How Big Is a Tennis Court? Official Dimensions Explained

A standard tennis court is 23.77 metres (78 feet) long. The width is 10.97 metres (36 feet) for doubles play and 8.23 metres (27 feet) for singles. These dimensions are set by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and apply to all sanctioned play worldwide, from club level to Grand Slams.

Understanding the court’s exact layout is useful for players, coaches, facility builders, and fans who want to understand the geometry behind the game. Every surface — grass, clay, hard court, or carpet — uses the same dimensions.

Official Court Dimensions

Measurement	Metres	Feet
Court length (full)	23.77 m	78 ft
Court width (doubles)	10.97 m	36 ft
Court width (singles)	8.23 m	27 ft
Doubles alley width (each side)	1.37 m	4.5 ft
Service line from net	6.40 m	21 ft
Baseline to service line	5.49 m	18 ft
Centre mark length	0.10 m	4 in
Net height at centre	0.914 m	3 ft
Net height at posts	1.07 m	3.5 ft

The Court Layout Explained

A tennis court is divided into two equal halves by the net. Each half contains:

• Baseline — the back line that marks the end of the court
• Service boxes — two rectangles on either side of the centre service line where serves must land
• No-man’s land — the area between the service line and the baseline, often the most tactically complex zone
• Net cord area — the zone immediately behind the net, contested during volleys

Service Boxes

The service boxes are the areas into which a player must direct their serve. Each box is 6.40 m (21 ft) deep (from net to service line) and 4.115 m (13.5 ft) wide. On a deuce point, the server aims into the deuce box (right side, from server’s perspective); on advantage, into the advantage box (left side).

The Doubles Alley

The doubles alley is the strip of court between the singles sideline and the doubles sideline on each side. It is 1.37 m (4.5 ft) wide per side. In singles play, balls landing in the alley are out. In doubles, these areas are fully in play throughout the rally (though serves must still land within the singles-width service box).

Total Space Required to Build a Court

The ITF recommends that the overall area surrounding the court — including run-back and side clearance — should be significantly larger than the playing surface itself. Minimum recommended overall dimensions for a single court installation are approximately 36.6 m × 18.3 m (120 ft × 60 ft), to allow adequate run-back space for players and prevent collisions with fencing or walls.

How Does Court Size Affect Play?

The fixed dimensions of a tennis court mean every player competes on the same geometry, but surface speed changes how large the court effectively feels:

• Grass courts — fast surface, lower bounce; the court “plays smaller” because points end quickly
• Clay courts — slow surface, high bounce; players have more time to recover and the court “plays larger”
• Hard courts — medium-fast, consistent bounce; considered the most neutral surface

Quick summary: A tennis court is 23.77 m (78 ft) long, 10.97 m (36 ft) wide for doubles, and 8.23 m (27 ft) wide for singles. The net stands 0.914 m (3 ft) high at the centre. These ITF-mandated dimensions are the same at every level of the game, from local clubs to Wimbledon.