Pickleball vs badminton: what is the difference?

The two share a court size and often a sports hall floor. Here is how they compare, using the BWF Laws of Badminton and the pickleball rulebook Pickleball Australia links to.

Pickleball vs badminton at a glance

Is a pickleball court the same as a badminton court?

Almost. The badminton doubles court is 13.40 m by 6.10 m and the pickleball court is 13.41 m by 6.10 m, a 1 cm difference in length. The University of Auckland's copy of the BWF laws gives the full-court diagonal as 14.723 m, which matches those dimensions.

The internal lines are different, though. Badminton has short and long service lines and singles sidelines; pickleball has a kitchen line 2.13 m from the net and a centreline that stops at the kitchen. So if you play pickleball in a badminton hall, you need pickleball lines (permanent or taped) and a pickleball-height net.

Can you play pickleball on a badminton court?

Yes, with a lower net and pickleball lines. Several Australian indoor venues run pickleball on multi-sport hall floors. Pickleball ACT, for example, runs sessions on multi-sport hardwood courts, and PANSW lists council indoor centres that hire courts for pickleball. The badminton net cannot be used as is: at 1.524 m in the centre it is far above the 86.36 cm pickleball height.

Pickleball was invented on a badminton court

According to HistoryLink, the Washington State history encyclopedia, Joel Pritchard and friends invented pickleball in 1965 at his Bainbridge Island cabin, which had a badminton court. Pritchard set out to make up a new game on the cabin's badminton court: they lowered the net, got out paddleball paddles and borrowed a whiffle-type ball. That origin helps explain why the court sizes match so closely. See what is pickleball?

How is the serve different?

Both sports have low serves. Under the current BWF Laws text, the whole shuttle must be below 1.15 m from the court surface when the server hits it. In pickleball, a volley serve must be hit with the ball clearly below the server's waist, with an upward paddle motion and the paddle head below the wrist; or the server can drop the ball and hit it after the bounce.

How is the scoring different?

Badminton uses rally scoring: whoever wins the rally scores, whether they served or not. The earlier BWF Laws booklet (June 2016 text) sets games at 21 points, with a two-point lead needed from 20-all and the 30th point winning at 29-all. The World Badminton laws page says a new version of the Laws takes effect on 4 January 2027, with games to 15 points (two clear from 14-all, and the 21st point winning at 20-all), and that the 2025 Laws apply until then.

Pickleball's standard scoring is side-out scoring: only the serving team scores, games to 11, win by 2. Rally scoring exists in pickleball only as a provisional option. See pickleball scoring.

Which is easier to learn?

Pickleball tends to be quicker to start because the ball bounces, which gives beginners time, and the underarm serve is simple. Badminton's shuttle never bounces, so every shot is a volley, and the high net rewards overhead play. Both are easy to try in a sports hall, and both get hard quickly at a competitive level.