If you have any doubts about the size of the badminton court, this is the post to read. In this post, we are going to explain all the different sizes of a badminton court, both in feet and meters.
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Badminton court measurements
The badminton court is rectangular and it is divided by a net into two equal rectangles. The standard setting for a court is to be marked for both singles and doubles matches. The doubles court is wider than the singles one, but both are the same length. The only exception to that statement is that the doubles court has a different back serve line, which is shorter than the singles one. This often causes confusion for new players.
The dimensions are as follows:
Badminton court size in feet
- Total width: 20 ft
- Total length: 44 ft
- This length is divided into two equal parts, 22 ft each
- Front service line distance to the net: 6 ft 6 inch
- Rear service line distance to the back: 2 ft 6 inch
If the dimensions that are to be counted are the ones for singles, the width is reduced and the rear service line becomes the back line, so the sizes become as follows.
- Total width: 17 ft
- Total length: 44 ft
- This length is divided into two equal parts, 22 ft each
- Front service line distance to the net: 6 ft 6 inch
Below you can find my illustration where all this data is explained in one image. I hope you like it.
Badminton court size in meters
- Total width: 6.1 m
- Total length: 13.4 m
- This length is divided into two equal parts, 6.7 m each
- Front service line distance to the net: 1.98 m
- Rear service line distance to the back: 0.76 m
If the dimensions that are to be counted are the ones for singles, the width is reduced and the rear service line becomes the back line, so the sizes become as follows.
- Total width: 5.18 m
- Total length: 13.4 m
- This length is divided into two equal parts, 6.7 m each
- Front service line distance to the net: 1.98 m
Below you can find my illustration where all this data is explained in one image. I hope you like it.
What is the area of a badminton court?
The full area of the badminton court is 81.75 m² or 880 ft², divided into two equal rectangles.
If the area that is being counted is the singles court, then the area is reduced to 69.49 m² or 748 ft² due to a narrower court.
What is the standard size of a badminton court?
The standard size of a badminton court is a width of 20 feet (or 6.1 meters) and a length of 44 feet (or 13.4 meters). Contrary to other sports, these sizes are fixed, so a badminton court needs to always comply with them. In football, for example, there is a range of sizes that need to be complied with, but not a single measurement like in badminton.
What is the length and width of a badminton court?
The length of a badminton court is 13.4 meters or 44 feet. The width of a badminton court is 6.1 meters or 20 feet.
If you play singles, the width of the badminton court is reduced to 5.18 meters or 17 feet.
What is the thickness and characteristics of the lines marking the court?
The lines marking the court are 40mm (1.6 inches) wide.
They have to be preferably white or yellow in color.
When using badminton mats, the correct mounting of a badminton mat will ensure that these measurements are correct because the lines are already marked in the mats.
These lines are part of the area which they define, so both in the images and in the data above the lines are included in the measurements.
How much space do you need for badminton?
In addition to the size of the court, you will need a bit of clearance space between the perimeter lines and the court in order to play badminton. Even though I could not find anything specified in the regulations from the Badminton World Federation, there is a good resource from Sports Scotland where that is explained.
According to this document, you need the following clearance:
- 1.2 meters (or 4 feet) between courts
- 1.5 meters (or 5 feet) between the court and the sidewall
- 2 meters (or 6 feet and 6 inches) between the court and the back wall
With that in mind, the space that you need if you want to play badminton and you need only one court would be as follows:
- Clear length: 17.4 meters or 57 feet
- Clear width: 9.1 meters or 30 feet
If you need two courts, the sizes would be as follows:
- Clear length: 17.4 meters or 57 feet
- Clear width: 16.4 meters or 54 feet
For any additional court, you want to add in the row, you need to add an additional width of 7.3 meters or 24 feet.
What is the height of a badminton court?
The height of a badminton court is defined by the height of the poles that support the net. These posts are 1.55 meters (or 5 feet and 1 inch) in height from the surface of the court. The net, that goes on top of the posts, is also 1.55 meters (or 5 feet and 1 inch) on the sides and has to be installed in a way that the measurement is 1.524 meters (or 5 feet) at the center.
As for the free height that is needed within the sports hall to play, this cannot be found either in the Laws of Badminton from the Badminton World Federation. However, it can also be found in the document from Sports Scotland.
In this instance, a division is made depending on the type of match that is being played.
- Recreational matches: 6.7 meters (or 22 feet) clear height above the playing area
- Competition matches: From 7.5 meters (or 24 feet and 7 inches) to 9 meters (or 29 feet and 6 inches) clear height above the playing area
- Matches following the international standard: At least 9 meters (or 29 feet and 6 inches) but preferably 12 meters (or 39 feet and 4 inches) clear height above the playing area
What is the length of a badminton pole?
The length of a badminton pole is 1.55 meters (or 5 feet and 1 inch), as explained in the previous section.
The two posts that are installed to support the net need to be placed on each side of the court, on top of the side lines, at a distance of 6.1 meters (or 20 feet).
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Final words
And with this, we have arrived at the end of this post. I hope you found the information you were looking for. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments below.
If you liked this post and you would like to know a bit more about measurements in badminton, you can check our Badminton Measurements post, where we explain, among other things, all the measurements that rackets and shuttles need to comply with in order to be suitable for play.
