Tennis court markings for schools

What are tennis court markings?

Tennis court markings are the baselines, sidelines, service lines and centre lines that turn a flat playground into a tennis court, and at Uniplay we lay them in thermoplastic that is heat-bonded to the tarmac.

The shape of the court is set by Rule 1 of the Rules of Tennis, published by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the governing body of tennis in Great Britain since 1888, publishes how much clear space should surround it.

Our thermoplastic is non-toxic and free of lead, chromates and solvents. Its textured finish is anti-slip, a real help on a court where pupils sprint, stop and turn on every point.

We mark the lines only. Nets, posts and post sockets come from a sports equipment supplier, whichever size of court you choose.

Tennis is one of the sports in our sports court and MUGA line markings, alongside netball and basketball.

What types of tennis court markings do we install?

Uniplay installs four tennis court marking layouts: a full 24m x 11m Tennis Court, a 12m x 6m Short Tennis court, a 13m x 6m Pickleball Court and a 30m x 15m Multi Court that shares its space with netball, basketball and mini football.

Our full-size Tennis Court marking sets out a doubles court in white, with baselines, sidelines, tramlines and service boxes. It gives pupils a proper court for tennis, short tennis games and racket skills practice in PE and school clubs.

The Short Tennis court marking is for younger players. A centre line splits each half into two service boxes, and a halfway line stands in for the net, so a class can rally over the line or set a low portable net on it.

Our Pickleball Court marking outlines a court with a non-volley zone across the middle, the area players call the kitchen, and a centre line dividing the service areas. Pickleball is a paddle game for singles or doubles, played over a net.

The Multi Court for netball, basketball, tennis and mini football lays four sports over one 30m x 15m rectangle in white, yellow, red and blue lines. It suits a school with one hard play area and a full PE timetable.

What size is a tennis court?

A tennis court measures 23.77m long and 10.97m wide for doubles, narrowing to 8.23m wide for singles, under Rule 1 of the ITF Rules of Tennis, and every measurement is taken to the outside of the lines.

The lines are only part of the footprint. For one outdoor court, the LTA recommends a clear area of 36.57m x 18.29m, which leaves 6.40m behind each baseline and 3.66m beside each sideline for chasing the ball. Where space is short, it accepts a minimum of 34.75m x 17.07m.

The net hangs 0.914m high at the centre and 1.07m at the posts.

Our Tennis Court design is listed at 24m x 11m, the official doubles court rounded to the nearest metre. Where there is room, we mark to the recognised dimensions. Where the playground is tighter, we scale the court down and say honestly at survey which version fits.

Full competition courts need that run-off around the lines as well, so a court squeezed into a smaller playground works best for lessons and practice.

What do the lines on a tennis court mean?

The lines on a tennis court are the baselines, the singles and doubles sidelines, the service lines, the centre service line and the centre marks, and together they show players where to stand, where to serve and where a ball counts as in.

Under Rule 12, a ball that touches a line is in, so each line belongs to the court it encloses.

The sidelines and service lines may be 2.5cm to 5cm wide under ITF rules, and the LTA's 2026 court surfaces guidance uses 5cm white lines with a 10cm baseline.

• Baselines: the end lines. The server stands behind the baseline, and the ITF allows it to be up to 10cm wide.
• Sidelines: the long lines down each side. The inner pair, 8.23m apart, bound singles play, and the outer pair, 10.97m apart, bound doubles.
• Tramlines: the 1.37m strips between the singles and doubles sidelines, also called the doubles alleys. They are in play during doubles rallies but never for a serve.
• Service lines: drawn between the singles sidelines, 6.40m from the net on each side. A serve must land in the service box diagonally opposite, between the net and this line.
• Centre service line: runs from the net to each service line and splits that area into two service boxes. It is 5cm wide.
• Centre mark: a 10cm stub halfway along each baseline, also 5cm wide. The server stands between it and the sideline, switching halves after every point.

What size are mini tennis and pickleball courts?

A red mini tennis court measures 11m x 5.5m and an orange court 18m x 6.5m for singles in the LTA's schools guide, green tennis moves up to the full-size court, and a pickleball court measures 13.41m x 6.10m.

LTA Youth uses these smaller courts, with red and orange balls and an 80cm net, so children learn on a court that suits their size. For 10 and under competition, the ITF allows a red court anywhere from 10.97m to 12.80m long and 4.27m to 6.10m wide.

Each stage has its own ball. The ITF recommends red for players up to 8, orange for 8 to 10 year olds and green, on a full court, for more experienced 9 and 10 year olds.

Our 12m x 6m Short Tennis court sits inside the ITF's size range for a red court, so it gives the youngest pupils permanent mini tennis court markings of the right size in place of throw-down lines set out before each lesson.

Pickleball England's rules set the pickleball court at the size of a badminton court, with a non-volley zone 2.13m deep on each side of a net that hangs 0.914m high at the posts and 0.86m in the middle. Our pickleball court markings are listed at 13m x 6m, slightly under the official size, because we set the court out within the space available. A court for club play or competition needs the full measurements and run-off around them.

How much do tennis court markings cost?

Tennis court markings cost from around £220 for our 12m x 6m Short Tennis court to about £1,695 for a 30m x 15m Multi Court that adds netball, basketball and mini football, fitted, with a full-size Tennis Court at £525.

These are guide prices that include installation and exclude VAT. The final figure comes from the survey, because it depends on the size of the court, the number of sports, lines and colours, and the state of the surface.

The Pickleball Court has a guide price of £350. The Multi Court costs a little over three times as much as a single Tennis Court, yet it carries four sports, which brings the price per sport down to about £424.

Nets and posts are not part of these prices, because we mark the lines only, and there are no hidden costs.

Book a free survey and we will price the layout that fits your playground.

What colour should tennis court lines be?

Tennis court lines should all be one colour that clearly contrasts with the court surface, as Rule 1 of the ITF Rules of Tennis requires, and we mark our Tennis Court, Short Tennis and Pickleball layouts in white.

White is also the colour the LTA's 2026 court surfaces guidance specifies, and on black tarmac nothing stands out more.

White lines suit a coloured court as well. Our full-colour court surface coatings go down under the lines, and white reads clearly on a green, blue or purple surface.

On a shared court, every tennis line still takes the one colour, and each other sport takes a different one so players can follow their own game. Our Multi Court uses white, yellow, red and blue, with tennis in blue.

Can a tennis court share a multi-use games area with other sports?

A tennis court can share a multi-use games area with netball, basketball and mini football, and our 30m x 15m Multi Court overlays all four sports on one rectangle, giving each its own line colour.

A 30m x 15m area holds the 23.77m x 10.97m doubles lines with about 3.1m to spare at each end and 2m at each side. That is less than the LTA's minimum run-off of 5.49m behind each baseline and 3.05m at each side. The gap matters for matches.

At survey we work out which courts fit and where their lines can overlap. If you start with one sport, we can add another or extend a court on a return visit, so a tennis court can grow into a MUGA as your PE plans change.

For layouts with two or more sports, see our multi-use games area (MUGA) markings. The netball court markings and basketball court markings pages cover two sports that share our Multi Court with tennis.

How are tennis court markings installed?

Our own in-house team installs tennis court markings in four steps (survey, scaled court plan, surface preparation and thermoplastic application), and a single tennis court usually goes down in a day.

A full MUGA takes a little longer. Each stage is set out on our survey, design and installation process page.

• Survey: we measure the usable area and note the gradient, drainage and any obstacles, such as existing net post sockets.
• Plan: we send a scaled court plan showing each line and its colour, so your PE staff can check the layout before anything is laid.
• Preparation: we prepare the surface, which needs to be sound, free-draining tarmac or macadam.
• Application: we heat-bond the thermoplastic to the surface along the agreed setout, using preformed pieces, cut to shape before they reach site, for fine detail and hot-applying any larger colour fills by hand.

How long do tennis court markings last?

Tennis court markings in preformed thermoplastic carry a warranty of up to four years, subject to the condition of the ground, and we have seen them last for more than 10 years.

They last up to 10 times longer than ordinary paint, and a tennis court tests that, because every point starts with a serve from the same strip behind the baseline.

The ground sets the limit. Lines heat-bonded to cracked or loose tarmac fail when the tarmac does, so we check the state of the surface at survey.

Trees matter too. The LTA's 2026 court guidance warns that water dripping from overhanging branches causes slippery patches and encourages algae and moss, and it advises pruning those branches well back.

For purpose-built courts, the same guidance puts the typical life of a porous asphalt surface at 10 to 12 years, depending on construction, drainage, use and care. When lines do wear, we can refresh them on a return visit.

Why choose Uniplay for tennis court markings?

At Uniplay every tennis court marking is designed and installed by our own in-house team, DBS checked as standard, and each court comes with a free survey, a free design, a detailed quote and our price match promise.

We are a Constructionline Silver Member and a CHAS Accredited Contractor. Both are supplier checks, which helps when a school or council has to approve a contractor.

Based in Blackburn, Lancashire, we mark courts for schools, nurseries and councils across the UK and Ireland, including the Highwall Park MUGA in Rotherham, which we delivered for Proludic.

Some playgrounds cannot take a full court. We say so plainly, then show you whether a Short Tennis or Pickleball court fits instead.

Book a free survey and we will show you, on a scaled plan, which tennis court your playground can take.