A standard doubles tennis court is 23.77m × 10.97m. Add 6.4m run-off behind each baseline and 3.66m on each side, and the total plot area needed is roughly 36m × 18m — about the size of a 1-acre corner plot's usable section.
Most of the dimension confusion in India comes from people quoting the playing area without the run-off zones. A court built on a 36m × 18m plot is regulation. A court squeezed into a 28m × 14m space is not — regardless of what the contractor tells you.
Court Markings and Playing Area
A doubles tennis court is 23.77m long and 10.97m wide. A singles court uses the same length but narrows to 8.23m — the 1.37m singles alley on each side is in play for doubles but out of bounds for singles. Each service box is 6.4m deep from the net and 4.115m wide. All lines are 50mm (2 inches) wide.
The baseline can be painted up to 100mm (4 inches) wide — a common option for club courts where the baseline takes the most wear. Every other line is exactly 50mm. Line colour is white or yellow. The centre service line bisects each service box and runs from the net to the service line. The centre mark on each baseline is a 100mm mark that splits the baseline into two 5.485m halves.
| Court Type | Width | Length | Total Footprint (with run-off) |
|---|
| Doubles | 10.97m | 23.77m | 36.57m × 18.29m |
| Singles | 8.23m | 23.77m | 36.57m × 15.55m |
| Mini tennis (school) | 6.4m | 12.8m | Varies by layout |
Net Height and Post Spacing
The net is 0.914m (36 inches) at the centre and 1.07m (42 inches) at the posts. Net posts are placed 12.8m apart — 0.914m outside each doubles sideline on a 10.97m wide court. The net spans this full 12.8m width and sags to 0.914m at the centre under tension from the centre strap.
This is where coaches and site planners most often get confused. The 12.8m post spacing applies to a doubles court. For a singles-only court, the posts can be placed 0.914m outside each singles sideline — 10.06m apart — but most builders use doubles post spacing to keep the option open. The centre strap pulls the net down to the 0.914m centre height and fastens to a ground anchor at the centre of the court.
Net post height is 1.07m. Posts must be circular and not more than 15cm in diameter. Square posts are permitted. The net cord or metal cable passes through the full length of the net at the top. If you are commissioning a court and the net posts arrive at a height other than 1.07m, that is wrong — return them.
Run-off Zones and Total Land Required
ITF Category III and IV recreational courts require 6.4m behind each baseline and 3.66m on each side. Total plot: 36.57m long (23.77 + 6.4 + 6.4) × 18.29m wide (10.97 + 3.66 + 3.66). Round this to 36m × 18m as your minimum clear land requirement.
For club and tournament play (ITF Category I and II), the run-off increases to 6.4m per side and 8.23m behind each baseline, raising the total footprint to over 40m × 22m. If you are planning a club court that will host state-level or national competition, design to these larger dimensions from the start. Retrofitting run-off after the fencing is installed costs ₹1.5–3L and often requires removing and repositioning the perimeter fence entirely.
Mini-story — Gurgaon, 2022. A residential welfare association committee bought a plot measuring 33m × 15m, believing it was sufficient for a tennis court. After construction started, the builder flagged that the actual ITF requirement was 36m × 18m. The project had to be redesigned as a singles-only court with reduced run-off, and the committee lost ₹1.5L in redesign fees and delays. A ₹5k site measurement consultation before purchasing the plot would have prevented it entirely.
Surface Types and Turnkey Cost
A full turnkey tennis court in India — RCC base, acrylic surfacing, fencing, net and posts, and basic lighting — costs ₹12–18L. The acrylic coating alone costs ₹2.5–4L. That coating-only figure is widely quoted in India and widely misunderstood: ₹2.5–4L is not the price of a court. It is the price of one layer applied to an existing prepared slab.
The RCC base is the single largest cost component and the one that determines how long the surface will last. A 100mm reinforced concrete slab with proper sub-base preparation, drainage, and curing time is the correct foundation for an acrylic tennis court. Courts built on compacted laterite or asphalt without an RCC base develop cracks within 2–4 years in the thermal cycling conditions of North India.
The full cost breakdown for a standard court: RCC slab ₹5–8L, acrylic surfacing ₹2.5–4L, fencing (chain-link or welded mesh) ₹1.5–3L, net and posts ₹30–60k, lighting ₹1–2L. Total: ₹12–18L depending on site access, soil conditions, and quality specification. See the full tennis court construction cost guide for a detailed breakdown.
Mini-story — Noida, 2021. A school painted a court on an existing concrete slab that was 22m × 10m — short by 1.77m in length and 0.97m in width. Players at the baseline kept hitting the back fence on their serve return. The court had to be completely repainted after the error was discovered, and the rear fence had to be repositioned — ₹12k wasted on the repaint and ₹15k on fence repositioning. Checking the slab dimensions before starting would have cost nothing.
Line Marking Rules
All tennis court lines are 50mm (2 inches) wide, except the baseline which may be up to 100mm (4 inches) wide. Lines are white or yellow. The service boxes are 6.4m from the net and 4.115m wide each. The centre service line runs from the net to the service line and bisects each service box.
Thermoplastic marking holds significantly longer than painted lines on acrylic surfaces in Indian conditions — 5 years versus 12–18 months for standard paint. The cost difference at application is ₹8–15k extra for thermoplastic, but thermoplastic eliminates the need for annual line repainting that painted courts require. For courts with daily use, thermoplastic is the right choice.
Multi-Court Spacing
When building two tennis courts side by side, the shared centre clearance between courts is 3.66m — the same as the single-side clearance. You do not double the clearance. Two doubles courts need roughly 36m × 34m of total land: the shared boundary uses one 3.66m zone between courts, not two separate zones.
Three courts in a row require two shared clearance zones. The net post anchor on the shared boundary between courts needs a shared footing designed for two sets of posts — a detail that saves space and cost at design time but requires thought about post placement and anchor bolt positioning.
For four or more courts, orient the courts in a north-south direction to avoid players facing direct morning or evening sun on the east-west baseline. This is the standard orientation recommendation for all North India courts — Gurgaon, Noida, Jaipur, and Lucknow all have morning sun angles that make east-facing baselines a problem.
Read our tennis court surface comparison to choose between acrylic, clay, and artificial grass for your multi-court project, or contact us for a free layout assessment for your plot.
