Tennis & Pickleball Court Booking App Development
Shantanu Srivastava
Verified
How I Built a Tennis & Pickleball Court Booking App with Adalo (Airbnb-Style Marketplace with Stripe Connect)
The Idea: Airbnb, but for Tennis and Pickleball Courts
Ask any tennis or pickleball player how hard it is to find a court and you will get a long story. Public courts are packed. Clubs can be pricey or members only. Meanwhile, plenty of private and backyard courts sit empty most of the week.
My client wanted to connect both sides of that problem. Players should be able to find a court nearby and book it in a few taps. Court owners should be able to turn an unused court into steady income. Tournament organizers should have a place to promote events and take registrations.
That is a lot for one app to do, and it is exactly the kind of project where a smart no-code build can get you to market faster than a traditional development team.
The Challenge
Marketplace apps are tricky because you are really building several products at once. This app had to work well for three types of users:
Players who want fast, trustworthy booking
Hosts who need simple tools to list a court, set prices, manage availability, and get paid
Tournament organizers who want to promote events and collect entries
There were two extra hurdles on top of that.
Money has to move safely. Every booking payment needed to be split automatically between the host and the platform's commission. No manual payouts, no spreadsheets, no chasing anyone for money.
One person, many roles. Someone could be a player on Monday, a host on Tuesday, and a tournament organizer on Saturday. The app had to support all of that under one account without confusing anyone.
The Solution: A Five-Tab Marketplace App
I kept the structure simple so people always know where they are. The app has five tabs:
Discover: find and book courts
Tournaments: browse and register for events
Host: list and manage courts and tournaments
Bookings: manage reservations as a player or host
Profile: reviews, favorites, payments, notifications, and settings
Key Features I Built
Court Discovery with Smart Filters
Players can search by city or location and filter by sport, indoor or outdoor, surface type, lighting, price range, distance, availability, and ratings. Results show in a list or on a map. Each card shows the court photo, type (backyard, public, or club), distance, hourly price, rating, and next available time, so players can decide quickly.
Instant Court Booking
Every court page includes a photo gallery, amenities, host rules, and the host's profile and rating. Players pick a date, choose a time in 30-minute slots, select a duration, check the summary, and pay. Bookings confirm instantly, so nobody waits around for approval.
Stripe Connect Payments with Automatic Commission Splitting
This was the heart of the build. With Stripe Connect, each payment is split automatically between the host and the platform. Stripe also takes care of refunds, payouts, and transaction records. Hosts have to finish Stripe onboarding, including identity verification and bank setup, before they can publish a court. That protects players and keeps the marketplace trustworthy.
Host Onboarding and Listing Flow
Hosts are guided from profile setup to Stripe connection to a published listing. The court form covers the basics, address with a map pin, photos, amenities, house rules for parking, music, guests, and restrooms, hourly pricing, and recurring availability.
Host Dashboard
Hosts can see upcoming bookings, today's schedule, and a revenue summary for each court. They can edit a listing, update availability, view bookings, or pause a court whenever they need to.
Tournament Discovery and Registration
Players can browse tournaments by sport, date, location, skill level, and event type. Organizers can collect payment inside the app through Stripe.
Bookings Hub, Reviews, Messaging, and Notifications
One tab holds every reservation, split into upcoming and past, for both players and hosts. The app also includes reviews, favorites, host messaging, and in-app and push notifications for bookings, reminders, payments, registrations, and messages.
A seamless court discovery experience designed to help users explore nearby courts, check availability, and find the perfect place to play, all from one intuitive interface.
Why I Used Adalo for This Project
I chose Adalo because it lets me build real, working mobile apps visually, which means clients see progress quickly and can give feedback early. For a marketplace like this, it meant I could:
Launch an MVP much faster than with custom code
Keep development costs lower for the client
Publish to the App Store, Google Play, and the web from one build
Change features easily as the client learned from real users
Design Decisions That Made a Difference
One account for every role. Players and hosts share a single login, so switching from booking to hosting takes no extra setup.
Familiar patterns. Search, filters, a map and list toggle, and instant booking feel natural because people already know them from other marketplace apps.
Trust built into every step. Ratings, host profiles, clear court rules, receipts, and verified payouts help both sides feel safe.
Short, mobile-first flows. Booking takes a few taps, and listing a court is a clear step-by-step form.
Results
The project delivered a complete, launch-ready foundation covering the full journey for players, hosts, and organizers, from discovery to booking to payout.
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Posted Oct 2, 2026
Developed a marketplace app for booking tennis and pickleball courts using Adalo.
