Considerations when measuring tennis court dimensions

Tennis courts vary in size, depending on whether it is hosting a singles match, a doubles match or a children's match. Doubles tennis courts are slightly bigger than singles courts, in order to accommodate the two extra players. The tennis net also has to be of a regulation height and width in order to accommodate both singles and doubles tennis. Junior courts, in general, tend to be much smaller than standard sized courts.

Standard tennis court

Rules and regulations of the tennis court
The official rules of tennis state are that the dimensions of a singles tennis court must be 78 feet (23.77 meters) in length, and 27 feet (8.23 meters) wide. Official regulations state that the tennis court measurements of a doubles court must also be 78 feet (23.77 meters) in length, but must be 36 feet (10.97 meters) wide. Tennis net The court must be divided by a tennis net, that stands at 3 1/2 feet tall, roughly the length of 1 1/2 tennis raquets, and cover the entire width of the tennis court in question. The maximum diameter of the net cord must be 0.8cm, and the maximum width of the net strap must be 5cm.
Space available There is no regulation as to how much space should be left around the court, but for safety reasons, it is recommended that around 21 feet of space is left between the base line and the fence, with twelve feet of room left either side of the sidelines.
The height of the fence
There is also no regulation, as to how high any fence must be, but it is recommended that any fence be at least 12 feet high.

The lines

End lines The end lines of a tennis court are known as the base lines, whilst the lines that run along the side of a court are called the sidelines. Service line
Another line, known as the service line, must be drawn 21.6 feet (6.4 meters) in from the sidelines and parallel with the net. On each side of the net, this line must be divided into two equal parts by the centre service line.
Baseline Each baseline is divided in two by a centre mark, measuring 10cm in length and 5cm in width, and is drawn inside of the court and parallel to the sidelines. Size of the court All courts must be of this regulatory size, irrespective of the tennis court surfaces. These regulations apply to all courts, whether they are courts used on the ATP world tour or basic public tennis courts.