Badminton Court Size: The Complete UK Dimensions Guide
Quick answer: A full badminton court is 13.4m long and 6.1m wide for doubles (44ft x 20ft), narrowing to 5.18m wide for singles. The net sits at 1.55m at the posts and 1.524m at the centre. Those measurements are identical worldwide, from a Cardiff leisure centre to an Olympic final.
Almost every badminton argument in a British sports hall comes down to lines. Was that shot in? Do we use the tramlines on the serve? Why is the net higher at the ends? This guide gives you every official measurement, explains what each line is actually for, and covers the things the specification sheets leave out — ceiling height, run-off space, and whether you can realistically fit a court in a garden. At Central Sports we have been kitting out clubs, schools and leisure centres for decades, so we have measured a few halls in our time.
Badminton court dimensions at a glance
All measurements below are taken from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Laws of Badminton and apply to every level of play in the UK.
- Court length: 13.40m (44ft) — the same for singles and doubles
- Court width, doubles: 6.10m (20ft)
- Court width, singles: 5.18m (17ft)
- Diagonal, doubles court: 14.723m — the measurement used to check a court is square
- Net height at the posts: 1.55m
- Net height at the centre: 1.524m
- Short service line: 1.98m from the net
- Doubles long service line: 0.76m inside the back boundary line
- Line width: 40mm, and the lines are part of the court they bound
That last point settles more disputes than any other. A shuttle landing on the line is in, because the 40mm of paint belongs to the court.
Every line on a badminton court explained
A badminton court carries more lines than any other racket sport court of its size, which is why it looks confusing. There are only five types:
- Back boundary line — the rear edge of the court. It is also the long service line for singles.
- Doubles long service line — 0.76m inside the back boundary. A doubles serve must land in front of it.
- Short service line — 1.98m from the net. Every serve must clear it.
- Centre line — divides each half into right and left service courts.
- Side lines — the inner line is the singles sideline, the outer is the doubles sideline. The gap between them is the "tramlines".
The court is only ever one size. Singles and doubles simply use different lines on the same painted surface, which is why a hall never has to re-mark anything between matches.
Singles vs doubles: which lines are live?
This is where club players most often get it wrong, and it is the single most useful thing in this guide.
In singles: the court is narrow but long. You use the inner sidelines and the full back boundary line, including on the serve.
In doubles: the court is wide but short on the serve. You use the outer sidelines for the whole rally, but the serve must land in front of the doubles long service line — the deepest 0.76m of the court is out for the serve and in for everything afterwards.
Get those two rules right and you will win arguments for the rest of your playing life. For the rest of the rulebook, including the 21-point scoring system and the serving laws, read our badminton rules and serving guide.
Badminton net height: why 1.55m and 1.524m?
The net is deliberately not level. It is 1.55m high where it meets the posts and sags to 1.524m at the centre — a difference of 26mm.
That is not sloppy rigging, it is in the Laws. The dip rewards playing down the middle of the court and makes the cross-court shot marginally harder, which is a large part of why badminton rallies develop the way they do. The net itself should be 760mm deep and 6.1m wide, edged with a 75mm white tape along the top.
One detail that catches people out: the posts always sit on the doubles sidelines, even when a singles match is being played. The court narrows for singles; the net does not.
If you are setting up a court in a school hall, community centre or garden, browse our badminton nets and posts — a proper tensioned net at the right height changes how the game plays far more than most people expect.
Ceiling height and run-off: the measurements nobody publishes
Court dimensions are only half the story. A hall that is exactly 13.4m x 6.1m is unplayable, because badminton needs air above it and space around it.
Ceiling height is the constraint that ruins most British venues. As a working rule, a hall wants at least 7.6m (25ft) of clear height for club play, and 9m or more for competitive events — the BWF looks for considerably more again at international level. Anything under about 6.5m and the high serve and the clear, the two shots the sport is built on, simply do not fit. If you have ever wondered why your local hall plays so differently from the leisure centre one town over, this is usually why.
Run-off space matters just as much. Allow roughly 2m behind each baseline and around 1 to 1.5m at each side. That is why a single court laid out properly occupies a floor area closer to 17.4m x 9m than its nominal 13.4m x 6.1m.
Also check what is above the court, not just how high it is. Low beams, lighting rigs and basketball hoops that fold into the ceiling are the reason a hall that measures fine on paper is unusable in practice.
Can you fit a badminton court at home?
A full-size court needs about 155 square metres once run-off is included, which rules out most British gardens. That does not mean you cannot play.
Plenty of clubs and families run a shortened or narrowed court for practice, and outdoor badminton has its own realities — wind will destroy a feather shuttle in seconds, so use nylon shuttles such as the Yonex Mavis 300 outdoors and save the feathers for indoors. Our shuttlecock range covers both.
If your garden is short on length, prioritise length over width. Badminton is played end to end, and a 13m x 4m strip gives a far better game than a 9m x 6m square.
Is a badminton court the same size as a pickleball court?
Almost, and this is one of the most useful facts in British racket sport right now. A pickleball court is 20ft x 44ft — exactly the footprint of a doubles badminton court. The nets differ: pickleball sits far lower, at 36in at the posts and 34in at the centre.
In practice it means every badminton hall in Britain is already a pickleball venue, needing only tape and a portable net. We covered the full conversion, line by line, in our guide to pickleball court dimensions and the badminton conversion, and you can kit out a session from our pickleball range.
Top picks from Central Sports
Everything below was in stock at centralsports.co.uk at the time of writing.
- Yonex GR-202 ST Badminton Set — £228.00. Net, posts and rackets in one box. The straightforward answer if you are setting up a court in a school or community hall from nothing.
- Yonex Portable Net (for Children) AC344-6 — £47.50. A quick-pitch net for juniors, garden practice and coaching sessions where a full-height match net is not the point.
- Yonex Mavis 300 Synthetic Shuttles (1/2 dozen) — £11.50. The nylon shuttle to use outdoors or on a windy hall night. Far more durable than feather, and available in two speeds.
- Yonex Power Cushion 101 Badminton Shoe — £47.50. Non-marking soles are a condition of entry at most UK sports halls, and a court shoe grips laterally in a way a running shoe never will. See the full badminton shoe range.
- Yonex Arcsaber 7 Play 4UG — £41.80. A forgiving even-balance frame for anyone new to a full-size court. More options in our badminton racket collection.
Frequently asked questions
What is the size of an average badminton court?
There is no average — the size is fixed. Every regulation court is 13.40m long, 6.10m wide for doubles and 5.18m wide for singles, at every level of play.
Is a badminton court 20 feet by 44 feet?
Yes, for doubles. 13.40m x 6.10m converts to 44ft x 20ft. A singles court is the same 44ft length but 17ft wide.
Is a badminton court the same size as a pickleball court?
The playing surface is identical at 20ft x 44ft. The nets are not: badminton sits at 1.55m at the posts, pickleball at roughly 0.91m.
What size is a backyard badminton court?
Full size needs roughly 155 square metres including run-off, which most gardens cannot offer. Mark out whatever length you have and prioritise depth over width — a long narrow strip plays far better than a short wide one.
How high is a badminton net in the middle?
1.524m at the centre, against 1.55m at the posts. The 26mm dip is written into the Laws of Badminton, not a rigging fault.
Getting your court right
Badminton court size is one of the few things in the sport that never changes: 13.40m by 6.10m, a net at 1.55m and 1.524m, and 40mm lines that count as in. What varies is everything around it — ceiling height, run-off, and whether the hall was built with badminton in mind at all.
If you are laying out a court, running a club night or converting a hall between sports, Central Sports stocks the nets, shuttles, shoes and rackets to do it properly, with expert advice from people who play. Get the measurements right first, then get the kit right.