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How to find tennis and pickleball courts near you

Tennis & pickleball · 6 min read · Updated August 2026

Most towns have more places to play than people realise, and the good ones are rarely the ones with a website. Here is how to find them, and what to expect when you turn up.

The four kinds of court

They are not interchangeable, and knowing which is which saves a wasted trip.

Is it free?

Most public park courts are. Anything attached to a club, a leisure centre or a booking system usually is not, and the fee is normally per hour per court rather than per person.

A court being free does not mean it is unlocked. Gates, nets and floodlights are the three things a park will take away out of season, and none of that turns up on a map.

When is it actually open?

Court hours are the least reliable information about any court, ours included. Very few are published anywhere, and park curfews vary from one park to the next inside the same town, so a city-wide rule is usually a guess dressed up as a fact.

Two things that are worth knowing: floodlights often run on a timer that is earlier than the park's closing time, and school courts follow the school day, not the council's opening hours.

Reading the surface

• Hard (acrylic over asphalt or concrete): the default nearly everywhere. Fast, consistent, hard on the knees.
• Clay: slower, higher bounce, much kinder to the body. Needs maintenance, so it is mostly a club surface.
• Grass: rare, seasonal, and lovely. Low bounce and quick.
• Indoor or carpet: the answer to winter and rain, usually paid.
• Pickleball is played on a hard court almost universally, often lines painted onto a tennis court. Shared lines are normal and worth expecting.

When the court is busy

Public courts run on convention rather than rules, and the conventions are close to universal.

• Waiting players get the next court. Put your racquet or paddle bag at the gate to show you are in the queue.
• Where courts are busy, the usual limit is 45 minutes to an hour for singles and a full set for doubles.
• Wait for a point to finish before walking behind a court, and never cut across during a rally.
• If a ball rolls onto your court, hold the point, return it, and expect the same back.
• In pickleball, paddle racks are the queue. Put your paddle at the back and take the next open court in order.

Finding them here

The court directory on this site is free to browse without an account, and covers thousands of parks, schools and clubs with surface, lights, access and cost on each listing. Search by town, or let it order courts by how near they are to you.

The details come from open map data plus corrections from players who have actually been there, so anything you find wrong you can correct, and anything missing you can add.

Common questions

Are public tennis courts free?

Usually yes, in a public park. Club courts, leisure centres and anything with a booking system normally charge, generally per hour for the court rather than per player.

Can I play on school tennis courts?

Often, outside school hours, but it depends entirely on the school and the district. The hours are rarely posted, so treat them as the school's courts first and yours second.

How do I find courts with lights?

Filter for lights in the directory. Bear in mind floodlights frequently switch off earlier than the park closes, and many are seasonal.

Can I play pickleball on a tennis court?

Yes, and most people do. A tennis court fits one pickleball court comfortably, and many councils now paint pickleball lines onto existing tennis courts.

A court is missing or wrong. Can I fix it?

Yes. Any player with an account can add a court or suggest a correction, and other players vote on it.

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