By Justin Ma, 7x US Junior National Badminton Champion.
Last updated August 19, 2022
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4 min read
Badminton is one of the most popular and fun sports worldwide.
It is a recreational sport which is played indoors on a rectangular court.
And these courts hold different dimensions, surfaces, marking and other game essentials.
It is so because these courts are meant to provide fantastic comfort, traction, cushioning, and shock-absorbing features to the players while playing on them.
A court holds measures accordingly to the different forms of this sport: Singles and doubles.
All these dimensions and rules of this sport are implemented and set by BWF, which is the governing body of this sport.
So let’s check out some of these facilities:
Dimensions of a court include all its length, breadth, and height of the playing areas for this sport.
But these court dimensions may vary according to singles game play and double game play.
Also, these dimensions and measurements are universal and implemented by BWF, which are applied in domestic and international tournaments.
According to BWF:
The singles court measures about 17 feet wide and 44 feet long.
And the doubles court measures about 20 feet wide and 44 feet long.
The Singles court is slightly smaller in comparison to the doubles court.
It is so because a single player is present on each side of the court, and they have to cover the entire court themselves.
While in doubles, two players are on each side of the court, allowing them to cover the court efficiently. If you want to know more about the court dimensions, then click here.
A net in the middle of the court is made up of nylon, mesh, polyester or a cord. It divides the court into two equal parts and creates an objective of hitting the shuttle and landing it on the opponent’s court without touching the net.
And this net is 5 feet 1 inch (1.55 meters) tall at the edges and 5 feet (1.524 meters) tall in the middle, whereas the width of the net is 20 feet long.
There are four types of badminton court surfaces:
The synthetic court holds a wooden base and synthetic mats on the top. These mats are either made up of polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride.
And these court surfaces are commonly used by professional players to play any international or competitive matches and tournaments.
The synthetic court provides you with fantastic comfort, cushioning, and traction and helps to prevent injuries.
Rather than this, it is approved by BWF and is easy to maintain.
Wooden courts are also approved by BWF and are one of the best options for beginners to practice and play some domestic and friendly matches.
Also, the wooden court provides a fantastic shock-absorbing feature and is well known for it.
Rather than this, it is tough to maintain and costly, and one can easily slip on it and face some severe injuries while playing.
BWF does not approve cement courts, and these courts are designed to play badminton outdoor.
Such courts are made of cement and concrete, making them durable and budget-friendly.
Also, cement courts are not suitable for your knees and can lead you to face severe injuries like ankle twisting, cramps, and sprains.
So avoid playing on cement courts.
Acrylic courts are also not approved by BWF but are best for playing this sport outdoor and practising.
It is usually made up of rigid materials like concrete and asphalt.
The court surface is covered and sealed with acrylic materials, which makes it look similar to synthetic courts.
Also, these courts are easy to maintain and are budget-friendly (one-time investment).
A court is marked with the help of a yellow and white line, which indicates the boundaries of the court:
The centerline is a perpendicular line marked near the net, and its main work is to separate the left and proper service courts.
A short service line is usually marked at a distance of 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 meters) from the net.
Also, it indicates the point beyond which a player must perform a serve.
There is only one service per side in doubles, and the service should be between short and long service lines.
And here, the doubles’ long service line is approximately 2 feet 6 inches (0.76 meters) long from the back boundary line.
The sidelines in the singles court are marked out-of-out-bounds for singles play.
These sidelines are marked 1.5 feet (0.457 meters) long from the doubles sidelines.
Sidelines are the outermost boundaries marked on the court, and the length of these sidelines is approx 20 feet (6.1 meters).
The back boundary line is the last outermost back line marked on the court, which remains the same for singles and doubles.
These steps can help you to maintain the durability and efficiency of the court:
So, every badminton player (beginner, intermediate, and professional) must know these five essential things.
Courts hold specific dimensions and angles and are well designed to play this sport at a competitive level.
A net is placed appropriately at the right height; the markings must be done correctly.
And the ceiling height must be set high so that any object can not obstruct the way of the shuttle and one can play effectively.
Also, the court must be synthetic or wooden according to the tournament or game level.
And all these things together make an excellent badminton court.
