The 13.4 m court, the singles and doubles sidelines, both service lines, the two net heights and the hall clearance the BWF requires — taken from Law 1, Diagram A and the BWF facilities spec.
| Measurement | Imperial | Metric | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court length | ≈ 43 ft 11½ in | 13.40 m | Same for singles and doubles (Diagram A) |
| Doubles court width | ≈ 20 ft | 6.10 m | Diagram A |
| Singles court width | ≈ 17 ft | 5.18 m | derived The singles sideline sits 0.46 m inside the doubles sideline |
| Short service line | ≈ 6 ft 6 in | 1.98 m | From the net, each side (Diagram A) |
| Doubles long service line | ≈ 2 ft 6 in | 0.76 m | Measured in from the back boundary line (Diagram A) |
| Singles long service line | Back boundary line | Back boundary line | There is no separate line: in singles the back boundary line is the long service line |
| Line width | ≈ 1 9/16 in | 40 mm | Every line on the court (Law 1.1) |
| Court diagonal | ≈ 48 ft 3½ in | 14.723 m | Published in Diagram A as a setting-out check |
| Measurement | Imperial | Metric | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height at the centre | 5 ft | 1.524 m | Exactly five feet (Law 1.10) |
| Height over the doubles sidelines | ≈ 5 ft 1 in | 1.55 m | Law 1.10 |
| Post height | ≈ 5 ft 1 in | 1.55 m | Posts stand on the doubles sidelines whether you are playing singles or doubles (Law 1.4–1.5) |
| Net depth | ≈ 2 ft 6 in | 760 mm | Law 1.7 |
| Net width (min) | ≈ 20 ft | 6.1 m | Law 1.7 |
| Top tape | ≈ 3 in | 75 mm | White, doubled over the cord (Law 1.8) |
| Measurement | Imperial | Metric | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear space behind the back boundary | ≈ 6 ft 7 in | 2 m | Minimum, to any advertising boards (facilities spec 2.1.3) |
| Clear space beside the sidelines | ≈ 4 ft 11 in | 1.5 m | Minimum — and also the minimum gap between two courts laid side by side (2.1.3) |
| Gap between courts, Grade 1–2 | ≈ 13 ft 1 in | 4 m | Recommended, to fit boards and officials’ chairs (2.1.3) |
| Clear height over the court | ≈ 29 ft 6 in | 9 m | BWF-sanctioned tournaments, free of girders (1.2.1) |
| Clear height, Olympic / Grade 1–2 | ≈ 39 ft 4 in | 12 m | Free of girders and obstructions (1.1.1) |
Every figure on this page was read out of the documents above. Rows marked derived are arithmetic on two published figures — the working is in the note beside them. We publish nothing we have not checked.
Measure the clear space you have — fence to fence, wall to wall — and we’ll check it against the published minimums above, in both orientations. Nothing is sent anywhere; the maths happens in your browser.
A floor plan is only half the question in badminton. The BWF requires 9 m of clear height over the court for sanctioned tournaments and 12 m for Olympic and Grade 1–2 events — a standard sports-hall ceiling of 6–7 m will not clear a high serve.
A badminton court is 13.40 m long. It is 6.10 m wide for doubles and 5.18 m wide for singles — the singles sidelines sit 0.46 m inside the doubles sidelines. Those figures are printed on Diagram A of the BWF Laws of Badminton.
The top of the net is 1.524 m (exactly 5 feet) above the floor at the centre of the court, and 1.55 m over the doubles sidelines. The posts are 1.55 m tall and stand on the doubles sidelines even when singles is being played.
The service rules do the narrowing instead. In singles the court is 5.18 m wide and the service court is long and thin — it runs all the way back to the back boundary line. In doubles the court is the full 6.10 m wide but the service court is short and wide, ending 0.76 m before the back boundary. Same rectangle, two different shapes of target.
The BWF requires a minimum clear height of 9 m over the full court for sanctioned tournaments, and 12 m for Olympic and Grade 1–2 events, with no girders in that space. Recreational play happens in lower halls all the time, but under about 7 m a clearing high serve starts hitting the ceiling.
The court itself is 13.40 by 6.10 m. The BWF facilities spec adds at least 2 m of clear space behind each back boundary line and 1.5 m beside each sideline, which comes to roughly 17.4 by 9.1 m of floor for one court. Courts laid side by side need at least 1.5 m between them.
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