The badminton court: lines, net and what counts as "in"
Learn which lines bound a singles or doubles court. Separate the serve from later shots before judging a landing.
Why the court has so many lines
A report published in Lawn Tennis in 1901 described the adoption of a rectangular court and different service boundaries for singles and doubles. It is a contemporary report reproduced by a third-party archive, not proof of a worldwide start date.
Today, one marked rectangle accommodates both singles and doubles. To read it, ask two questions first: singles or doubles, and serve or a later shot? The relevant boundary depends on those answers.
The numbers to know
- The lines are 40 mm wide and, according to the laws, preferably white or yellow (BWF Laws of Badminton, Law 1, edition in force 26 April 2025).
- The court is 13.4 m long. It is 6.1 m wide for doubles and 5.18 m wide for singles. The short service line is 1.98 m from the net, and the doubles long service line is 0.76 m inside the back line (Wikipedia, Badminton, "Court").
- The net is 1.524 m high at the centre and 1.55 m over the doubles side lines. The posts are 1.55 m high and stand on the doubles side lines, even in singles. The net is 760 mm deep and at least 6.1 m wide (BWF Laws, Law 1).
A line is part of the court
A boundary line belongs to the area it defines. A shuttle landing on a boundary of the correct playing area is in for that landing; an unrelated painted line does not make an out shuttle in. First identify the area, then judge its boundary (BWF Laws, Laws 1.3 and 13.3.1).
Do not transfer that rule to the players' feet. During delivery of a serve, the server and receiver must stand inside their diagonally opposite service courts without touching their boundaries (Law 9.1.3). An in landing alone does not prove that the whole serve was legal.
What changes between singles and doubles
- In singles the court is narrower: the inner side lines are the limit. At the back, the singles court uses the full back line.
- In doubles the court is wider, but the serve must stop at the doubles long service line, which sits slightly inside the back line.
- The short service line is the same in both games: a serve must land on this line or beyond it; one that falls on the net side of it is short and a fault.
The receiving service court is diagonally opposite the server's. The centre line separates its left and right boxes; it is not a dividing wall for later shots. After a valid return, a subsequent shot may land anywhere in the opponent's singles or doubles playing area, as applicable. Badminton England, Secondary School Resource, section 7.2, page 109 explains these boundaries; its other sections are not the service rules taught here.
Three cases to explain
These are fictional examples on an ordinary court. Other conditions are satisfied, except for the foot violation introduced in case 3. Judge the landing first.
- After a valid return, a shot first lands between the singles and doubles sidelines, touching neither, away from the net and back line. In singles it is out; in doubles it is in. Only the game type changes.
- In doubles, a serve first lands between the doubles long service line and the back line, touching neither, within the side boundaries of the correct diagonal receiving service court. It is out. The same landing on a later shot after a valid return is in.
- A doubles serve lands on the long service line of the correct receiving service court, well inside its side boundaries: the landing is in. If the server touches a boundary of their own service court during delivery, that is a separate service fault.
Mistakes to avoid
- Calling a shuttle out merely because it looked close to a boundary: on the boundary of the correct area, the landing is in.
- Mixing the two back lines: in doubles, the long service line only matters for the serve, not during the rally.
Use this lesson
Explain which area you are judging and whether the shot is a serve. This method helps you choose a boundary; it cannot reconstruct a landing you did not see. We use the ordinary-court provisions of the BWF edition dated 26 April 2025, not the separate Para badminton diagrams. For the rest of a serve, continue to what makes a serve legal.
General practice advice: play within your limits and stop if something hurts.