Way cooler than your standard basketball court, these custom-designed settings and hoops turn the sport into something like an interactive art installation in which the players ‘perform’ in more ways than one. Outdoor courts are painted in vivid hues or plunked on rooftops, hoops are reinvented in stained glass or set within the crashing waves of the ocean, and court lines light up and transform.

Pigalle Basketball Court in Paris by Pigalle, Ill-Studio and NIKE

French fashion brand Pigalle teamed up with Ill-Studio and NIKE to paint a stunning sunset-hued basketball court set between two apartment buildings in Paris. Gradients of deep blue, fuchsia, pink, orange and yellow creep up the walls of the three surrounding structures and out to the sidewalk to celebrate the release of Pigalle’s latest collection with NIKElab.

Carlo Carrá Park in Alexandria, Italy by Gue

The muralist known as ‘Gue’ gave the basketball court at Carlo Carrá Park in Alexandria, Italy a bright makeover as part of an urban regeneration and redevelopment effort. “The idea was born from the possibility of being able to cross the field’s space,” says the artist, “and to stay inside the composition and change the perception of shapes through the game’s movement.”

House of Mamba Basketball Court by NIKE

Leave it to NIKE to create a totally functional basketball court that doubles as a work of modern installation art. The brand teamed up with AKQA to develop a full-sized LED court for the NIKE RISE basketball tour taking place across China, utilizing motion-tracking and reactive LED visualization to lead players through drills based on Kobe Bryant’s training. Then, in 2015, they completed ‘Rise 2.0,’ a second version of the court with LeBron James.

Rooftop Basketball Court in Venezuela by PICO Estudio

Design collective PICO estudio teamed up with local and international firms as well as volunteers and community members to transform a self-built house that was once a drug trafficking venue in Caracas, Venezuela into a valuable community space hosting a recording studio, computer area, waiting area, kitchen and an incredible rooftop basketball court retrofitted with vibrant green steel framing and chain-link fencing for safety.

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Nothin But Net 12 Slam Dunk Artistic Basketball Court Designs

Shed no racket tears for these abandoned tennis courts as there’s no bawls in tennis… OK, that’s out of line but these courts ARE out of service.

Looking like a set from The Walking Dead, this precariously covered tennis club in Europe’s Benelux region appears to have been abandoned twice – once by tennis players, then by the artist who owns (or owned) the place.

The former club must have been more than just a private backyard court – at least one line judge’s chair can be seen, shunted off to the side. Odd that the artist adaptively reusing the club as a studio would save such a specialized piece of furniture. Kudos to Flickr user Tunebm, who somehow was able to access the abandoned court in early July of 2010.

Wimble-don’t

Flickr user John Haslam (foxypar4) titles the above November 2008-dated photo “Malta in audacious bid to stage ATP Masters Series Final!,” and you can bet that’s an event anyone would gladly pay to see. Set into the long-dry moat surrounding the ancient fortified city of Mdina, the court has at least one thing going for it: chances of a successful Ottoman invasion are very unlikely.

The Open is Closed

Blue-blooded businessman and banker William du Pont, Jr (1896-1965) was quite the sportsman in his day. In the depths of the Great Depression, he had a grandiose recreation center housing basketball and badminton courts, a bowling alley, a swimming pool and a large clay tennis court built at his Bellevue Hall, Delaware estate.

By the early 1970’s, none of du Pont’s heirs had any interest in the estate’s deteriorating sports facilities nor the expense required for their upkeep. The property was purchased by the state of Delaware in 1976, opened to the public under the name of Bellevue State Park… and continued its inexorable decay. By 2014 when the above images were taken by Kyle Grantham for The News Journal , the sky-lit tennis court was overgrown with vegetation, infested with wildlife, and had been slated for demolition.

Get A Grip

This gorgeous abandoned tennis court in Herzliya, Israel would appear to have everything but regular maintenance and the odd player or two. According to Flickr user Elinor Zach (who snapped the seaside scene on January 2nd of 2008), “This tennis court used to belong to a hotel that was super posh in the 80s. I wish I could see the characters that used to bounce their little green balls there.” That’s what SHE said.

Net Loss

Flickr user Franck VIALA (Artretros) got down & funky – or should we say, fuzzy – back in September of 2011 when he snapped this shot of an abandoned French tennis court. “An abandoned tennis court where I used to play since I was 10 maybe,” states the photographer, possibly with the pictured tennis ball.

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Uncanny Volley 15 Abandoned Tennis Courts Clubs