Best Tennis and Pickleball courts in Foster City, San Mateo County for 2026

6 busy pickleball courts (some open play, some reserved), 2 tennis courts in Leo J. Ryan Memorial Park in Foster City. Each court has a paddle queue. Waiting time is reasonable. Good number of courts where the wait is not long and organized. Courts are right beside Central lake. Lights are on til 10 pm. Online reservation.

The courts can be slippery, as they needed to be hosed down to remove accumulated dust and dirt.

Lighting is a bit disturbing that one side of the court is always facing the lights directly.

General Foster City reservation system: during the daytime, the 3 lake-side courts are reservable by Foster City residents, so the courts on the other side are where free play happens. After 7 pm or so all 6 courts are open to all, and that side is usually higher level. Higher level players are now at local club, but do visit occasionally.

As long as the weather is good, people will be there with 30 minutes of the sun coming up, and there will be groups playing until 10 pm. It is super crowded on weekdays after 7 pm. Gets pretty crowded on most weeknights and weekends like other lit tennis courts in the area.

Parking is easy, there is ample nearby parking. Restrooms are on the other side of the lake, inside community center.

Tennis Courts

⚠️ Tennis court is temporary closed for recreation building constructions. ⚠️

Pickleball Courts Reservation

Reservations are not required to play but are highly encouraged to avoid waiting times.
Reservations for Foster City residents only.
Reservation Calendar Look Up – Daily
Courts #1-3 are dedicated as Open Play.
Reserve Pickleball Courts Here

Pickleball Courts Rules

• Courts are for pickleball use only.
• Non-pickleball activities on the courts are prohibited.
• Hours for open play are 8 am to 10 pm every day. Special hours for events such as tournaments, clinics, city-approved lessons or court maintenance will be posted at courts.
• When the Recreation Center is open, paddles, balls, and USA Pickleball rule books are available for rent at the front desk daily from 9 am – 9 pm.
• Tournaments, leagues, clinics, paid lessons or any other organized play are not allowed without permission from the Foster City Parks and Recreation Department (MC1220.050)
• NO pickleball lessons or drilling, TWO pickleballs maximum per court, except for City Lessons.
• Limit warmups to 5 mins when players are waiting.
• If courts are full, use the Paddleholder Queue System (see below) to indicate that you are waiting for available court.

Queuing Guidelines

For non-reserved courts (Open Play)

During open play, courts are available to all players on a first come, first serve basis.
When players are waiting, courts may not be held for continuous play.
Discouraging other players from waiting for a specific court is strictly prohibited.

When players are waiting, total court time allowed for singles or doubles game play (including warm-up), or drilling is 15 minutes.
Games will be played to 11 points, win by 2, first team to 15 points, or to 15 minutes, whichever occurs first.

To wait for a court, place your paddle(s) in the corresponding queue of the court that you wish to play.
Paddle holders for the queues can be found near all 4 entrances to the courts and are numbered to corresponding to the court number.

• If 4 players are waiting, then all players from the completed game release court.
• If 3 players are waiting, then 1 player from the winning team stays on.
• If 2 players are waiting, then the winning team stays on.
• If 1 player is waiting, then 3 players stay on (winning team plus 1 player from losing team).
  NOTE: Also during open play, court 6 will be dedicated for completed groups of 2 or 4 players who want to play singles or doubles, or, however, the group wants to play.

Challenge Court Rules

The challenge courts will take place on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7 – 10 pm on courts 5 and 6 during the Month of May.

Game Format

• All games on the challenge courts are doubles (women’s, men’s or mixed) on designated courts with appropriate skill levels
• Each game is played to 11 points and won by 2
• Teams switch ends at 6

Winning Team

• The winning team will stay on the challenge court up to 3 games
• After winning 3 consecutive games, the winning team must relinquish the challenge court

Challenging Team and Rotation

• At the end of each game, the players with the next 2 paddles in the challenge court queue become the challenging team
• If the winning team plays 3 games, then all 4 players must give up the court
  • The 4 exiting players may place their paddles back in the challenge court queue and rejoin the rotation
• The next 4 paddles on the challenge court queue will take the court

Court Assignments:

• Court 4 is designated for players with skill level of 3.5 and below
  • If either team wins more than 7 points in a game to 11, then the winning team must join the queue on the challenging court for skill level of 3.5 and above
• Court 5 is designated for players with skill level of 3.5 and below
  • If either team wins more than 7 points in a game to 11, then the winning team must join the queue on the challenging court for skill level of 4.0 and above
• Court 6 is designated for players with skill level of 4.0 and above
  • If either team loses more than 7 points in a game to 11, then the losing team must join the queue on the challenging court for skill level of 3.5 and below

Safety Guidelines

• Do not walk behind adjacent courts while a point is in play. Wait for play to end.
• If a ball rolls behind an adjacent court, wait until play has stopped to retrieve it.
• If a ball rolls onto an adjacent court, alert the adjacent court immediately to stop play.
• The following are NOT allowed at any time:
  • Double stacking of paddles (playing a game while having a second paddle waiting on another court)
  • Black sole shoes (only non-marking tennis or court shoes are allowed)
  • Dogs or other animals, leashed or unleashed
  • Smoking of tobacco or E-Cig products
  • Spitting on courts
  • Profanity or unnecessary yelling.
  • Food and drink, with the exception of water
  • Leaning or sitting on nets, or intentional damage to pickleball facility
  • Chairs between courts or at court baselines (chairs safely placed along fences adjacent to court sidelines are allowed)

Pickleball Code Of Conduct

Pickleball is a social and inclusive sport. Players are expected to conduct themselves in a friendly and courteous manner at all times.
All players are reminded that the goal is to provide an environment where all players can play the game to the best of their ability and have fun while doing so.
Foster City Parks & Recreation Department
Recreation Center +1 650-286-3380
Police Non-Emergency +1 650-286-3345
For Emergencies, Call 911

Foster City Pickleball Club

The Foster City Pickleball Club is a new community based, non-profit organization supporting pickleball players at all levels, from the novice to the experienced tournament player. Our home courts are located at Leo J. Ryan Park. We will be hosting various tournaments and events in cooperation with the City of Foster City Parks and Recreation Department. Come join us in shaping the future of our club and pickleball on the mid-Peninsula. Find more information and membership forms at our website: fostercitypickleballclub.org.

View the pickleball calendar here

2025 Membership Dues

2/1/2025  thru 12/31/2025
$20 Foster City resident (you must live in a FC home that you own or pay rent)
$35 Non-FC resident
Join Online Here​

Membership Term

12 months from date of payment​

Membership Questions?

info@fostercitypickleballclub.org
For more information on organized pickleball play and events visit Foster City Pickleball Club Facebook page.

Pickleball Lessons

Gary Wong
gwpickleballacademy@gmail.com

Alternate Pickleball Courts