If you are passionate about tennis, or your children and family are passionate about the game, you might want to think about building your own mini tennis court.
A full sized tennis court is expensive, and it needs space and a lot of maintenance. The big advantage with a mini tennis court is it requires far less space, can be done inexpensively, will give you hours and hours of fun, will keep you fit and healthy, and will improve your game of tennis.
It can also be set up in an existing space you have, and it can be dismantled easily, especially if you create a makeshift mini court.
Sign up with TopCourt.com here for 14 days of free tennis coaching online with them!
How does one begin making a mini tennis court?
The thought of building a proper and full on mini tennis court may be quite overwhelming. If you are thinking of building a proper mini tennis court, ask yourself these questions:
- Will we use the court?
- Do we have the space?
- If we don’t have the space, can we find the space?
- Do we have the budget?
- Do we have the expertise?
Once you have gone over each of these questions, and answered YES to them, you can start going a little further and doing proper research.
And if the budget frightens you, then go the makeshift option, one that you can build in your own backyard or garage, one that is inexpensive to build, and one that you can do on the day you want it!
A makeshift mini tennis court
We are going to focus on a makeshift court more than a permanent structure, because to be honest, this is the type of court that most people are going to want to build. It’s easy, it’s super inexpensive, and it is going to give you loads of fun. Anyone can do it with a bit of space (well, the right amount of space) and a bit of creativity.
What you need for a makeshift mini tennis court?
- The space
- A measuring tape
- Two chairs
- A makeshift net – caution tape, string, or an actual net
- Chalk for the lines. (the masking tape can also work here)
- Tennis racquets
- A ball
- An opponent
- A love for tennis
- A sense of fun!
Best location for a mini tennis court
A space under cover is the best option so that you can practice your tennis at any time.
The kind of people who build their own mini tennis courts are people who want to improve their tennis and practice a lot. An indoor court is therefore the best option, but it is not the only option.
You can easily build a makeshift tennis court in the garden, the yard, in a park, or in any open space. Again, indoors is best so that the ball can bounce on the floor – preferably cement – but perhaps you can find an outdoor space with a hard surface.
The correct measurements for a mini tennis court are 36 feet long and 18 feet wide. You will also need about 3 feet all around the court, so it is easy to move around. Ideally, you need 39 x 21 feet. So what are your options?
- A garage
- A porch
- A deck
- A patio
- A back yard
- A garden
Setting up your mini tennis court
Once you have chosen your space, get your chalk or masking tape, or even paint if you are going to make it a more permanent tennis court.
Think carefully before you use paint though! Measure the space, mark out the 36 feet x 18 feet, and lay the tape / draw the chalk / use the paint, to draw the outside of the court.
Note: Please remember, these are the dimensions for a mini tennis court. If you want to compare these with the normal tennis court dimensions, click here.
Once you have done this, you can put your net in the middle. Make sure your measurements are exact so the net is directly in the middle. You can use a chair on either side of the court, and tie the net (caution tape, string or an actual net) from one side to the other. Your net should be around 3 feet tall.
You can then look at an online diagram or a Youtube tutorial (like the one below) to get the exact measurements for the sidelines, service lines and centre lines.
You can draw these on with chalk, mark them with tape, or use your paint if the structure is going to be permanent. We suggest you do the four sidelines, the two baselines, the service lines and then the centre lines.
The Sidelines
You will measure 18 feet from the middle for each sideline, and you are going to draw in four sidelines.
Baselines
You will need two baselines and will measure 18 feet that connect both ends of the sidelines.
Service Lines
These will be 4.5 feet from the baseline.
The Centre Lines
You will mark these from the centre of the net up to the baseline, so each one is 9 feet long.
Mini tennis versus full size tennis
The rules of the game are the same, and you use the same racquets and tennis balls. You can choose how much fun you want to have and how serious you want to be about practice. Many players use these mini courts for serious indoor tennis practice, so think about your purpose and end game too.
Unless there are very small children playing, in which case it becomes red mini tennis, there is no need to change scoring or the amount of games or sets played.
Mini tennis is in fact played professionally, meaning whether you are a proper full court player, or a mini tennis player, you are going to improve your game.
Using your mini tennis court
The idea behind having your own tennis court, irrespective of whether it is a mini court or a full size tennis court, is to practice. Tennis players who want to be really good and make their way up the ladder need to stay fit, practice almost daily, and do their drills.
Tennis should always be fun, and a mini tennis court is fun.
You can play for five minutes or you can play for an hour, but the important thing is to play, to practice and to keep your eye in focus!