Turn one tennis court into up to three padel courts.
A tennis slab is often the best foundation a padel project can start from. Here is how many courts fit, what you keep, what changes and what the conversion costs.
How many padel courts fit on a tennis court?
A standard tennis footprint of 120 × 60 ft (36.57 × 18.29 m) takes one padel court as it is. Widened by about 2.7 m (9 ft), it takes three courts laid across it. Two adjacent tennis courts take four padel courts in a windmill layout, without widening.
- 1
- Padel court on one tennis footprint, unchanged
- FIP court size, our layout
- 3
- Padel courts once that slab is widened by about 2.7 m
- FIP court size, our layout
- 4
- Padel courts on two adjacent tennis courts, windmill layout
- FIP court size, our layout
- $25k–50k
- Foundations per court on a new build, mostly saved on a sound slab
- Padel Backers cost breakdown, 2026
What you keep, and what changes
| Part of the court | On conversion | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Slab | Often kept | If it is level, sound and drains, it carries the courts. An engineer checks thickness and condition first. |
| Surface | Replaced | Acrylic hard court gives way to sand-filled artificial turf laid over the slab. |
| Fencing | Removed | Each padel court brings its own enclosure: glass back walls with mesh above, about 4 m high. |
| Lighting | Usually replaced | Tennis poles rarely line up with padel courts. Club-grade padel lighting is about 300 lux per court. |
| Drainage | Kept if it works | Turf has to drain evenly, so falls and outlets are checked on the survey. |
| Access and paths | Kept | Door positions are planned around the paths players already use. |
Why one tennis court only takes one padel court as it is
A padel court is 20 m long. A tennis footprint is 18.29 m wide. Laid along the tennis court, one padel court fits with room to spare, but a second one does not. Laid across it, a padel court is longer than the slab is wide.
Widen the slab to about 21 m and the picture changes: three courts fit side by side across the 36.57 m length, each with its access strip. That is what clubs do when they turn one tennis court into three padel courts. The UK's Lawn Tennis Association is doing exactly that at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.
Two tennis courts: the windmill layout
Two tennis courts side by side make a slab of roughly 36.6 × 36.6 m. Four padel courts in a straight grid do not fit, because two rows of 20 m courts need 40 m. Turned around a central square, the windmill layout, four courts fit inside a 30 × 30 m square, with no widening at all.
Many clubs convert one tennis court and keep the other. Padel and tennis members overlap, and the quote can cover any of these layouts.
What the conversion costs
The court system, meaning frame, glass, mesh, turf and net, costs $30,000 to $50,000, plus $5,000 to $15,000 to install. Lighting adds $8,000 to $18,000 per court. Those lines do not change much from one site to the next.
What a tennis slab saves is foundations and site preparation, $25,000 to $50,000 per court on a new build. On a sound slab, that line shrinks to repairs, any widening and anchoring. Widening for three courts is new slab, so it is quoted on its own line.
With Padel Backers, the court itself is leased with maintenance included, from $750 a month per court. Site works are quoted separately and paid at the start, so you can compare them line by line.
From tennis to padel, step by step
- 1Before the quote
Site survey
Slab thickness and condition, drainage falls, power supply, wind exposure and access.
- 2With the quote
Layout and price
One, three or four courts, with site works on their own lines and the monthly lease for the courts.
- 3Before work starts
Engineering and permit
Anchoring and wind loads signed off, permit filed where your jurisdiction requires one.
- 4On site
Installation
Old surface and fencing removed, any widening poured, then enclosure, turf, net and lighting.
Common questions
Not the question you had?
Tell us how many courts and where. You get a quote back, not a brochure.
01Can you convert a tennis court to a padel court?
Yes, and it is one of the most common ways padel arrives at a club. If the slab is level, sound and drains, it can carry the courts. An engineer checks anchoring and wind loads first, because a glass enclosure catches more wind than a tennis fence.
02How much does it cost to convert a tennis court to padel?
Budget the court system at $30,000 to $50,000, installation at $5,000 to $15,000 and lighting at $8,000 to $18,000 per court. A sound slab avoids most of the $25,000 to $50,000 foundation line of a new build. Leasing the court instead starts from $750 a month, maintenance included.
03Can we keep playing tennis?
Yes. Many clubs convert one court and keep the others for tennis. On two adjacent courts, you can also convert both to four padel courts in a windmill layout.
04Do I need a permit to convert a tennis court to padel?
Often. The enclosure is a structure and the lighting affects neighbors, so many jurisdictions ask for a permit. Permit and engineering costs typically run $2,000 to $12,000 and vary more by town than by project.
05Is padel noisier than tennis?
Usually, because the ball hits glass. Courts close to houses are planned with that in mind: orientation, distance and opening hours are part of the site study.
Other conversions
- Pickleball court to padelFour pickleball courts on a tennis footprint become one padel court as is, three if widened.
- Warehouse to indoor padelClear height first, then the column grid. Check how many courts your building takes.
- Backyard padel courtA doubles court needs about 69 × 36 ft. A singles court fits narrower lots.
- Padel court dimensionsCourt, net, walls and ceiling height in meters and feet, with a calculator for your space.
Sources
Figures are checked against the sources below on the review date. Your site survey replaces every estimate on this page.
We build your padel court. You pay for it monthly.
Tell us how many courts and where. You get a full quote, with court rent and groundwork shown separately, usually within one business day.