What post-tensioned means
A post-tensioned slab is a concrete slab with high-strength steel tendons (cables in plastic sheathing) laid in a grid before the pour. After the concrete reaches strength, the tendons are stressed with a hydraulic jack and locked off at the slab edge, which squeezes the whole slab into compression. Concrete is strong in compression and weak in tension, so a slab held in compression resists the cracking that a conventionally reinforced slab develops when the soil beneath it swells, shrinks or settles.
Why it matters for courts in our footprint
Much of Texas and Oklahoma sits on expansive clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry. A plain slab rides that movement and cracks; the cracks telegraph through every acrylic surface you ever put on it. A post-tensioned slab moves as one plate and stays flat and tight, which is why it is the base we recommend for a new court that has to stay playable for decades. It also lets a court be built with fewer control joints, so the playing surface has no joints to maintain.
What a public owner pays
Published awards give the range. College Station, Texas awarded $1.04 million in 2024 to demolish and rebuild six tennis courts on post-tensioned slabs with chain link fencing and conduit to light poles, about $173,000 per court. Arkansas City, Kansas awarded a four-court post-tensioned pickleball project with lighting and fencing at $235,500 in 2025, about $58,900 per pickleball court all-in. Texas districts registering new concrete court packages with the state have estimated $21 to $28 per square foot of court area. Those are other owners' figures, cited below, not EliteTrax pricing; site work, lighting, fencing and parking swing the total far more than the slab itself.
What happens between the dirt and the first serve
- Layout and grading. Court orientation, slope for drainage and run-off dimensions are set first.
- Base and vapor barrier. Compacted base, then a vapor barrier under the slab.
- Forms, tendons and sleeves. Tendons on chairs in a grid; sleeves for net posts, fence posts and light pole bases set in the slab rather than cored later.
- Pour and stress. One continuous pour per court or bank of courts, then tendon stressing once the concrete reaches strength.
- Cure. The slab has to cure before any acrylic goes down. Plan on roughly six to eight weeks from breaking ground to playing for a straightforward build, longer for multi-court facilities with lighting and site work.
- Surface preparation. We shot blast new slabs rather than acid wash them, to open the surface for the acrylic system.
- Surfacing and lines. Laykold acrylic system, color coats and lines; fencing, nets and lighting fixtures finish the facility.
What to ask any builder
- Who designs the slab and who stresses the tendons? Ask for the tendon layout and the stressing records.
- Who self-performs the concrete? Our Technical Director, Kevin Leach, CTCB, ASBA Certified Court Builder, self-performs post-tensioned slab work and has poured courts across the country.
- How are net posts, fence posts and light poles anchored? In the slab or at the edge, set before the pour.
- What is the cure period before surfacing, and is it in the schedule?
- Is the surfacing installed by the manufacturer's authorized applicator? EliteTrax is an authorized Laykold dealer and applicator.
Court construction covers the full-facility package: slab, drainage, fencing, lighting foundations, equipment and surfacing as one contract.
Questions
Is a post-tensioned court more expensive than a conventional slab?
The slab costs more than a plain slab of the same thickness, but on expansive clay the plain slab cracks and the repairs never end. Over the life of the court the post-tensioned slab is the cheaper one. We price it as the standard for new courts.
Can you overlay my existing cracked court with a post-tensioned slab?
Yes, that is the overlay path: a new post-tensioned topping slab over the existing court, then surfacing. See the resurface or rebuild guide for a public example.
How soon can we play on a new post-tensioned court?
Roughly six to eight weeks from breaking ground, weather permitting, because the concrete must cure before acrylic goes down. Outdoor courts are then playable 24 hours after lines when nights stay above 60 degrees.
Sources
- City of College Station, TX, CSP 24-077, six tennis courts on post-tension slabs, October 2024: council preview, court count, award.
- City of Arkansas City, KS, Wilson Park pickleball courts, December 2025: commission item.
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation project registrations: Plains ISD new concrete tennis courts, 66,000 SF, estimate $1,835,558: TABS2025014428; Killeen ISD tennis court renovation, 75,000 SF, estimate $1,600,000: TABS2024024723.
- American Sports Builders Association, Tennis Courts: A Construction and Maintenance Manual (2024 edition), on file at EliteTrax: sportsbuilders.org.