A tennis court is a place of intense action. It’s imperative that the players are able to see where they’re going, so it would be negligent not to have enough lighting for such occasions. This article is a guide to tennis court lighting explains its types and other aspects.

What is tennis court lighting?

Tennis court lighting is a process that involves the installation of fixtures to light up tennis courts during nighttime matches. Nowadays, the accepted practice is to use mercury-vapor lamps or metal halide lamps to illuminate tennis courts for more than 6 hours.

What are Some Advantages of Installing Tennis Court Lighting?

1. It is possible that, although you don’t play tennis on a regular basis, you still have invested in equipment and facilities. Tennis court lighting is necessary if you want to continue using your tennis court even when the weather conditions are too bad for outdoor sports. Many people use this simply as an excuse to get out of studying at night.
2. The benefits of having a well-lit tennis court at night are numerous. For instance, it can improve your overall playing ability because you don’t have to worry about injuring yourself or tripping over objects in the dark. It also improves safety during nighttime matches so that nobody is injured on slippery surfaces while reducing the risk of falling off courts.
3. If you want to have fun with your friends at night and enjoy a game of tennis, then it may be worth investing in some tennis court lighting. The sport becomes more enjoyable when you can play as late as midnight, with bright flashlights or portable floodlights around the perimeter of the courts.
4. Tennis court lighting is also a great idea if you want to generate revenue for your facility. It gives people the chance to play in the evening or at night, which makes it possible for them to enjoy the experience of playing tennis indoors even though they may not be avid players.

What are the types of tennis lightings?

1. Conventional Tennis Courts Lights:

These types of tennis court lights use traditional methods to produce light for the game. They come in different sizes but only cast light directly above them. These lights are not portable and cannot be carried from place to place; they need to be fixed on the ceiling or walls. However, these fixtures are usually very effective and efficient at producing light.

• Portable Tennis Court Lights:

These tennis court lights are not attached to the ceilings or walls; they can be moved from place to place, depending on how you want them set up. They are also brighter than conventional fixtures because more bulbs are used in their construction, but LED-based tennis lights are even better.

• Stadium Tennis Court Lights:

These are large, high-powered lights that produce the brightest light of all choices in the market. It is designed to provide complete illumination of a stadium, or a school field, or an entire court when you want your players to see as clearly as possible at night. Unfortunately, these fixtures are too big and powerful to be moved around, so they have to permanently be fixed on the ceiling or walls.

• Skylights:

Skylights can only create ambient light; you cannot use them for serious playing at night time because their light is too soft and will not illuminate the court properly. However, it can be used as a backup source of light during power outages; these fixtures are easy to install and pose no maintenance problems.

• Light Emitting Diodes:

These LED court lightings are very versatile since they come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. It can be used for sports, especially during nighttime matches. In addition, they are very powerful due to the fact that they use LED flashlights; you can even place them on your tennis racquet if you have one!

• Mercury Vapor Lamps:

These types of fixtures produce a yellowish light that may not be as bright as other types of lights. However, they are cheap and very easy to install on the walls or ceilings. They take time to warm up, but once switched on; they will never fail you. Mosttennis court builders suggest these lamps.

• High-Pressure Sodium Lamps:

These tennis lights have a reddish light which produces an orange color for your tennis court. They are very bright during nighttime and can be used to illuminate sports fields, tennis courts, etc. However, they do create a lot of heat, so you need to plan ahead how you want to install them on the ceilings or walls.

Specific requirements for tennis lighting in courts.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has established specific requirements that must be met in order for any court to host a sanctioned match. These requirements can be summarized as:

• The court must have a minimum distance of 75 meters from the baseline to the fence.

• The tennis court light fixture on both sides of the court should be in such a way that no one player has an advantage over another. In other words, it is necessary to provide an even and equal amount of light on each side of the court.

• The court must have a minimum of 50 lux intensity at 1.5 meters above the centerline. This is measured 10 centimeters from the floor on both sides of the net simultaneously. The level of light should also be uniform for all areas measuring 90 square meters (9.8 meters x 8.2 meters).

• Suppose the lighting cannot achieve the minimum amount of 50 lux at 1.5 meters. In that case, lights must be placed on top of poles with a maximum height of 2.1 meters above the center line and should consist of fluorescent lamps operating at 400W or more at 25V with a light distribution not exceeding 30°.

• As it is often difficult to meet these requirements in existing tennis facilities, it may be necessary to add some type of lighting enhancement. This is particularly true for international matches as the ITF generally requires that all courts used in sanctioned play meet its minimum requirements.

Keep these above requirements for tennis lighting in mind while deciding on the various aspects of the court size. Check this page out to learn more about how does the court size affect a tennis court. Hope this read could guide you on tennis lightings in courts!