Doubles Court Sharing in Peak Hours

Doubles practice raises a specific peak-hour question: does a team get a whole court to itself? The practice guidelines are clear, and knowing the answer up front saves a recurring argument at the desk.

The sharing rule

During peak hours, a doubles team shares a court with another doubles team, unless a court happens to be free. So the default peak-hour doubles slot puts four players on one court, two teams hitting together, rather than two players enjoying a full court while others wait.

Why sharing exists

Peak hours (typically 10am to 4pm) are when courts are scarcest and demand is highest. Sharing roughly doubles the number of teams that can practise in that window, which is the whole point: peak capacity should serve as many competing players as possible, not reward a single pairing with exclusive use.

Scheduling shared doubles cleanly

• Default every peak doubles request to a shared court, not an exclusive one
• Only un-share a doubles slot when a court is genuinely free
• Pair teams sensibly so a shared court is workable for both
• Keep match warm-ups separate; they outrank ordinary doubles practice

Because sharing is the default, it is easy for a busy desk to forget and hand out an exclusive court by mistake. Maindraw applies the peak-hour doubles rule automatically, sharing courts during peak and only releasing exclusivity when one is actually free.