Tennis-to-pickleball court conversion

One tennis court converts into four dedicated pickleball courts, and published Midwest ranges put the conversion at $5,000–$15,000 per tennis court for layout, surfacing, striping, nets and fence changes. The catch is the slab underneath. If the old court is heaving, cracked through, or holding water, a conversion puts a new coating on a failing surface — and in St. Louis winters it will show within a season or two. We look at the slab first and tell you which kind of project you actually have.

Site visit before any price · Free, written, itemized quotes · Your city's court rules checked first · Acrylic or modular tile, built by a crew with more than a decade of courts behind it

How four courts fit on one tennis court

A tennis court enclosure is commonly about 60 × 120 feet. A pickleball court needs a 30 × 60-foot surface at USA Pickleball's recommended minimum. Two pairs of courts, laid end to end, fill that rectangle exactly:

 ┌──────────────── 120 ft ────────────────┐
 │  Court 1 (30×60)   │   Court 2 (30×60)   │  60 ft
 │────────────────────┼─────────────────────│
 │  Court 3 (30×60)   │   Court 4 (30×60)   │
 └─────────────────────────────────────────┘
   Each court's long axis runs the same way as the old tennis court

Two consequences follow. First, every converted court sits at the minimum size, not the preferred 34 × 64, so there's less run-off than on a new build. Second, the baselines of the two courts in each pair meet in the middle of the old tennis court, so divider netting across the middle matters. Because the courts keep the tennis court's orientation, a north–south tennis court gives you north–south pickleball courts.

A smaller enclosure — some subdivision courts are shorter than 120 feet — may hold only two or three pickleball courts. We measure before we promise four.

Blended lines or dedicated courts?

Blended lines paint pickleball courts over the tennis lines in a contrasting color and keep the tennis net. Tennis players can still play; pickleball players set up portable nets. It's the cheapest option and the right one where tennis is still played regularly.

The downsides: two sets of lines on one surface confuse both groups, portable nets get dragged and left out, and you can only fit two pickleball courts per tennis court before blended lines become unreadable.

Dedicated conversion removes the tennis net posts, patches the post holes, recoats the whole surface, paints four pickleball courts, sets permanent net posts in new footings and adds divider netting or low fencing between courts. Tennis is gone; pickleball gets four proper courts. It's the usual choice once pickleball is the main use of the court.

Is your old tennis court worth converting?

Here's how we triage an old slab on the site visit:

St. Louis clay and dozens of freeze-thaw days a year (about 66 by our arithmetic from NOAA's 1991–2020 normals) are why so many neighborhood tennis courts look rough by their second decade. Crack fillers work on narrow, stable cracks. On cracks that move with the seasons they reopen, often within the first winter.

When the slab is past saving, the real choice is rebuilding the court — often as post-tension concrete — or overlaying it. That's a bigger project, but you'll stop paying to recoat a slab that keeps cracking. See post-tension vs asphalt vs concrete.

What a dedicated conversion includes

• Pressure clean and inspect the surface.
• Flood test: wet the court and mark where water stands, then patch and level the low spots.
• Crack repair suited to the crack type.
• Remove tennis net posts and fill the sleeves.
• Acrylic resurfacer, then color coats, applied at 50°F and rising per manufacturer instructions.
• Lines for four courts, with kitchens.
• New permanent net posts in footings set below the 30-inch frost line.
• Divider netting or low side fencing between courts; gate changes in the perimeter fence.

Lighting changes, windscreens and new perimeter fence are separate lines. Tennis-court lights were aimed for tennis and usually need re-aiming or replacing for four courts.

What conversion costs

Published Midwest ranges put a tennis-to-pickleball conversion at $5,000–$15,000 per tennis court, covering layout, surfacing, striping, nets and fence modifications. National cost guides range from $5,000–$20,000 (HomeGuide, 2026). Those figures assume a sound slab. Crack repair beyond routine, leveling, new lighting and fence replacement add to them. These are published ranges, not our prices — our written quote is built from the site visit. See the cost guide for the full table.

Who converts courts around St. Louis

Conversions are happening at public parks as well as private courts: Belleville, Illinois, has reported converting the Bellevue Park tennis courts to four pickleball courts and planning the same at Pleasant Hill Park. Subdivisions with older amenity tennis courts are the obvious private candidates. If you're on an HOA board, start with the HOA planning guide and our community courts page.

Our court crew is a family-owned court builder that has built courts across Missouri and Illinois for more than a decade, and hundreds of them: backyard and community pickleball, basketball and multi-sport courts, outdoors and indoors. The crew is an authorized installer for a modular court-tile system and backs the courts it builds with lifetime support.

Not ready to talk yet? Read the complete St. Louis court construction guide first — it covers slabs, surfaces, drainage and permits.

Frequently asked questions

Can we keep tennis and add pickleball? Yes, with blended lines and portable pickleball nets. It works for light use. Once pickleball is the main draw, dedicated courts play far better.

Do we need a permit to convert? Resurfacing and restriping generally don't need one. New fencing, new net-post footings, lighting and changes to impervious area may. Check with your city or ask us at the site visit; our permits guide lists the rules we've found.

How long does a conversion take? Usually several working days on site, plus dry days above 50°F for coatings. Crack repair materials sometimes need extra cure time.

Will the cracks come back? On a stable slab, narrow cracks repaired properly hold for years. Cracks that move with the seasons come back. That's what the triage is for.

Get a quote

Send us photos of your court — especially the cracks — and its location. We'll inspect the slab and give you a written quote for the right project. Get a quote.