Reference · 5 min read · October 2026

Badminton court dimensions

A badminton court is 13.40 m long and 6.10 m wide for doubles (about 44 × 20 ft); for singles it narrows to 5.18 m (17 ft). The short service line is 1.98 m from the net, and the net is 1.524 m (5 ft) high at the centre and 1.55 m over the doubles sidelines. With safe run-off, one club court takes about 17.4 × 9.1 m of floor. Every line, the net, the space around the court and the hall height are below, from the BWF Laws of Badminton and Sport England guidance.

The court from above

One court is marked for both singles and doubles. Doubles uses the outer sidelines; singles uses the inner ones. In doubles, the service court ends at the doubles long service line, 0.76 m in front of the back line; in singles, the back boundary line is also the long service line. Lines are 40 mm wide and are part of the area they bound, so a shuttle on the line is in.

Plan drawn to scale from BWF Diagram A and Sport England Fig. 1. Line widths are exaggerated for legibility.

Court and lines

Overall dimensions are to the outside of the lines. The metric figures convert almost exactly to whole feet and inches: 44 × 20 ft, 17 ft for singles, 6 ft 6 in to the short service line and 2 ft 6 in for the doubles long service line.

Measurement	Metric	Imperial
Length BWF Diagram A; Sport England Fig. 1	13.40 m	43 ft 11½ in
Width, doubles BWF Diagram A	6.10 m	20 ft
Width, singles Singles sidelines 0.46 m inside the doubles sidelines	5.18 m	17 ft
Diagonal of the full court BWF Diagram A, note 1	14.723 m	48 ft 3½ in
Net to short service line Sport England Fig. 1: to the near edge of the line	1.98 m	6 ft 6 in
Doubles long service line, inside the back boundary line Sport England Fig. 1: 0.72 m gap + 40 mm line	0.76 m	2 ft 6 in
Net to back boundary line (half court) Follows from the 13.40 m length	6.70 m	22 ft
Service court, doubles (depth × width) Short service line to doubles long service line; centre line to doubles sideline	3.96 × 3.05 m	13 × 10 ft
Service court, singles (depth × width) Short service line to back boundary line; centre line to singles sideline	4.72 × 2.59 m	15 ft 6 in × 8 ft 6 in
Line width BWF Law 1.1; preferably white or yellow	40 mm	1½ in

Service court depths include the 40 mm lines that belong to them; widths are to the centre of the centre line.

Net and posts

The posts stand on the doubles sidelines whether singles or doubles is played, and may not reach into the court. The cord or cable is stretched flush with the top of the 1.55 m posts, and the top of the net must be 1.524 m above the floor at the centre. There must be no gap between the ends of the net and the posts.

Measurement	Metric	Imperial
Top of the net at the centre BWF Law 1.10	1.524 m	5 ft
Top of the net over the doubles sidelines BWF Law 1.10	1.55 m	5 ft 1 in
Posts, height BWF Law 1.4: on the doubles sidelines for singles and doubles	1.55 m	5 ft 1 in
Net depth BWF Law 1.7	760 mm	2 ft 6 in
Net width, minimum BWF Law 1.7	6.1 m	20 ft
White tape along the top BWF Law 1.8: doubled over a cord or cable	75 mm	3 in
Mesh BWF Law 1.6: fine dark cord	15–20 mm	⅝–¾ in

Space around the court and hall height

The Laws describe only the court. How much room to leave around it, and how high the hall must be, comes from facility guidance. Sport England’s Badminton Design Guidance Note sets minimums for four levels of play, from community halls to international venues. Badminton England does not approve courts with less space around them than these minimums.

Level of play	Sideline to sideline or wall	Sideline to dividing curtain	Back line to wall	Back line to curtain	Clear height
International	2.0 m	1.5 m	2.0 m	2.0 m	9.0 m
Premier	1.5 m	1.3 m	2.0 m	2.0 m	9.0 m
Club	1.5 m	1.3 m	2.0 m	1.5 m	7.5 m
Community	1.5 m	1.2 m	2.0 m	1.5 m	6.7 m

Source: Sport England Badminton Design Guidance Note (2011), Tables 2 and 3. Community is the recommended minimum for a badminton club; club suits play up to junior county level.

Between courts. The same minimum space applies between every pair of courts, whatever the size of the hall. Where courts are laid end to end, there must be a curtain between them, with the run-off kept on both sides of it. Sport England recommends a solid, full-height curtain there rather than standard sports-hall netting.

Height. Clear height is measured over the court and its run-off zone, up to the lowest obstruction such as beams, basketball backboards or lights. Sport England puts the absolute minimum for recreational play, such as a village hall, at 6.1 m (20 ft); 7.5 m is accepted for premier play in existing halls, but 9.0 m is preferred. BWF level 1 tournaments need at least 12.0 m (39 ft 4 in); other international events need 9.0 m, with 12.0 m preferred.

Floor area. At 2.0 m behind and 1.5 m beside, one court with its run-off is 17.4 × 9.1 m (about 57 × 30 ft). Sports halls are often described by how many badminton courts they hold: a “five-court hall” is the right size for five courts, and may also be used for netball, basketball, five-a-side football and other sports.

Light and background. The ideal hall has plain walls and no windows or roof lights, so the shuttle stands out. sportscotland gives 300–500 lux for recreational and club play and 1,000 lux for international events.

Where the sources differ

Space between dividing nets. Sport England gives 1.2–1.5 m from the sideline to a dividing curtain, depending on the level of play; sportscotland asks for 1.2 m between sports-hall dividing nets and 1.5 m between a court and a wall or another court.
Competition height. sportscotland lists 7.5–9 m for competition and 6.7 m for recreational play, matching Sport England’s club and community levels. Sport England adds a lower floor of 6.1 m for village halls.
Edition of the Laws. The BWF has adopted a new text of the Laws that applies from 4 January 2027; until then the 2025 Laws apply. Law 1 on the court and net is the same in the May 2023 edition and in the text adopted in April 2026.

Running the courts once they are marked

Playmore runs court bookings and payments for venues with badminton as well as tennis, padel, squash and pickleball. See the court booking system.

Sources (checked October 2026)

Run-off and height figures are UK facility guidance; your national federation and funder decide what a new hall must meet. Check the current documents before you build or mark out courts.

Running a sports hall?

Let players book and pay for courts online

A 20-minute call about how bookings and payments would work for your courts.

Book a demo