Pickleball Court Hire in Ramsgate Beach: Prices, Booking and Weekend Sessions

If you're looking for pickleball court hire in Ramsgate Beach, Scarborough Park Sports Centre at 7 Hawthorne Street has 8 courts inside Leo Smith Reserve, open for casual hire seven days a week. Pickleball is one of the fastest growing racquet sports in Australia, and it's easy to see why: the court is small, the paddle is light, and most people are rallying within their first session. This guide covers exactly what court hire costs, how to book, what the weekend social sessions involve, and the one rule every first-time booker needs to know, with every price taken from Scarborough Park's own pickleball and court hire pages.

Pickleball at Scarborough Park: Prices at a Glance

Here's every pickleball price in one place, using the centre's current rates. Once you've picked an option, you can book a pickleball court online in a few clicks.

Why Pickleball Is Easy to Pick Up

Pickleball is played on a court roughly a third the size of a tennis court, with a solid paddle and a perforated plastic ball. The ball moves slower and the court is smaller, so rallies are easier to keep going from your very first session, while the doubles game still has plenty of tactics and competition in it. Most games are doubles, which makes it a naturally social sport and an easy one to bring friends or family along to.

At Scarborough Park, the 8 pickleball courts sit inside Leo Smith Reserve, part of a growing multisport community in Ramsgate Beach managed by Sydney Sports Management Group in partnership with Bayside Council. If you want to see where the sport is heading nationally, Pickleball Australia is the national governing body.

Pickleball Court Hire: Pricing and Hours

Here's what pickleball at Scarborough Park costs if you're hiring a court casually:

• Court hire: $25 an hour, any time of day, with no peak or off peak split.
• Paddle hire: $5 per paddle. Bring your own to skip the fee.
• Before you book: the centre asks you to contact them before making a pickleball booking, to make sure a staff member is on site when you arrive.
• Minimum booking: 60 minutes, the same as every court at the centre.

On hours, the centre opens from 7am every day. Closing times are listed differently across the site, so treat the last slot of the day as something to confirm rather than assume.

How to Book a Pickleball Court, Step by Step

The booking flow on Scarborough Park's own site is three steps:

1. Select your date in the online booking widget on the Book a Court page.
2. Click Search to see which court times are available that day.
3. Book your preferred time and secure it online.

A few practical additions make those three steps go smoothly:

• Call or email first on (02) 8395 7788 or scarboroughpark@ssmgroup.com.au, since the pickleball page asks for this so staff are on site.
• Sort out paddles before you arrive. Two players hiring paddles adds $10 to a $25 hour, so it's worth knowing in advance if you're keeping costs down.
• Leave a buffer before sundown, given there are no lights on site.

Weekend Play Pickle Sessions

If you'd rather join an organised session than book a whole court, Scarborough Park runs two recurring weekend sessions through Play Pickle:

• Social Pickleball (all skill levels): $15 per session, Saturdays 3:00pm to 5:00pm and Sundays 8:30am to 10:30am.
• Beginner Skills & Drills with Coaching, plus social play: $20 per session, in the same Saturday and Sunday windows.

These sessions are booked through the Play Pickle booking page rather than the court hire system. They're the easiest way in for someone who's never held a paddle: you're not paying for a full court on your own, there's a coach on hand in the beginner session, and you'll meet other local players straight away. The centre also runs a Pickleball WhatsApp community for regular players. If you'd like to know more before your first visit, our guide to social pickleball sessions in Ramsgate Beach covers the weekend sessions and free trial in more detail. And once you're hooked, a local pickleball doubles tournament is a fun next goal.

Common Mistakes First-Time Bookers Make

What We Tell First-Time Pickleball Players

The question we hear most at the desk is whether it's worth hiring a court before you know how to play. Our usual answer is to start with a weekend Play Pickle session instead. In the beginner skills and drills session you'll pick up the scoring, the underhand serve and the non-volley zone rule (the "kitchen") from a coach, then put it straight into practice in social games. Once you've got the basics, a $25 court split between four players for an hour of doubles works out to $6.25 each, plus paddles if you need them, and you can play any day the centre is open. Whichever you choose, book earlier in the afternoon during the cooler months, because with no lights on site, sundown sets the real end of the day.

More at Scarborough Park

Pickleball is one part of what runs at the centre. If you're coming with the family, our school holiday camps for ages 4 to 14 include pickleball alongside tennis, basketball, soccer and volleyball. Younger players can also join kids tennis lessons in Ramsgate Beach through Tennis Australia's Hot Shots program, then step up to the Hot Shots Challenge once they're ready for match play. For adults, there's an adult tennis clinic, social tennis, cardio tennis and private tennis lessons.

Frequently Asked Questions