LED Tennis Court Sports Lighting Layout & Design Guide

Lighting on a tennis court affects both the playability of the court and the viewing experience for the spectator. For these reasons, your LED tennis court lighting layout is a very important consideration.

Tennis Court Lighting Design Factors

The factors that influence the lighting of a tennis court are whether it’s an indoor or outdoor court, the size of the court and the level of the competitions. Standard tennis courts are 23.77m (approx 78ft) and depending on whether they’re singles or doubles the width is either 8.23m(27ft) and 10.97m(approx 36ft) respectively.

The more professional the level of play is, the higher the requirements are for the lighting on the court.  The most common levels of play are: recreational or training level, high school and private club level, and the college or professional level.

The lighting and court size are two factors that heavily affect the game of tennis.

Important requirements that vary across the different levels of play are for example:

  • Brightness level, number of poles, light pole height – Generally the higher the level of play the more important the lighting is for the spectators. The requirements for larger stadiums that host televised events have different standards than recreational courts.
  • Uniformity – Recommended uniformity is between .6 and .7 as a standard
  • Glare – To protect the players an anti-glare protection on the LEDs are important to take into account.
  • Light temperature & Color rendering index (CRI) – The standard recommended is a cool white light of between 5000 to 6000K.

Tennis Court Lighting Standards By Level of Play

Recreational/training level

Standard single courts at the most casual level usually have 4 poles at 20-26 feet high.  The brightness ranges from 30 fc / 300 lux – 50 fc / 500 lux.

High school/private club level

At this level there are generally 6 poles on a single court between 26 – 40 feet high. The brightness ranges between 50 fc / 500 lux – 75 fc / 750 lux

College/professional level

For the highest level of play there are 8 poles on a single court between 50 and 66 feet high. The brightness ranges between 75 fc / 750 lux – 125 fc / 1250 lux.

Lighting Arrangements: Indoor vs Outdoor

Outdoor arrangements of the fixtures are classed as either four corner, two sided or a blend of both.

  • Four corner: Poles are positioned at each corner of the court
  • Two Sided: Poles are on both sides of the court
  • Blend: The combination of poles on each corner and on both sides Indoor arrangements are either, top, two sided or a blend.
  • Top: The lamps are arranged above the court at even intervals, positioned perpendicularly to the court’s plane.
  • Two sided: Both sides are evenly lit, but not positioned perpendicularly like with the top arrangement
  • Blend: A mixture of both top and two sided lamps.

Tennis Court Repair South Carolina & Georgia

Looking for a tennis court repair contractor in South Carolina or Georgia? Talbot Tennis is here to help. As one of the leading tennis court repair companies in the South, we take care of tennis courts ranging from private recreational courts to courts that host large tennis tournaments.

More information: Tennis Court Dimensions & Size in Feet – How Big Is It?

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