I do not know why but my mind came up with an interesting question – Does North Korea have tennis courts and do North Koreans play tennis?

The internet has practically zero information on this subject, other than a New York Times article briefly mentioning the existence of tennis courts. To scratch my own itch, I did some research using Google Maps and looked for small clues on the internet. And the answer I found was surprising…

Yes, in Pyongyang, North Korea there are tennis courts at Yanggakdo Stadium, Jmorsay State Arena, Kim Il-sung Stadium, and the Public Pyongyang Football Field.

North Korea, one of the most secretive countries in the world, does have a passion for sports. While football, basketball, and table tennis are considered the most popular sports in North Korea, the country does have tennis courts.

My Google Maps research does have it’s limits though. The satellite view does not allow the possibility of locating indoor courts, which probably do exist because of the seasonal cold weather in Pyongyang.

The other limit is that the lines on clay tennis courts are often chalked in other countries. So if a court was not chalked recently when the Google satellite captured the grid, those courts in North Korea are not identifiable.

Tennis Courts in Pyongyang, North Korea

Interestingly, a lot of these tennis courts don’t seem to have fences around the perimeter of the court. It is quite possible that ball boys are used to fetch balls when matches are played.

Tennis Courts near Public Pyongyang Football Field

In this picture, you can notice the small dots on the tennis court – those are actually people! You can clearly see four tennis courts on the Map. Even though the courts might look in rough shape, it is possible that these are clay courts and have chalked lines. The courts could be very nice.

Since Google Maps shows very little information on the names of buildings and surrounding areas, I don’t know what this area is called. But it is near the Public Pyongyang Football Field and other outdoor sports fields.

Yanggakdo Stadium

Yanggakdo stadium is a large sports complex mainly used for football matches and various indoor athletics. But, using Google Maps, I was able to located two outdoor tennis courts as you can see in the picture.

Jmorsay State Arena

Jmorsay State Arena, a large sports arena mainly used for football matches, does have at least two tennis courts (follow the red arrows). The interesting thing is that there does not appear to be fences around the courts.

Kim Il-sung Stadium

Kim Il-sung Stadium is a nice stadium for football matches, but it also has several tennis courts. If you look closely at the right side of the picture you can see the courts.

Kim Il-sung University

I have been playing tennis for over 20 years and I have an eye for tennis courts. These appear to be tennis courts at Kim II-sung University because they are the perfect dimensions. However, they do seem to be out of commission.

High School Tennis Court

Do this look like a tennis court? It sure does to me. The significant trait is the doubles alley, although it is strange that when not being used, cars are parked on the court. This court is in an area next to a high school and an elementary school.

North Korean Pro Tennis Player

I was only able to locate one professional tennis player from North Korea – Ji Hyeon Seo. According to her profile on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) website, her one professional match was a 6-4, 3-6, 7-10 loss to Australia’s Miranda Poile. That match took place in the qualifying round of the W15 Yeongwol in 2019.