Tennis Court Maintenance 101: How To Ace Your Maintenance Procedure

Tennis courts are subject to a lot of wear and tear over time, so making sure that you maintain them properly is essential to extending their life. Keeping your playing area in good condition ensures your players are happy and can help to reduce maintenance costs long-term.

With over 100 years of experience in the Tennis industry and as a supplier of tennis nets and equipment to famous venues across the world (like Wimbledon), we know what it takes to keep your court in tip-top condition and ace your court maintenance goals.

In this guide, we'll cover the essential parts of tennis court maintenance, from simple tasks to larger jobs like drainage and line painting.

Carry Out Any Tennis Court Repairs ASAP

Let’s start with a simple but crucial point: if you notice any repairs that need to be made to your tennis court, you need to carry them out right away.

The longer you leave damage on your tennis court surfaces, the worse it will get. This is as true for grass courts as it is for artificial ones.

Damage to tennis court turf can be easy to fix, but after a certain point, grass will need replacing instead of tending. Furrows in the turf will become deeper.

If a tennis net starts to be damaged by the weather, it may end up facing long-term issues. You must act quickly.

Ensure Your Court Has Proper Drainage in Place

One of the main risks of outdoor tennis courts is that it is always going to be open to the elements, and in the United Kingdom, that means there will be a lot of rain.

You need to think about what you can do to provide proper drainage for your court.

If water is allowed to sit on the court surfaces for an extended period of time, it will cause serious issues.

Grass courts can become waterlogged, ruining the playing surface. Even artificial grass or clay courts can be damaged by a lack of drainage, as it will increase the chance of erosion through wear and tear.

Repaint Any Worn Tennis Court Surface

Tennis courts will always come in for some damage if you are using them regularly, and the paintwork is often one of the earliest indicators that your court is overdue a bit of maintenance.

Your tennis court should be painted with a weather-proof non-slip coating. If the tennis court surface starts to become worn down, you massively increase the risk of slippage and injury, and you may need to look at full tennis court resurfacing.

This is definitely an issue that you should address as quickly as possible.

Look After Any Vegetation Around the Tennis Court

If you are not careful with the vegetation around your tennis court, you may find that it will start reaching your playing surface.

Moss, grass, and weeds are classic issues for anyone with outdoor tennis courts, and you need to take care to keep them at bay. Don’t overwater them either, as that excess can leak onto your court.

However, you must be careful to avoid using any kind of chemicals on the vegetation around your court. Things like weed killers and insecticides can have a damaging impact on your playing surface.

Prune bushes and trees and remove weeds by hand.

by ©FreezingRain (Getty Images) via Canva.com

Redraw or Repaint the Tennis Court Lines

Over the course of a tennis season, the tennis court lines will come in for a lot of punishment as players push themselves to the edge over and over again.

The weather can also cause damage to your lines, so it’s best to repaint them regularly.

If your tennis court lines have been seriously scuffed or damaged, then you may need to redraw them. Remember that you will need non-slip paint for your lines to protect the players, and it should be glare-resistant too.

If you use the wrong paint, then players will struggle to see the ball at the most crucial moments of the game.

Why Is Tennis Court Maintenance Important?

Tennis court maintenance is so important for anyone who owns their own tennis court. Outdoor tennis courts come in for a lot of damage from the weather, but they are also worn down every time someone plays a game.

Here are just a few of the most important reasons why you need to stay on top of it.

To Ensure the Safety of Play

The safety of play is always going to be right at the top of the list. If it is your court, then it is your responsibility to make sure that the court is in a safe condition for anyone who steps foot onto it.

If the court has not been properly painted or resurfaced, a player could slip and fall, causing serious injury. If it has become overgrown or waterlogged, it is so easy for someone to trip or slip.

The dangers will not always be obvious to the players, which is why you need to check for any damage and make repairs as soon as possible.

To Stop Damage

It may seem tempting to leave what looks like a minor issue on your tennis court for another day. But it is a fact of tennis court maintenance that those minor issues can become very serious and expensive if you do not take care of them quickly.

If you leave excess water on the court surface, for example, that can start to erode quickly. Weeds and other plants growing on the court will spread quickly.

If you want to stop any serious damage in its tracks, you must stay on top of your tennis court maintenance.

Why Is Tennis Court Maintenance Important?

by ©ggyykk (Getty Images) via Canva.com

To Keep the Court Looking Professional

Finally, here is one of the most important points for anyone who owns their own tennis court or maintains a court for others to use. It is absolutely vital that your court look professional.

If your court is not properly maintained, it is not just unsafe, it is not a pleasure to play on.

Playing tennis requires absolute focus, and suffering through a game on a court that is clearly not in the best condition will result in a sub-par game.

Simply put, if your outdoor tennis court does not look professional, then people are not going to want to play on it.

How Often Should a Tennis Court Be Maintained?

You should maintain your tennis court on a regular basis. Some of these jobs can be simple day-to-day activities, such as checking for any signs of wear and tear or more substantial damage. You should also check for surface water and weeds daily.

When it comes to tennis court resurfacing or deep cleaning, you can leave this a little longer.

You should look at giving your outdoor tennis court a deep clean to take care of any issues like plants about once a year, while you should think about resurfacing every four years or so.

Summary: Keeping Your Tennis Courts in Top Condition

Keeping your tennis courts in top condition is absolutely essential if you want to ensure that people enjoy playing on them, that they are safe doing so, and that you don’t have to commit to expensive, extensive repairs unexpectedly.

When you maintain your tennis court properly, you cut down on so many different risk factors for both you and the players.

A well-maintained tennis court is a pleasure to experience, and it is up to you to look out for everything from excess water to worn-down paint. Try to check the court at least once daily for any glaring issues, and remember to repair them as soon as possible.

Here at Edwards Sports, we have a ton of court maintenance and cleaning products to help you keep your sports surfaces in top condition. From tidy bins to keep your court looking clean at all times, to water removers to ensure you can keep your court dry and playable, we have you covered.

FAQs

How do you maintain a tennis court?

Cleaning your court is the key to maintaining it. Tennis court cleaning involves removing any debris and getting rid of any excess rainwater. Making sure that the court lines are freshly painted is also important. You could even hire tennis court maintenance services

How often should you wash tennis courts?

We'd recommend washing outdoor tennis courts once a year to remove debris blown in by the weather or scuffed up by the players. Rain and wind can cause a lot of surface damage that must be cleaned off.

How do you clean an old tennis court?

Generally, you should try and be as gentle as possible to avoid causing any more damage to the playing surface. Use a soft brush for soft surfaces, and ensure you rinse any cleaning fluid thoroughly. Try to avoid using weed killers as they can harm the court.

How do you clean algae off a tennis court?

Algae is a common issue for outdoor tennis courts, and it needs to be taken care of as quickly as possible. You can think about removing it with a brush or pressure-washing the court, but this should be done very carefully to avoid causing any more damage.

You can use chemicals to get rid of algae, but you must do your research. You don’t want to do more harm than good.