Whenplanning the layout of the courts, it is necessary to provide sufficient spacearound each court to be able to play comfortably.
Recommended dimensions for the run-back(from the baseline to the backstop at the end of the court) and side-run (fromthe outer-most sideline to the sidestop at edge of the court) depend on thelevel of the play and number of courts (see table 1.0 below).
Table 1.0: Recommendedcourt dimensions.
Dimension | International (preferred) | International (minimum) | Recreational (minimum) |
Total length including run-backs | 40.17 m | 36.57 m | 34.75m |
Total width including side-run (doubles) | 20.11 m | 18.29 m | 17.07m |
Run-back (distance behind baseline) | 8.20 m | 6.40 m | 5.49 m |
Side-run (distance to side of court) | 4.57 m | 3.66 m | 3.05 m |
Spacing between multiple courts | n/a | 7.32 m | 3.66 m |
The additional space advised for international competitions is to allow forumpires and line judges.
A minimum of 3.66 m is required between the sideline and anyfixed obstruction such as a fence, wall, floodlight pillar, etc. However, ifmultiple courts are grouped side-by-side, the gap between adjacent courts maybe reduced to 3.66 m for recreational play. In essence, the space betweenadjacent courts is ‘shared’, which recognises that the only physicalobstruction is the net post of the adjacent court.
Note that all fixed objects that need to be courtside should be positioned inline with the net and courts should not be arranged back-to-back (unlessdividers are used) for the players’ safety.
