Line paint calculator

Every pickleball court carries the same set of lines: two sidelines, two baselines, two non-volley-zone lines and two centerlines. Added up, that is 198 linear feet of 2-inch line per court, the figure USA Pickleball's line-marking guide gives as the minimum tape for one court. Line paint is sold by the gallon but rated by how many feet of 2-inch line a gallon covers, so the estimate below is a short division. Enter your numbers; the formula and where each default comes from are shown underneath.

Coverage on the data sheets checked for this page runs from 481 to 600 feet of 2-inch line per gallon; 500 ft is the default. Use the figure printed on the data sheet of the product you actually buy.

How much line is on one court

The court is a 20 × 44 ft rectangle (Rule 3.A.1). The non-volley zone is 7 ft deep on each side of the net (3.A.4.c), and the centerline runs from the non-volley-zone line to the baseline (3.A.4.d), so each centerline is 22 − 7 = 15 ft long. There is no line under the net. All lines should be 2 inches wide and the same color (3.A.4.e).

The 198 ft is a simple sum that counts the overlap at every corner and T-junction. Because court measurements are taken to the outside edge of the perimeter and non-volley-zone lines (3.A.2), the strips actually painted are slightly shorter: about 196.3 ft once each overlap is counted once. The difference is under 1%, so this calculator uses 198 ft, as USA Pickleball's guide does.

1. Sidelines: 2 × 44 ft = 88 ft.
2. Baselines: 2 × 20 ft = 40 ft.
3. Non-volley-zone lines, 7 ft from the net: 2 × 20 ft = 40 ft. These lines belong to the kitchen (yellow).
4. Centerlines, kitchen line to baseline: 2 × 15 ft = 30 ft.
5. Net: no painted line. Total for the court: 198 ft of 2-in line.

The formula

For N courts, line width w inches, k coats and a coverage of C feet of 2-inch line per gallon:

line length L = 198 × N ft
paint (gal) = L × (w ÷ 2) ÷ C × k × (1 + extra%)
primer (gal) = L × (w ÷ 2) ÷ Cprimer × (1 + extra%)
tape (ft) = L × 2 for a stencil, or L × 1 for taped lines

The (w ÷ 2) term rescales a 2-inch coverage rating to a narrower line. It assumes paint is spread at the same thickness, so a 1.5-in line uses three-quarters of the paint per foot; that is this page's assumption, not a manufacturer figure.

Where each input comes from

The 481-ft figure is the line footage the data sheets assign to one doubles tennis court, so a pickleball court has about 41% as much line as a tennis court.

Worked examples

One new court

198 ft of 2-in line at 500 ft per gallon is 198 ÷ 500 = 0.40 gallon per coat, so a single coat comes in under half a gallon. One coat of clear primer at the same rating is another 0.40 gallon. A paint stencil needs about 396 ft of tape, in line with the "about 400 feet" in USA Pickleball's guide.

Four courts on a tennis court

Four courts mean 4 × 198 = 792 ft of line. At 500 ft per gallon that is 1.58 gallons per coat, or 3.17 gallons for two coats. At the high end of the published range (600 ft per gallon) one coat drops to 1.32 gallons. The four-court layout is tight: the American Sports Builders Association notes only about 5 ft between pickleball sidelines and 8 ft between baselines. To check whether your slab fits more or fewer courts, use the court space calculator.

Painting the lines, step by step

1. Lay out the court to the outside edges of the lines (3.A.2). USA Pickleball's guide checks squareness with a diagonal of 48.33 ft between opposite corners of the 20 × 44 ft rectangle.
2. Mark the inner lines: on each sideline, the guide marks 15, 22 and 29 ft from one end; 22 ft is the net and 15 and 29 ft are the non-volley-zone lines. Centerlines sit 10 ft in from each sideline.
3. Tape both edges of every line, leaving a 2-in gap. Press the tape down along its whole length.
4. Seal the tape edges with a clear line primer, which fills tiny gaps between tape and surface so the paint does not bleed under it. Let it dry before painting.
5. Roll or brush on the line paint. A textured line paint gives the line a surface texture similar to the court's. Follow the data sheet on thinning; one of the sheets checked says "do not dilute."
6. Pull the tape once the paint has dried, and keep players off until the data sheet's cure time has passed. Figures seen while researching this page range from 24 hours to 48 hours before play, with surface and air temperatures above 50 °F during application.

1. Court surface, clean and dry.
2. Masking tape on both edges of the line: about 400 ft per court.
3. Clear line primer, sealing the tape edges.
4. Line paint, rolled or brushed into the gap.
5. Finished line, 2 in wide (Rule 3.A.4.e).

Line color and shared tennis courts

• The rulebook asks for lines that are all the same color and "clearly contrasting" with the playing surface (3.A.4.e). According to an Asphalt Pro striping article, USA Pickleball recommends white lines on dedicated courts.
• Where pickleball lines go on a tennis court, the ASBA technical article recommends a different color from the tennis lines, professionally painted lines rather than chalk, and no tape, which becomes a hazard to players if it comes loose.
• The USTA's 2023 guidance for sites with two or fewer tennis courts allows "blended" pickleball lines: 1.5 in wide, in textured paint a shade lighter than the court, stopping 3 in short of the tennis lines. Pick the 1.5-in option in the calculator for these.
• Before marking someone else's court, USA Pickleball says to get the facility owner's permission and to test temporary tape in a small, out-of-the-way spot, since it can leave residue.

Limits of this estimate

• It covers lines only, not the color coating of the court itself.
• Bare surfaces can take more paint: one data sheet notes that uncoated asphalt may need two coats.
• Paint is sold in fixed container sizes, so round the gallons up to what you can buy, and keep the product's own data sheet as the final word.
• For a new build or resurfacing, the ASBA and USA Pickleball construction manual and a qualified court contractor take precedence over a quick calculation.

All the court measurements behind these numbers are on pickleball court dimensions; for how pickleball lines sit inside a tennis court, see pickleball vs. tennis court size.