When it comes to tennis court lighting in Australia, several standards must be taken into account. These requirements vary depending on the level of competition being played and include specific guidelines for lighting intensity and uniformity.
Key Australian standards which apply to sports lighting include:
- AS 2560.1:2018 – Sports Lighting Part 1: General Principles
- AS 2560.2:2021 – Sports Lighting Part 2: Specific Applications
- AS 4282:2019 – Control of the obtrusive effects of outdoor lighting
The following table provides an overview of the tennis court lighting requirements.
| Category | Grid | Average horizontal maintained illuminance | Minimum horizontal uniformity | Maximum glare rating | |
| Eh lux | U1Min/Avg | U2Min/Max | GR | ||
| Recreational and residential | PPA | 250 | 0.6 | 0.3 | N/A |
| TPA | 150 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 50 | |
| Club competition and commercial | PPA | 350 | 0.6 | 0.4 | N/A |
| TPA | 250 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 50 | |
| National and international | PPA | 750 | 0.7 | 0.5 | N/A |
| TPA | 500 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 50 | |
New Floodlight Installation for Tennis Courts
When installing a new floodlighting system for tennis courts, additional standards and guidelines must be considered. Each of the three common configurations—side lighting, corner lighting, and hybrid lighting—offers distinct advantages and disadvantages, as outlined in the table below.
| Type of lighting system | Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Side lighting: Luminaires are located adjacent to the sides of the court(s) | Less glare Lower poles | Considerations of pole location where more than one court is illuminated, unless room is available to safely install poles between courts |
| Corner lighting: Luminaires are located at the corners (i.e. level with or behind the baseline) of the court(s) | High level of illuminance on the surface of the ball approaching the player More suitable for two or more courts where limited room is available between the courts | Potential for more glare from luminaires Higher poles |
| Hybrid lighting: Used for a multi-court installation where some luminaires are located at the sides of the court, and some at the corner | Less glare Lower poles | More poles required Not suited to the use of types A or B fittings as per AS 2560.1:2018 table B.1. |
What do these terms mean?
- Illuminance – the term used to describe the level of light on a surface in lumens/m2 or lux.
- Maintained illuminance – is the term used to describe the average illuminance on a reference surface at the time maintenance must be carried out.
- Eh lux – Average maintained illuminance.
- U1Min/Avg – The lowest recorded lux value on the playing surface divided by the average.
- U2Min/Max – The lowest recorded lux value on the playing surface divided by the highest value.
- PPA – Player participation area
- TPA – Total Player Area