Badminton Court Dimensions
Interactive guide to badminton court measurements for singles and doubles play
Badminton Court Dimensions
Interactive guide to badminton court measurements for singles and doubles play
What are the Official Badminton Court Dimensions?
Badminton courts are standardised by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and measure 13.4 metres long by 6.1 metres wide for doubles play. For singles, the court is the same length but only 5.18 metres wide — the outer side tramlines are out of bounds in singles. This is the opposite of tennis, where the full width is used in singles and additional alleys appear for doubles.
The net is set at 1.55 metres at the posts and 1.524 metres at the centre — just 2.6cm of sag — making it nearly level across the full width. This near-horizontal net and the high shuttlecock trajectory make badminton unique among net sports. The service courts are clearly divided: in singles, the right service court for even scores, left for odd — a rule that catches many beginners off guard.
Badminton is the fastest racket sport in the world, with professional shuttle speeds exceeding 400 km/h after a smash — faster than any other racket sport. Despite the small court size, elite badminton players cover an estimated 6–9km per match with extremely fast directional changes, making it one of the most aerobically demanding racket sports.
How to Read This Diagram
Key Court Zones
- • Short service line: 1.98m from net — serve must land beyond this
- • Long service line (doubles): 0.76m inside baseline — serve must land before
- • Back alley: 0.76m at back — in play for rallies, restricted for serves
- • Side tramlines: 0.46m each side — in doubles only, out in singles
- • Mid-court: Net to short service area — most contested zone
Why the Court's Width Rules Are So Easy to Get Wrong
Badminton's court width flips depending on whether you're serving or rallying, and on whether it's singles or doubles — the tramlines are in for doubles rallies but out for doubles serves, while singles uses the opposite combination. It's one of the more counter-intuitive rulesets in racket sports, which is exactly why new players so often get called for a fault they didn't realise was even a boundary.
Combined with the near-flat net (barely 2.6cm of sag from post to centre, compared to tennis's much more pronounced dip), the court geometry is built around speed and precision rather than margin for error — there's very little room to mishit a serve short or wide and still have it count, which is part of why badminton service faults are called so frequently even among experienced club players.
?Frequently Asked Questions
In badminton, the side tramlines (outer 0.46m on each side) are OUT in singles but IN during doubles rallies. However, for doubles SERVICE, the back tramline (back 0.76m) is OUT, while in singles service, the full length is valid. This combination of rules means singles and doubles use different effective court dimensions, which is the reverse of the intuitive expectation. It reflects the different tactical demands of 1v1 versus 2v2 play.
The fastest recorded badminton smash is 493 km/h, hit by Malaysian player Tan Boon Heong in 2013. In professional match play, smashes regularly exceed 300–400 km/h. For comparison, the fastest tennis serve is around 263 km/h. The shuttle slows rapidly due to air resistance — this extreme deceleration is part of what makes badminton unique, as the shuttle trajectory changes dramatically mid-flight.
Feather shuttlecocks use 16 goose or duck feathers arranged in a precise cone and provide superior flight characteristics and feel — used in all BWF tournaments. Synthetic shuttlecocks use nylon or plastic skirts, are more durable and weather-resistant, and are used in recreational play and outdoor conditions. Feather shuttles are affected by temperature and humidity — heavier shuttles are used in hot or high-altitude conditions, lighter ones in cold or low-altitude environments.
In singles, the server plays from the right service court when their score is even (including zero) and from the left when it's odd — the receiver stands in the matching diagonal box. This alternating pattern exists so that both players' movement patterns stay balanced across a game rather than always serving or receiving from the same side, and it's consistent enough that experienced players track the score just by watching which side their opponent is standing on.
A badminton net sags only 2.6cm from post (1.55m) to centre (1.524m), compared to a tennis net which drops roughly 15cm from post to centre. Badminton's much lighter shuttlecock doesn't need a dramatically lower centre to make net shots viable, and a near-flat net keeps the playable height consistent across the full width of the court — important given how often rallies are decided by shots played right at net height.
BWF tournament venues require a minimum clear run-off of around 2m at the sides and 2.5–3m behind each baseline, on top of the court's own 13.4m × 6.1m playing area, plus a minimum ceiling clearance of roughly 9m to accommodate the shuttle's high clears and lobs. Recreational venues often fall short of this, which is why club-level games sometimes need to pause for a shuttle that's gone into a low ceiling or a wall that's too close behind the baseline.
Yes — the net height (1.55m at the posts, 1.524m at the centre) is identical for singles and doubles under BWF rules. Only the court width and which service-court boundaries are in or out of play change between the two formats; every other court dimension, including net height and court length, stays the same.