Badminton Court Dimensions: Lines, Net and Service Courts

There are so many lines on a badminton court that beginners are often unsure which one applies. Yet each has a clear purpose: one set for singles, one for doubles and two service lines. Here are all the dimensions per the BWF Laws of Badminton and Diagram A, which is part of them. For how scoring works on the court, see badminton rules.

Basic dimensions

All lines are 40 mm wide (1.1) and form part of the area they define (1.3). Measurements are therefore taken to the outer edge of the lines. And a shuttle that touches a line is in.

The 14.723 m diagonal is given directly in Diagram A.

Singles and doubles

The court has two sets of side lines. The outer ones apply to doubles and give the full width of 6.10 m. The inner ones apply to singles. Between the inner and outer side line, according to the diagram, there is a 420 mm strip plus a 40 mm line on each side, so the singles court width works out at 5.18 m measured to the outer edge of the inner lines.

The back boundary line is the same for singles and doubles. What differs is how deep the service court goes.

Service courts

The centre line divides each half of the court into a right and a left service court. From the net to the nearest edge of the short service line is 1.98 m. The back limit of the service court differs:

• Singles: the service court runs from the short service line all the way to the back boundary line, and in width only to the inner side line. It is long and narrow. Diagram A therefore also labels the back boundary line as the long service line for singles.
• Doubles: the service court ends at the long service line for doubles, 0.76 m in from the back boundary line, but in width it reaches the outer side line. It is short and wide.

Remember this is only about the serve. Once the shuttle has been returned, play uses the full court for the discipline (10.2, 11.2). A long serve in doubles that lands between the long service line and the back boundary line is therefore a fault, even though such a shuttle would be in during a rally. We go into detail in the article on the badminton serve.

Net and posts

• The top of the net is 1.524 m high at the centre and 1.55 m over the side lines for doubles (1.10).
• The posts are 1.55 m high (1.4) and stand on the doubles side lines. That applies in singles too (1.5).
• The net is 760 mm deep and at least 6.1 m wide (1.7), with a mesh of 15 to 20 mm (1.6).
• The top edge is bordered by a 75 mm wide white tape (1.8).
• There must be no gap between the end of the net and the post (1.11).

The net is 26 mm lower at the centre than at the posts. Both heights are in Law 1.10.

Common mistakes

Posts on the singles line. Under Law 1.5 the posts always stand on the doubles side lines, even when singles is being played.

Serving in singles only as far as the doubles long service line. In singles the back limit of the service court is the back boundary line. A long serve in singles is good all the way to it.

Measuring the lines from the inside. The lines belong to the area. A 13.40 × 6.10 m court is measured to the outer edge of the lines.

Did you know?

• The BWF Laws give no ceiling height or distance to the walls. All that applies is that a shuttle touching the ceiling or a side wall is a fault (13.3.3). Everything about faults is in the article on faults and lets in badminton.
• A shuttle has 16 feathers 62 to 70 mm long and weighs 4.74 to 5.50 g (2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.6).
• Shuttle speed is tested against the court: a full underhand stroke from the back boundary line should land 530 to 990 mm short of the opposite back boundary line (3.1, 3.2).
• The difference between the singles and doubles service court is exactly a 40 mm line and a 720 mm gap, 760 mm in all from the outer edge of the back boundary line to the outer edge of the long service line for doubles.