A pickleball court is small, which is a big part of its appeal: one fits on a badminton court, and four fit roughly on a tennis court. The figures below are from the official rulebook published by USA Pickleball, which Pickleball England and most national bodies follow (USA Pickleball rules, Section 2).
Court size and lines
| Measurement | Feet | Metres |
|---|---|---|
| Court width | 20 ft | 6.10 m |
| Court length | 44 ft | 13.41 m |
| Non-volley zone (kitchen) depth from net | 7 ft | 2.13 m |
| Service court (each) | 10 × 15 ft | 3.05 × 4.57 m |
| Line width | 2 in | 5.08 cm |
The same court is used for singles and doubles; there are no separate tramlines. All lines are part of the area they enclose, so a ball on the baseline or sideline is in. The one exception is the serve: a serve that lands on the kitchen line is a fault.
Net height
- 36 inches (91.44 cm) at the sidelines.
- 34 inches (86.36 cm) at the centre.
- Posts should be 22 ft (6.71 m) apart, measured inside post to inside post, so they sit 1 ft outside each sideline.
That's lower than a badminton net (1.524 m at the centre) and slightly lower than a tennis net, which is why a sports hall needs a proper pickleball net, or a short tennis or similar portable net, rather than the badminton net. Most UK leisure centres use portable nets that go up and down for each session.
Portable nets come in a frame with feet that sits on the floor, and most are adjustable. It's worth checking the height with a tape before a club session: a net that's sagged an inch in the middle changes the game noticeably, because so much pickleball is played low over the net.
Space around the court
The playing lines are only part of the space you need. The rulebook gives:
- Minimum total playing area: 30 × 60 ft (9.14 × 18.29 m), which leaves 5 ft beside each sideline and 8 ft behind each baseline.
- Preferred: 40 × 64 ft (12.19 × 19.51 m), a 10 ft margin all round.
- Recommended for new courts and tournaments: 34 × 64 ft (10.36 × 19.5 m).
A permanent outdoor court is usually built to the 30 × 60 ft minimum or larger. There's no official ceiling height, but indoor play needs enough clearance for lobs.
Pickleball on a badminton court
This is how most people in the UK first play. A badminton court is 13.4 m long and 6.1 m wide for doubles, the same outer size as a pickleball court. UK sports flooring supplier Continental Sports notes that most facilities can play pickleball on badminton courts, but the kitchen line is about 150 mm (6 in) further from the net than badminton's short service line, and badminton lines are thinner at 40 mm (Continental Sports). For social and beginner sessions, playing on the badminton lines is fine. For club and competition play, courts should have proper pickleball markings, usually added in a different colour.
The practical result of using badminton lines is that the kitchen is about 15 cm too small. You'll be allowed to volley from slightly closer to the net than the real rules allow, which matters little at a social session but is worth knowing if you're preparing for a competition played on dedicated courts. Some halls stick temporary tape along the true kitchen line to fix this.
On a tennis court: a tennis court is 78 × 36 ft for doubles, and with its surrounding run-off there's usually room for two to four pickleball courts, depending on the space. Many UK tennis clubs mark temporary lines with tape or chalk and use portable nets, or paint permanent lines in a contrasting colour.
Marking out your own court
If you're marking out a court in a hall, a car park or a garden, measure the outside edges first (20 × 44 ft) and check the diagonals are equal, which tells you the corners are square. Then mark the centre net line, the two kitchen lines 7 ft either side of it, and the centre lines from each kitchen line back to the baseline. Use 2-inch tape or paint, and keep the lines inside the 20 × 44 ft measurements, not outside them. For a garden or driveway court, the run-off is usually the limiting factor: you can play with less than the minimum, but expect to hit the fence.
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Questions
How big is a pickleball court?
20 feet wide and 44 feet long (6.10 x 13.41 m), for both singles and doubles.
How high is a pickleball net?
36 inches at the sidelines and 34 inches at the centre.
How big is the kitchen in pickleball?
The non-volley zone extends 7 feet (2.13 m) from the net on each side, across the full width of the court.
Is a pickleball court the same as a badminton court?
The outer size is the same, but the kitchen line is about 150 mm further from the net than badminton's short service line, and the net is much lower.
How much space do you need for a pickleball court?
The rulebook minimum is 30 x 60 feet including run-off, with 40 x 64 feet preferred.