The Court
A pickleball court is 20 feet (6.1 m) wide and 44 feet (13.4 m) long, making it the same overall size as a doubles badminton court. A net divides the court in half and is 36 inches (91.4 cm) high at the sidelines and 34 inches (86.4 cm) high in the centre.
On each side of the net is a 7-foot (2.13 m) non-volley zone, commonly known as the kitchen. Players cannot volley the ball while standing in this area. Behind the kitchen, each half of the court is divided by a centreline into a left and right service court, which are used when serving and receiving.
Playing Pickleball on a Modified Badminton Court
Pickleball can be played very easily on a modified badminton court because a doubles badminton court has the same 20 x 44-foot playing area as a pickleball court. This makes badminton courts in sports halls, schools and leisure centres ideal for introducing pickleball without needing a purpose-built court.
To adapt the court, the badminton net can be lowered to the correct pickleball height, or a portable pickleball net can be used. The most important additional markings are the kitchen lines, positioned 7 feet from the net on both sides. These can be added using temporary court tape or removable floor markers where permanent lines are not available.
Badminton courts have additional lines that are not used in pickleball, so players need to know which markings form the pickleball boundaries, kitchen and service courts. Once these are identified, the remaining badminton lines can simply be ignored during play.
With only a few simple adjustments, an existing badminton court can provide an affordable, practical and convenient place to play pickleball, which is one of the reasons the sport can be introduced so easily into existing indoor sports facilities.