recommends. Throw-down rubber lines are faster and leave nothing behind but can slide. Avoid duct tape, and ask the facility before you tape anything.

What color should pickleball lines be on a tennis court?

Tennis guidance from both the USTA and the ITF calls for blended lines: a lighter shade in the same color family as the court surface, narrower than the white tennis lines, and stopping about 3 inches short of them. Tennis lines stay white.

Can you play pickleball on a tennis court without pickleball lines?

Yes. Playing to the tennis service lines gives you a 42-foot court instead of 44, with the tennis center service line as your centerline. Mark the kitchen with tape or cones, because the kitchen is the one line you really can't play without.