Pickleball and Badminton Courts: What Matches—and What Doesn’t
Pickleball matches a doubles badminton court at 20 by 44 feet. Compare singles width, service lines, Kitchen markings and net heights.
A pickleball court is the same size as a doubles badminton court: 20 feet wide by 44 feet long. The singles comparison is different. Standard singles pickleball keeps that full width, while singles badminton uses the narrower, 17-foot-wide court. USA Pickleball and this badminton court guide set out those dimensions.
Matching outside boundaries does not mean the courts are ready for the same game. The service lines and net heights differ.
Court sizes side by side
| Game | Width | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Pickleball singles | 20 ft | 44 ft |
| Pickleball doubles | 20 ft | 44 ft |
| Badminton singles | 17 ft | 44 ft |
| Badminton doubles | 20 ft | 44 ft |
Badminton’s metric dimensions are 13.40 metres long, with widths of 6.10 metres for doubles and 5.18 metres for singles. BWF accepts the feet measurements above as its official imperial equivalents.
On a badminton court, the outer sidelines are for doubles; the inner sidelines are for singles. For standard pickleball, use the full 20-foot width even when only two people play.
The lines near the net do different jobs
Pickleball’s Kitchen line sits 7 feet from the net. It marks the non-volley zone on each side. You may enter that zone to play a ball after it bounces, but you cannot volley—hit the ball before it bounces—while touching the zone or its line. Your momentum after a volley cannot carry you into the zone, either. A pickleball serve must also land beyond the Kitchen; a serve touching its line is a fault. USA Pickleball’s rules summary explains these restrictions.
Badminton’s short service line sits 6 feet 6 inches from the net. That is 6 inches closer than pickleball’s Kitchen line, using the imperial measurements. It defines the front of the receiving service court, not a no-volley area. Badminton also has a separate long service line for doubles near each back boundary; singles serves use the back boundary itself. See the badminton layout measurements.
Badminton has no pickleball-style Kitchen: during a rally, players may hit the shuttle from any position on their side of the net, subject to the other rules. BWF’s Laws of Badminton state that freedom of position for singles and doubles.
Can you use a badminton court for pickleball?
The doubles footprint gives you a useful starting point, but not a finished pickleball setup. With the facility’s permission:
- Check the outside rectangle: it should measure 20 by 44 feet.
- Add proper Kitchen lines: measure 7 feet from the net on each side, rather than reusing badminton’s short service lines.
- Check the centerlines: pickleball’s run from each Kitchen line to the baseline, dividing the service areas. Follow USA Pickleball’s court layout guidance.
- Use the right net height: pickleball is 34 inches at the center and 36 inches at the sidelines; badminton is 5 feet at the center and about 5 feet 1 inch at the doubles sidelines. Pickleball net dimensions and BWF net specifications confirm the difference.
Before serving, have everyone point out the pickleball sidelines, baseline and Kitchen line. Ignore badminton’s inner sidelines and doubles long service lines for pickleball calls. Also check the space beyond the boundaries—the shared footprint is only the marked court, not all the room players need. Our pickleball court dimensions guide covers that surrounding playing space.