Tennis court and changing room design: the technical guide for sport facilities
The complete guide to tennis court and changing room design with technical guidelines, regulations, standard dimensions and a 3D BIM model ready to download
What are the measurements of a tennis court? How to choose the type of flooring (red field, concrete, etc.)? This guide aim of providing useful suggestions for designing a tennis court, focusing on the most important aspects such as the types of flooring, the measurements of the court, the reference standards, reference lines, net, etc.
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tennis court rendered with Edificius.
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Tennis court design: 8 design tips
A series of specific parameters must be considered to plan the ideal tennis court. Some of them will be relevant in case of an indoor project design:
- accessibility, well connected by public transport and roads, presence of parking lots
- possibility of carrying out further expansion and renovation works (such as integration of other courts or venues)
- environmental health, quiteness, green areas
- absence of strong prevailing winds
- absence of constraints of any kind that prevent courts to be covered with both seasonal or permanent solutions
- environmental morphology, levels and tolerance of surface regularity
- connections to technical systems, water, electricity networks.
Tennis court section produced with Edificius
The court surface must have suitable morphological and geological characteristics. In addition, it must be sufficiently flat, have good stability and absence of problems with standing water.
It is the designer responsibility to enhance the appearance of the court and prolong the life of the surface by preventing earth movements and reducing relating maintenance works.
Glare must be limited to avoid a decrease in visual performance. Therefore, the sun should have a lateral position with respect to the main axis of the field.
Tribunes and seats for the public should be arranged according to the edges of the field, with special attention to the longer sides.
The possible presence of surrounding buildings must not cast shadows on the courts that can affect the visibility of players. In case of strong winds presence, tree and hedge barriers must be installed.
Tennis court section produced with Edificius
The ideal environmental context for a tennis court should be set in green areas with the presence of plants and hedges. In this regard, we need to consider some design criteria:
- the shade of the trees can cause poor visibility for players at certain times of the day
- the presence of trees can force to constant and frequent cleaning and consequently may cause damage to the sport flooring surfaces
- tall trees must be kept away from the fields, because the roots could jeopardize the flatness of the ground
- for grass surfaces, watering and drainage systems must be provided
- it may be important to use dividing hedges as a field fence, for better sound insulation.
To prevent vegetation from spreading to the playing court, it is advisable to isolate it from the ground by creating a concrete curb perimeter. The curb should be at least 30 cm wide and approximately 80 cm deep.
The dimensions and technical characteristics of a tennis court are regulated by the International Tennis Federation and are written down in the Rules of Tennis document.
International reference standards
Tennis court project dimensions
Court generic volume
Tennis court area view rendered with Edificius
- Shorter side width for single matches is 8,23 m (27 ft) /for double matches is 10,97 m (36 ft)
- Longer side width is 23,77 m
- Shorter side of the court including margin measures from 17,07 m to 20,11 m
- Longer side of the court including margin measures from 34,77 m to 40,23 m
Standard measures of the court and margins
Tennis court floor plan – produced with Edificius
- Rectangle «A» dimensions (centre mark) 8,23 x 5,485 m
- Rectangle «B» dimensions (single sideline) 1,37 x 11,885 m
- Rectangle «C» dimensions (centre service line) 4,115 x 6,40 m
- Shorter side margin dimensions from 3,05 m to 4,57 m
- Longer side margin dimensions from 5,50 m to 8,23 m
- Distance between net and chair umpire 1,20 m
- Shorter side of the court single 10,058 m / double 12.798 m
Lines dimensions
Lines width is between 2,5 and 5 cm, although the baseline can be double that in thickness. The service line should be at least 5 cm large and 10 cm long.
Net and posts size
The net is 0,914 m high in the centre and 1,07 m high at posts. The net are 0,91 m outside the doubles court. In detail:
- Net width for single match 10,058 m
- Net width for double match 12,798 m
- Net height on the sides 1,07 m
- Net height on the centre 0,91 m
- Net mesh size (hemp or nylon) 4,4 x 4,4 cm
- Net height (vinyl headband) da 5 a 6,3 cm
- Round posts Ø 7,5 cm
- Rectangular posts 10 x 10 cm
Tennis court construction: flooring materials
tennis court render detail – produced with Edificius
Tennis is played on a variety of surfaces. There are four main types of court depending on the material used for the court surface:
- Clay (red) – clay courts are considered “slow” because the balls bounce relatively slower, and the players are able to easily return the opponents shot. Clay courts require a lot of maintenance.
- Cement (Hardcourt) –concrete flooring is mainly used in small club fields or in municipal and school gyms for its reduced costs and because it does not require much maintenance.
- Synthetic – for synthetic flooring, polyurethane enriched with rubber granules is generally used. The synthetic surface is very elastic and has the advantage of being durable and long-lasting without requiring continuous maintenance.
- Grass carpet – are the fastest of all surfaces because the ball slides easily, and favour serve and volley players who can rush to the net. It is less common since it is expensive and requires a lot of maintenance.
Famous tennis courts
Indoor tennis court
Heights
Minimum free heights must comply with the standards for national and international competitions:
- 9 – 10 m at the centre of the net
- 7 – 7,5 m above sidelines
- 4 – 5 m above the court corners
- from 2/2,5 to 4,5 m from baseline.
The minimum temperature indoor to guarantee should be at least 10-15°C, with humidity levels not superior to 60-70%.
The playing surface should have dark colours. Normally, the colours preferred are green and blue and should be non-reflective.
Tennis court fencing render – produced with Edificius
Types of roofing
The below types of structures can be envisaged:
- entirely or partially mobile: pressostatic and tensostatic covers
- permanent, made with different construction systems: laminated wood, steel, reinforced concrete.
Tennis court project: lighting
Lighting design of sports facilities at international level, refers to European standards EN 12193 issued by CEN.
Factors to be taken into consideration, both for outdoor and indoor installations are:
- level of lighting according to the type of game (competitive, amateur, etc.)
- lighting uniformity on the area involved in the game
- glare reduction
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3D BIM model in EDF format of a tennis court project
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Changing rooms for a sport venues project with layouts
When planning changing rooms for sport and leisure centres, there are important aspects to consider such as minimum requirements to guarantee safety and hygiene to all users of the sports facility. Single-sex changing areas should be well-screened for privacy together with other equipment like lockers and benches, showers and adequate water-sanitary systems.
Sport facility changing rooms floor plan – produced with Edificius
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9 tips to design a changing room for sport facilities
Sport facilities changing rooms must comply with the indications established by official regulations. However, the relevant legislation may vary depending on the country.
Render of sport facility changing room showers – produced with Edificius
Below we’ve listed 9 recommendations that are legally accepted by many countries worldwide:
- the rooms used as changing rooms must be divided by gender, considering an equal number of men and women
- in any case, the changing rooms provided must be at least two
- the dimensions for the locker rooms must be defined considering the surface per locker room to be not less than 1.60 m², including the passage, cabinet and hanger spaces
- the number of seats must be proportionate to the number of users, considering the alternations of the different type of sports. For a capacity exceeding 40 seats, it is preferable to design smaller changing rooms
- changing rooms must be accessible to disabled users, through special access doors. The corridors, the passages and the eventual halls should allow the transit and the possible rotation of the wheelchair
- each changing room must have access to toilets and showers
- locker room furnishings must be made with quality materials, durable, functional and easily washable. The number of metal lockers must not be less than the maximum number of facility users and must be made with resistant and easily washable materials.
Changing room project: areas and dimensions
Functional layout of a sport facility changing room – produced with Edificius
Changing rooms must have separate accesses from the spectators during the events. Typically, they consist of 3 areas:
- locker room
- shower zone
- WC zone
Changing room A-A section – produced with Edificius
Sport activity area surface | changing room seats
- 250 m² | 20 locker room seats
- over 250 m² up to 450 m² | 30 locker room seats
- over 450 m² up to 1100 m² | 40 locker room seats
- over 1100 m² | 60 locker room seats
Changing rooms for sports facilities must always be designed with accessibility in mind for people with disabilities.
Changing room C-C section – produced with Edificius
Flooring and coating
Flooring must be made of anti-slippery materials. The walls must be covered preferably with exposed materials and to be possibly treated with resins or paints so to facilitate cleaning operations.
Changing rooms furnishings
Render of a sport facility changing room – produced with Edificius
Important sport furnishings to be included in a dressing room are metal lockers and benches that should be chosen to guarantee maximum hygiene, comfort and safety.
Lockers for storing clothes generally have a minimum size of 30 x 50 x 90 cm. It is advisable to mount them at least 25 cm from the ground to facilitate cleaning. It should possible to mount hangers as well, made up of hooks, that are integrated with the benches structure.
Render of a sport facility changing room – produced with Edificius
Hair dryers must be air-jet and must be equal in number to the showers. They should be placed in the hallway or in the dressing room area, always respecting the conditions of functionality and safety.
BIM model of Sport facilities changing rooms
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