What decides how many fixtures a tennis court needs?
None of the makers here publishes a fixture count for a tennis court, so the count comes from a lighting layout drawn for the court. These are its inputs.
- The court and the space around it. One court at the International Tennis Federation's minimum clearances measures 60 by 120 feet for international play, or 56 by 114 feet for club play.
- The light level and evenness the court is designed to. In the US those targets sit in the Illuminating Engineering Society's RP-6 and the American Sports Builders Association's tennis court manual.
- Each fixture's output and beam, which here run from 12,712 lumens on the smallest Shinetoo to 104,000 on the largest.
- Pole height and position.
- Glare limits at the property line.
Dominator's guidance covers basketball and pickleball only, two or three of its fixtures for a full basketball court or a pickleball layout, and it gives no figure for tennis. Request a quote from a Shinetoo or Dominator page with your court size, fence height and any poles already standing, or call (480) 264-6889.
What each option is, from the makers' published figures.
| Option | How it mounts | Fixtures | Output per fixture | Light height | Color temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas in-line system | 3 in square steel light pole collared into the top of a Douglas 3.5 in square steel adjustable net system pole | Two 100 W LED | 13,500 delivered lumens | About 17 ft | 5000K |
| Douglas stand-alone system | Its own two-piece steel pole, 3.5 in square base and 3 in square top, buried direct or set in a 42 in sleeve | Two 100 W LED | 13,500 delivered lumens | About 17 ft | 5000K |
| Dominator 16 ft court light assembly | 4 in square aluminum pole on a bolt plate | One to three 150 W wired, or one or two 100 W solar | 150 W fixture up to 130 lumens per watt, so up to 19,500 lumens | 16 ft pole | Not published |
| Dominator 150 W fixture | Slip mount on a 2 to 2.6 in round pole | One | Up to 130 lumens per watt, so up to 19,500 lumens | Set by the pole | Not published |
| Shinetoo G1-S1 | Pole mounted floodlight | Set by the layout | 100 W 12,712, 150 W 19,142, 200 W 25,422 lumens | Set by the layout | 2700K to 7000K |
| Shinetoo G1-S2 | Pole mounted floodlight | Set by the layout | 300 W 37,493, 400 W 48,206 lumens | Set by the layout | 2700K to 7000K in Shinetoo's table |
| Shinetoo G1-S3 | Pole mounted floodlight | Set by the layout | 500 W 63,249, 600 W 72,094, 800 W 104,000 lumens | Set by the layout | 2700K to 7000K |
Shinetoo lumens are measured at 5000K.
Light systems or pole fixtures?
The two Douglas systems belong to Douglas's Unicourt range for backyard multi-sport courts, with two 100 watt floodlights each about 17 feet up. The in-line system mounts on top of the Douglas 3.5 inch square steel adjustable net system pole. It does not fit a tennis net post, which is 2-7/8 or 3 inches. The stand-alone system brings its own pole. The steel net systems and the rest of the range are in Douglas Unicourt.
A tennis court lit to a design target takes floodlights on poles placed by the layout. Shinetoo's G1 floodlights run from 100 to 800 watts per fixture, and Dominator's 16 foot pole takes up to three 150 watt wired fixtures or two 100 watt solar ones.
How long do tennis court lights take to turn on?
LED comes on at full output at once and restarts at once, according to the US Department of Energy. Metal halide takes minutes, by a Philips lamp data sheet.
| Lamp | To full or near full output | Restart while hot |
|---|---|---|
| LED | Instant | Instant |
| Pulse start metal halide | 3 minutes to 90 percent | 2 to 4 minutes |
| Standard switch start metal halide | 4 minutes | 15 minutes |
That changes how a court is run at night. LED can switch off between sessions, by hand, on a timer or on a motion sensor, with no wait to come back on, while a hot metal halide lamp stays dark for minutes after it is switched off or loses power.
Glare and neighbors
Shinetoo's G1 floodlights use full cut-off optics, which send no light above the horizontal. The S1 and S3 use an indirect asymmetric beam and the S2 an asymmetric beam, which aims more of the light to one side so a pole at the court edge lights the court rather than the ground behind it. Shinetoo's tables list color temperatures from 2700K to 7000K, and the Douglas systems are 5000K. Check your city or county rules on light that crosses the property line before poles go in, and give them to whoever draws the layout.
What drives the cost of lighting a tennis court?
- The number of fixtures and their wattage, which the layout sets.
- Poles, their height and their footings or sleeves.
- The power run from the panel to each pole.
- Permits and any local lighting review.
- How the lights are switched and controlled.
Add a Douglas system or the Dominator fixture to the cart, request a quote from a Shinetoo light or the Dominator pole assembly, or call (480) 264-6889, Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM Arizona time. Stadium fixtures and the rest of the LED sports lights are in LED sports lighting, and the full Shinetoo range in Shinetoo LED sports lights.