How to design and build
reinforced concrete
tennis courts
These special-purpose slabs require careful attention to site preparation,
drainage, reinforcement and finish
PREPARED BY CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY
SECTION, PORTLAND CEMENT ASSOCIA-
TION, SKOKIE, ILLINOIS
T he development of champi-
onship tennis players has, in the
opinion of experts, been due as
much as anything to the fast, uni-
f o rm - t e x t u re surface of a concrete
tennis court. The true, even surface
assures a consistently accurate
bounce of the ball, a feature essen-
tial to superior play.
Properly constructed, a rein-
forced portland cement concrete
slab will endure many years of expo-
sure to the weather with little or no
maintenance and continue to pro-
vide the paving surface necessary
for good play on either public or pri-
vate courts.
Site selection
In northern latitudes tennis
courts are traditionally oriented
with the long axis placed in a north-
south direction and the net running
in an eastwest direction. The Unit-
ed States Tennis Association (USTA)
suggests that, south of the 42nd par-
allel of latitude, the long axis of the
court be oriented 22 degrees coun-
terclockwise of north to reduce the
amount of direct sunlight in the
p l a ye r s’ eyes during prime playing
time.
Ground at the site should be rea-
sonably level and uniformly
drained. The direction of surface
drainage of the courts should be
considered. Also, an examination of
the site by a professional soil engi-
neer may be warranted to establish
its suitability for tennis courts.
Other considerations include
shelter from prevailing winds and
space for future expansion. For
championship play, courts should
be set away from trees that may cast
s h a d ow s, shed leaves or ove rh a n g
the playing area, though on courts
for ordinary recreation shade trees
provide welcome relief from the
sun.
Subgrade and subbase
Graded to the profile desired for
the court, the subgrade should be
uniform, hard and free from organic
matter. If it is necessary to cut down
trees in clearing the site, the roots
should be removed so that subse-
quent decay will not cause settle-
ment of the court. The site should
also be cleared of all sod, humus
and other rich organic matter.
There usually is little opportunity
to improve the subgrade except by
compaction and drainage. It is im-
portant that the support be made
reasonably uniform with no abrupt
changes from hard to soft. Special
care must be taken to ensure that
there is control of the major causes
of nonuniform support: expansive
soils, hard and soft spots, and back-
filling.
It is seldom necessary or econom-
ical to provide a thick subbase, the
layer of material placed between the
subgrade and the tennis court pave-
ment. The slab strength is achieved
most economically by building
strength into the concrete itself.
Since the subbase of a tennis court
serves as a leveling course for fine
grading and as a cushion for obtain-
ing uniform support by equalizing
minor surface irre g u l a ri t i e s, it is
possible to construct a satisfactory
tennis court without any subbase.
Where subbases are needed, a thin
layer—4 inches or less—is suggest-
ed.
Drainage
Artificial drainage is provided to
avoid pools of standing water, to re-
duce uneven frost heave and to af-
ford fast surface drainage of the
courts so that play can resume as
quickly as possible after a down-
pour.
If the site does not have good
drainage, concrete drain tile should
be provided in a trench at the
perimeter of the court. The trench
is placed at or near the edge of the
slab to a depth of several feet and
the bottom sloped about 1 inch in
every 10 feet to natural drainage or a
storm sewer. Concrete drain tile is
laid with open joints that are cov-
ered with roofing felt or other suit-
able materials to prevent soil or dirt
from entering after backfilling.
Coarse gravel or crushed stone,
ranging in size from 1 to 1 1/2 inch-
es, should be placed over the drain
tile to a depth of at least 12 inches.
Above that point a filter-grade sand
can be used up to the re q u i re d
g ra d e. If the courts are on the side
of a hill it may be sufficient to pro-
vide drainage or a cutoff wall on the
uphill side only. (Sloping the court
surfaces for rainwater runoff is dis-
cussed under “Layout.”)
Layout
The layout of a single court is giv-
en in Figure 1. It shows the regula-
tion playing area of 60 by 120 feet in-
side the fencing. Where space or
funds are limited, as for a pri va t e
court at a residence, a playing sur-
face 52 by 110 feet may be satisfac-
tory.
For a bank of courts a space of 10
to 12 feet is allowed between courts.
A trio of courts is illustrated in Fig-
ure 2. In this case no fence is provid-
ed between courts. If a fence is de-
sired between courts, 10 or 12 feet
should be allowed between the
fence and the side playing lines.
Outdoor courts made of non-
porous materials such as concrete
should be built to a pitch of 1 inch in
e ve ry 10 feet with the entire playing
area in the same plane. The two
halves of the court should not both
be pitched to or from the net be-
cause this would, in effect, change
the height of the net. Preferably the
entire court should be pitched from
side to side. The USTA discourages
Figure 1. Layout of a single reinforced concrete tennis court. The larger dimensions shown for the
distance to backstops and sidestops are USTA regulation court dimensions for tournament play.
construction of courts pitched end
to end because the lower court will
remain wet longer after a rain. In the
case of a pair of adjacent courts the
pitch of each court can be toward
the outer edge; this avoids a valley
or drain between the courts.
Warping of the court slabs to
achieve a pitch in a valley is not per-
mitted by the USTA. On the other
hand, the courts can be pitched at
an angle (Figure 2) and this will pro-
duce a pitch in the valley.
Sloping a court is merely a matter
of convenience to drain any rainwa-
ter. It has nothing to do with tourna-
ment rules as long as the entire
court is in a continuous plane; in-
door courts are built dead level.
Thus, in the case of a bank of three
courts there are other ways to slope
the courts than those shown in Fig-
ure 2. For example, the center court
could be dead level and the two out-
er courts could be sloped down to
the outer edges. Also, the courts
could be sloped directly to the sides
but drain inlets would be needed in
the dead-level valley to hasten
drainage there.
Types of concrete courts
Concrete tennis courts are con-
structed in various ways depending
on the available funds and the con-
tractor’s construction preferences or
capabilities. The type recommend-
ed for most installations is the con-
tinuously reinforced court. Having
reinforcing bars throughout, it is
jointfree in the playing area. If the
concrete is continuously cast over
the entire court, no joints are re-
quired; if concrete is continuously
cast over only one-half of the court,
an expansion joint should be pro-
vided in the slab under the net. If
two or more courts are constructed,
expansion joints should be provided
midway between courts. Slab rein-
forcement and joint details for this
type of court are shown in Figure 3;
a cross section and other typical
tennis court details are shown in
Figure 4.
These large slabs are strength-
ened in each direction with reinforc-
ing steel bars having an area equal to
0.5 percent of the concrete crosssec-
tion area. This amount of reinforce-
ment will hold shrinkage cracks
tightly closed and eliminate any dif-
ferential vertical movements at the
cracks. Concrete tennis courts con-
taining this percentage of reinforce-
ment will retain a smooth, playable
surface for many years.
The second type is the jointed
court shown in Figure 5. The area
within the playing lines (shaded)
constitutes about half of the total
court area. It is reinforced with bars
and has no joints while the remain-
der of the court (where the bounce
of the ball is not critical) has mesh
reinforcement and control joints.
Thus a savings in materials is effect-
ed. Some contractors find this to be
an easier and less costly way to build
a court.
When an integrally colored con-
crete topping is to be applied the
control joints are placed at the out-
side edge of the playing lines. Other-
wise, joints are preferably placed
about a foot outside of the playing
lines (because during play a ball is Figure 2. Layout and spacing for a bank of three outdoor courts.
fair if it hits a line). The slopes shown avoid the need for drain inlets between courts
Instead of using sawed or tooled (and drain tile beneath the slabs) while maintaining each entire
joints at Section B-B in Figure 5, court in a continuously pitched plane.
these control joints can be formed as
shown in Section A-A and reinforced
with steel mesh alone. If desired,
joints at A-A can be sawed or tooled
but a formed joint with a bond
breaker is preferred.
A third type of concrete court is
the prestressed court. It is buiIt with
prestressing steel strands pulled taut
to put about 100-psi compressive
stress in the concrete; this counters
the tendency toward shrinkage
cracking and provides a cra c k - f re e
concrete playing surface. A slab 122
by 205 feet for a bank of four courts
can be constructed in this manner
without any joints. Another advan-
tage of this large, unjointed slab is
that it can be sprayed and used as a
natural ice surface for winter skat-
ing; an artificial ice surface can be Figure 3. Slab reinforcement and expansion joint details for
made by installing refrigeration coils the continuously reinforced type of court. There are no joints
in the concrete. A further advantage except under the net and between courts.
Figure 4. Cross section at the net of a continuously reinforced type of court.
Other typical tennis court details are also shown.

Figure 5. Layout for jointed type court with control joints in the slab
outside of the playing lines—offering some court dimensions shown
in Figure 1.
of this type of court is that the large
paved area without joints or cracks Guide for Ordering Concrete for Outdoor Tennis Courts*
is well suited for roller skating. Maximum-size aggregate Minimum cement content Air
In the three types of concrete content
courts just described, it is assumed Pounds Kilograms per percent by
that there will be no other construc- Inches Millimetres
per cubic yard cubic metre volume
tion joints; they would have a ten-
dency to develop a slight ra ve l i n g 3
⁄8 9.5 610 362 71⁄2 ± 1
that would interfere with the uni- 1
⁄2 12.7 590 350 71⁄2 ± 1
form surface texture needed for a 3
⁄4 19.0 540 321† 6±1
tennis court. If emergency con- 1 25.4 520 309† 6±1
struction operations do require a 11⁄2 38.1 470 279† 5±1
construction joint, it should be
* The concrete should have a slump no higher than 4 inches and a com-pressive
formed with a bulkhead (as shown
strength at 28 days of 3500 psi.
in Section A-A of Figure 5) but bond
should be developed at the inter- † In areas exposed to a number of freeze-thaw cycles it is advisable to use a mini-
face. mum cement content of 560 pounds per cubic yard.

Slab thickness
bounce of the ball or the footwork of and it will sustain foot pressure with
A 5-inch-thick tennis court slab is
the players. They should be tied to- only about a 1⁄4-inch indentation.
recommended for outdoor courts in
gether with soft iron wire and sup- Edging is required at control
severe climates such as in Wyoming,
ported at middepth in the slab on joints if the jointed court shown in
Iowa, and Ohio. A 4-inch-thick slab
slab bolsters or concrete bricks as Figure 5 is chosen. The edging tool
is recommended in mild climates
shown in Figure 3. The bars should should have a 1⁄5-inch radius. The
such as in Florida and the coastal
be lapped at least 18 inches (in order slab is then floated.
areas of California and Texas. The
to transfer the stress from one bar to The final finish of the concrete is
choice of concrete thickness in oth-
the other) and the laps staggered. In very important to the play of the
er areas is a matter of judgment.
the case of mesh (welded wire fab- tennis ball. Too rough a finish will
Many factors influence the slab
ric), support accessories must be slow the ball and footwork and
thickness required. They include the
more closely spaced because the cause excessive wear on balls and
range of temperature change, mois-
wire will easily bend out of shape shoes; too slick a finish gives too lit-
ture variations in the slab, drying
under the weight of a man. tle spin and bounce and makes
and carbonation shrinkage of the
Of all the slab placing and finish- footing less sure. Uniformity of the
c o n c re t e, expansive soils, any
ing operations, screeding has the surface texture is also important. A
nonuniformity of the subgrade sup-
greatest effect on surface tolerances. proper finish can be achieved with a
port and quality of construction.
Wet screeds or pipe screeds may be swirl pattern produced with the flat
Concreting procedure
used. of a trowel moved in small circular
It is important that the correct
The practical way to consolidate movements. A light broom finish is
quality of concrete be specified and
the concrete in a 4-.or 5-inch thick equally suitable. To be certain that
used. The concrete must have dura-
tennis court slab is with a vibrating the finish will satisfy an athletic di-
bility to withstand weather ex-
strikeoff. This gives positive control rector or tennis pro, the surface can
tremes and the ingredients must be
of the screeding operation and saves be made slightly rougher than nec-
selected so that the concrete can be
a great deal of labor. This method is essary and reduced to the desired
readily placed and finished.
recommended when the slump is texture by a light grinding after cur-
The maximum size of aggregate
less than 3 inches. ing.
should not exceed one-third of the
If a color coating 1⁄16 inch or more
slab thickness. The minimum ce- Finishing thick is to be applied it will furnish
ment content and the air content re-
Finishing operations follow the its own texture and all that is re-
quired for each of several maximum
practices normally recommended quired on the concrete is a light
sizes of aggregate are given in the
for flatwork* with some special broom or steel-trowel finish.
table. In some instances a cement
modifications needed for tennis
content higher than that given may Curing
c o u rt s. Immediately following
be necessary to obtain 3500-psi
screeding the concrete is further Moist curing is done either by wet
concrete.
leveled with a darby or bullfloat. covering, sprinkling or ponding to
Reinforcing bars are used to hold
Following this there is a slight wait offset loss of moisture or by sealing
any concrete cracks tightly closed so
for stiffening of the concrete until all the concrete surface with plastic
that they do not interfere with the
bleed water is gone from the surface sheeting or waterproof paper. Use of
a curing compound is not recom-
mended on a tennis court because it
may inhibit bond between the con-
crete and the paint for the playing
lines or for applied surface color
coatings. Any method that supplies
additional water is most effective for
curing.

Details
Net posts must be firmly an-
chored as shown in Figure 4 to resist
frost heave and the tension of the
net. The center tiedown of the net
requires firm anchorage as shown in
Figure 4.
Fence posts should be set in con-
crete foundations with an expan-
sion joint material isolating them
from the concrete slab to pre ve n t
cracking from thermal changes,
drying shrinkage and frost heave.

PUBLICATION #C770317
Copyright © 1977, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved