Dedicated, lined, and shared pickleball courts explained
What dedicated, lined, and shared court listings mean, how pickleball lines look on a tennis court, and etiquette when you share space with tennis players.
By Local Pickleball Courts editors · Published
Listings in our directory can describe a facility's courts as dedicated, lined, or shared. The label tells you a lot about what you will find when you arrive: whether there will be a net, whether you will be sharing with tennis players, and how busy the courts are likely to be. This guide explains each term, shows how common each is in our data, and covers the etiquette of playing on a shared tennis court.
How common each setup is
1,815 of 2,915 facilities (62%) have a court configuration on record. Among those, dedicated courts are the most common, at 55%, followed by lined (26%) and shared (19%). The large unrecorded group matters: when a listing says nothing about configuration, do not assume either way.
| Configuration | Facilities | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated | 1,003 | Courts set up for pickleball only, usually with permanent nets |
| Lined | 468 | Pickleball lines added to a court built for another sport |
| Shared | 344 | Courts used by pickleball and another sport, by schedule or by turns |
| Not recorded | 1,100 | The listing does not say how the courts are set up |
The labels come from the listings themselves and were applied by many different contributors over the years, so the lines between them are not perfectly sharp. A tennis court with pickleball lines might be recorded as lined by one person and shared by another. Use the label as a strong hint and confirm the details that matter to you.
Dedicated courts
A dedicated court is set up for pickleball and nothing else. It has pickleball lines only, a net at pickleball height, and usually fencing or windscreens sized for the game. Dedicated courts are typically built in groups of four or more, which makes them the natural home of open play and rotation systems.
The trade-off is popularity. Dedicated courts tend to draw the largest crowds, and at peak times you may wait for a court through a paddle rack. Our open play etiquette guide explains how those queues usually work.
Lined courts
A lined court has pickleball lines painted or taped onto a court built for something else, most often tennis outdoors or basketball and volleyball indoors. On an outdoor tennis court, you will usually see one of two layouts:
- One pickleball court per tennis court, centered on the tennis court and running the same direction, so the tennis net doubles as the pickleball net.
- Two or more pickleball courts per tennis court, each with its own portable net. The exact layout depends on the size of the fenced area, so look for the colored lines before you set up.
Pickleball lines on a multi-use court are normally a different color from the tennis lines so players can tell them apart. USA Pickleball's rulebook calls for 2-inch lines in a single color that contrasts with the surface, which on a shared court in practice means a color the tennis lines do not use. Before the first serve, agree with your opponents on which lines are in play, especially the baselines and the kitchen line, which can be confused with tennis service lines.
Nets are the other thing to check. A tennis net is a few inches taller than a pickleball net, and higher at the posts than in the middle. If the court relies on portable nets, find out whether the facility provides them (sometimes in a locked box, sometimes at a front desk) or whether players bring their own. Set the center height to 34 inches if you can; our dimensions guide covers the official measurements.
Shared courts
A shared court is used by pickleball and another sport, usually tennis. Some facilities split the week by schedule, with pickleball mornings and tennis evenings. Others let whoever arrives first decide, and some give one sport priority. Rules are usually posted at the gate or on the facility's website, and they are worth reading because shared courts are where most conflicts between the two sports happen.
Etiquette when sharing with tennis
- Follow the posted schedule. If the court is reserved for tennis at a given time, finish your game and leave on time, even if the tennis players are late.
- Do not adjust the tennis net without permission. If the facility allows lowering it for pickleball, return it to tennis height when you are done.
- Put portable nets away. Leaving them up blocks the tennis court and is a common reason facilities stop allowing them.
- Mind the noise and the stray balls. Pickleball is louder and faster-paced than many tennis players expect. Wait for a break in play on the next court before retrieving a ball.
- Share the space fairly. One tennis court can hold several pickleball games. If players are waiting, offering to fit more games onto the same court is often welcome.
Choosing the right court for you
If you want a guaranteed net and a crowd to play with, look for dedicated courts. If you are happy to bring a portable net and play with a regular group, lined tennis courts are often quieter and closer to home. Indoor lined courts on gym floors are the main option in winter; see our indoor pickleball guide. To browse by location, start from the state and province list, or use the outdoor courts and indoor courts pages. If a listing's configuration is wrong, use Suggest an update on the facility page so we can review it.