Plan the location for your court. The playing surface for a doubles-based tennis court is 36-by-78 feet. When you factor in the space needed outside the lines, having 60-by-120 feet is ideal. The area should be level and on firm ground. A north-south orientation is ideal for most play.

Decide on the type of clay court you want. While the red clay of the French Open readily comes to mind when considering clay for a surface, there are other types of clay, including Har-Tru, which was the surface for the U.S. Open from 1975-1977, and synthetic clay.

Part of this decision will be based on your geographic location. Clay requires constant watering, so it does not dry up and crack, so a red clay court is not practical in a desert-type locations.

Consider hiring someone with experience building clay courts. Clay courts are not practical as a do-it-yourself project because the construction of a traditional clay court requires multiple layers underneath the playing surface. For instance, the fast-dry clay of the French Open has five layers: the top layer of crushed red brick, followed by a limestone layer that is about 5-cm thick, a layer of iron ore slag, a layer of crushed stones, then a base layer that has been treated flat. Synthetic clay courts, however, are built on top of a pavement layer.

Plan for any amenities you might want on the court, such as a water fountain, benches and a place to store equipment. Discuss with the contractor whether you want a full-size fence all around the court or only at the back.

Plan your maintenance of the court. After the contractor has built the clay court, you will need to maintain it. The court should be compacted with a roller once a week. After playing on the court, you should water it to maintain the condition of the clay, unless it is synthetic clay. The court will need to be swept and the lines cleared with a special line brush.

Find a location. You want to find a location in your backyard that is as flat as possible. A standard tennis court is 78 feet long and 36 feet wide. Many American backyards can easily accommodate such a space. If you don’t quite have the width, reduce the width to 27 feet. That is the size of just a singles court. Measure this space with your measuring tape.

Remove obstructions. Within this space you may find large rocks, stumps or other debris that need to be removed in order to have your grass tennis court. Take the time to remove them. This may seem like a somewhat tedious step, but without a flatly packed soil, your grass tennis court won’t be too impressive.

Overturn your soil. Taking a shovel, remove your current grass. Once you’ve removed the layer of grass, continue overturning the soil so that fresh dirt is exposed.

Take out rocks. This overturning process may have turned over rocks and obstructions again. Take a moment, rake your playing area and remove and further such obstructions.

Rent a rammer or steamroller. Your local hardware supply shop usually has such items for rent. Use the rammer and tightly pack the soil in your playing area. This is going to give the hard surface you need underneath your grass.

Spread grass seed over your playing area. Water according to instructions and let the grass begin to grow!

Mark your backyard. After the grass has grown to 19mm it is ready for play! 19mm is the playing height. So after your grass as grown to that level, mark your playing surface with spray paint dots in the following manner. Mark the outside perimeter of your court, which should be fairly easy since that is the exact area that you’ve added new grass. After you’ve done that, move to the inside lines. Draw a center line at 39 feet. This is the divider over which the net will eventually be placed. Then, on either side of the net, mark out 21 feet. This will serve as the boundary for the service court lines. Finally make a mark in the middle of the width of your court inside the service court lines. This will eventually divide the service court into left and right. For a diagram, check out novasports.com and type in tennis court on the main page. Take a moment to make sure your dots look right before painting all of the lines.

Paint your lines. Using your spray paint (or lime substitute if you don’t wish the markings to be permanent.) Paint the lines using the chalk marks as your guide. In a few short minutes, your tennis court should really start to take shape!

Purchase a net. The final thing you need for your tennis court is a net. You can purchase tennis court nets at tennisuniversal.com or at your local sporting goods store (probably a special order.)

Install the net. Net installation will vary by brand. To keep it sturdy, dig a hole wide and deep enough for the pole on either side of your court. Mix cement in your wheel barrow (you won’t need a lot.) Place the pole in the whole and cover with cement. Let the pole rest for two days (when you don’t expect rain!) and then attach the net. Again each net will have slightly different installation instructions, but this is a common method!

Relax and enjoy. Now you can have a tennis party and have your friends over to play any time you want to. Congratulations, you have built a tennis court right in your backyard!