Designing a pickleball facility takes more than marking court lines. It requires smart planning that ensures safety, playability, and room for growth. Whether you're converting old tennis courts or constructing a pickleball court from scratch, understanding the amount of required is the starting point.
Standard Pickleball Court Dimensions
A regulation pickleball court is 20 ft x 44 ft (6.1 m x 13.4 m), which totals 880 square feet. This size supports both singles and doubles matches.
You can fit up to four temporary pickleball courts on a single tennis court, which makes tennis court conversions a great way to increase court capacity and tap into one of America’s fastest-growing sports.
Planning Your Pickleball Facility Layout
Creating a pickleball facility layout means accounting for more than just court size. You'll also need to factor in spacing between courts, ceiling height if you're indoors, surface material, and operational needs like scheduling software.
How Many Courts Should Your Pickleball Facility Have?
The ideal number of courts depends on your business goals, available real estate, and local demand.
If your community has a strong interest in Pickleball a safe bet would be to start with 4-6 courts and expand based on demand and usage data.
Pro Tip: Use Swift’s reporting tools to monitor court demand & occupancy, booking trends, and peak usage times. This makes it easy to know when it's time to scale without any guesswork.
Key Design Considerations for Pickleball Facilities
Court Buffer Zones
Buffer space around your pickleball courts ensures player safety and comfort:
- Minimum setup: Add 5 ft on the sidelines and 7 ft behind baselines → Total space: 30 ft x 60 ft (~1,800 sq ft)
- Ideal setup : Add 10 ft on all sides → Total space: 34 ft x 64 ft (~2,176 sq ft)
- Premium setup : Roughly 40 ft x 64 ft (~2,560 sq ft)
These zones help players avoid collisions and improve the experience during play.
Pro Tip: Accidents can happen. Having participants sign a digital liability waiver can help protect your business.
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Vertical Space for Indoor Pickleball Courts
If you’re operating an indoor pickleball facility, ceiling height is more important than you might think. Low ceilings can limit shot selection, frustrate players, and restrict gameplay, especially for lobs and deep defensive shots.
Recommended Indoor Ceiling Heights:
- Minimum: 18 feet — acceptable for casual or recreational play
- Preferred: 20 to 26 feet — ideal for competitive or league-level play
- Elite standard: 30+ feet — suitable for professional tournaments or multi-purpose sports centers
Surface and Orientation
Your choice of court surface impacts player safety, comfort, and long-term maintenance costs. At the same time, court orientation directly affects visibility and playability - especially outdoors.
Popular Indoor & Outdoor Surface Options:
Court Orientation Best Practices
For outdoor courts, north-south orientation is strongly recommended. This minimizes the effect of the sun during morning and late afternoon play, which helps improve player visibility and fairness.
Why Facilities Use Swift to Run Pickleball Clubs
Managing your pickleball facility manually or with spreadsheets can get messy fast. From managing off-peak bookings to memberships and cancellations, you need a tool that handles the logistics for you.
With Swift, You Can:
- ✅ Reserve courts in just a few clicks with a branded online booking page
- ✅ Send automated confirmations and reminders by text and email
- ✅ Offer memberships with discounts, court credits, or even 24/7 access
- ✅ Run reports to track court usage trends and make smart layout decisions based on data
Space Planning Plus Software Equals Profitable Pickleball Facilities
- Maximize court time by reducing gaps in your schedule
- Simplify scheduling and avoid human error or double bookings
- Adapt to growth by adding courts to your system in seconds
- Delight your members with smooth booking, automated reminders, and better visibility
Ready to Grow Your Pickleball Club?
Whether you're launching a brand-new club or optimizing an existing one, Swift’s pickleball club management software gives you the tools to run your business with confidence.
Looking to streamline your operations or learn more? Book a free demo to talk to a member of our team today.
