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Badminton

Official badminton court dimensions, markings, service areas, net heights, and planning notes for BWF regulation singles and doubles play.

Badminton uses one full-size court for singles and doubles. The length stays at 44 ft (13.40 m). What changes is the usable width and, at the back of the court, the service boundary.

Perspective diagram of a BWF badminton court showing the 44 by 20 foot outer dimensions, the singles sidelines, the short and long service lines, and the net at 5 feet 1 inch at the posts and 5 feet at the center.
Badminton court drawn to scale from BWF Law 1. Original diagram by Playfield Atlas.

Badminton court diagram

Badminton court standards at a glance

MeasurementBWF regulationApplies to
Court length44 ft
13.40 m		Singles and doubles
Full doubles width20 ft
6.10 m		Doubles
Singles width17 ft
5.18 m		Singles
Short service line from net6 ft 6 in
1.98 m		Singles and doubles
Line width1 1/2 in
40 mm		All court lines
Net height at posts5 ft 1 in
1.55 m		Both sidelines
Net height at center5 ft
1.524 m		Center of court

Every line is part of the court. In BWF rules, a shuttle that lands on a boundary line is in. That makes line placement and width more than a paint-detail issue.

Singles and doubles use the same court differently

Singles uses the inner side lines, leaving the 18 in (460 mm) doubles alleys outside the playing width. Doubles uses the outer side lines. At the rear, singles serves to the back boundary line; doubles serves to the inner long service line, 2 ft 6 in (760 mm) inside it.

Those two changes are easy to mix up. A doubles rally uses the full width and full length, while a doubles serve has the shorter back limit. That is why a court can look correct in play yet be marked incorrectly for service.

What belongs on the court

A complete BWF layout has the two outer doubles side lines, the two inner singles side lines, the two back boundary lines, a center line in each half, the two short service lines, and the two doubles long service lines. The net crosses the middle of the court and extends across the full width. Posts sit on the doubles side lines whether the match is singles or doubles.

Use this hub

The linked dimensions guide explains the line logic, service courts, net setup, court area, and a practical marking sequence. Future Badminton pages will cover court planning, equipment, and printable line plans.

Overhead plan

The same surface seen from straight above, drawn to scale. Nothing is foreshortened here, so every figure can be read off the drawing the way a tape measure would take it.

Overhead plan of a BWF badminton court drawn to scale, showing the 44 by 20 foot doubles court, the 17 foot singles court, the short and long service lines and the service courts.
The same court from directly above. Every figure is the one BWF Law 1 publishes.

Detail sheet

A rule book fixes more than the shape of the surface, and the rest of it is too small to draw at court scale: a mark a few centimeters long, a post standing a meter off the sideline, the clearance around the whole thing. Each one here has its own frame and its own scale.

Detail sheet for a badminton court: the net 760 mm deep under a 75 mm tape, the 40 mm line width, the 14.723 meter diagonal used to set the court out, and the doubles and singles court areas.
The figures BWF Law 1 publishes beyond the shape of the court. Original diagram by Playfield Atlas.

Explore the playing surface

Badminton court guides and tools

Use the verified guides below for dimensions, markings, planning details, and the history behind the playing surface.