Pickleball court size compared with tennis, badminton and padel
How a pickleball court compares in size with tennis, badminton and padel courts, in metres and square metres, with net heights and a to-scale diagram from the official rulebooks.
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Short answer: a pickleball court (13.41 m by 6.10 m, about 82 m²) is almost exactly the size of a badminton doubles court (13.40 m by 6.10 m). A tennis doubles court (23.77 m by 10.97 m, about 261 m²) is roughly three times the area, and a padel court (20 m by 10 m, 200 m²) is about two and a half times. The pickleball net is the lowest of the four in the centre, at 86.36 cm.
People ask this for two reasons: to picture how much running pickleball involves, and to work out whether a court they already have can be used for pickleball. Both answers are below.
Court sizes side by side
| Sport | Court size (playing lines) | Area | Net height at centre | Governing rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pickleball | 13.41 m x 6.10 m | about 82 m² | 86.36 cm | USA Pickleball rulebook, GPF edition |
| Badminton (doubles) | 13.40 m x 6.10 m | about 82 m² | 1.524 m | BWF Laws of Badminton |
| Padel | 20 m x 10 m (inside walls) | 200 m² | 0.88 m | FIP Rules of Padel |
| Tennis (singles) | 23.77 m x 8.23 m | about 196 m² | 0.914 m | ITF Rules of Tennis |
| Tennis (doubles) | 23.77 m x 10.97 m | about 261 m² | 0.914 m | ITF Rules of Tennis |
Pickleball court size vs tennis court
A tennis court is 23.77 m long under the ITF rules, against 13.41 m for pickleball, so a pickleball court is about 56 per cent of the length. In width, the pickleball court (6.10 m) is narrower than even a tennis singles court (8.23 m). By area, a tennis doubles court is about 3.2 times a pickleball court.
The nets are close in height. Tennis is 0.914 m at the centre and pickleball 0.8636 m, so a tennis net is about 5 cm higher in the middle. That is why many clubs can play pickleball on tennis courts with temporary lines; see pickleball on a tennis court.
Is a pickleball court the same size as a badminton court?
Almost. The BWF badminton doubles court is 13.40 m by 6.10 m, and a pickleball court is 13.41 m by 6.10 m. The difference in length is 1 cm. (The University of Auckland's copy of the BWF laws gives the full-court diagonal as 14.723 m, which matches 13.40 m by 6.10 m.)
The big difference is the net. A badminton net is 1.524 m high at the centre, about 66 cm higher than a pickleball net. So you can play pickleball on badminton lines in a sports hall, but you need a lower pickleball net, not the badminton one. The service lines also differ, so you still need pickleball kitchen lines marked 2.13 m from the net.
Pickleball court size vs padel court
Under the International Padel Federation rules, a padel court is 10 m wide by 20 m long, measured inside the enclosure, with walls and fencing around it that the ball can be played off. The net is 0.88 m in the centre, rising to 0.92 m at the ends. A padel court has about 2.4 times the area of a pickleball court and must be fully enclosed, which makes it a far bigger build. See pickleball vs padel.
What fits where?
| You have | Can you play pickleball? |
|---|---|
| A tennis court | Yes. Pickleball Canada's line-marking guide says two pickleball courts fit easily and up to four is possible but packed. |
| A badminton court in a hall | Yes, on almost the same lines, with a lower pickleball net. |
| A basketball court | Often. Several Australian venues hire basketball and netball courts for pickleball; for example, PANSW lists a council centre where a full basketball court is used as four pickleball courts. |
| A padel court | Not as a regulation pickleball court, because the enclosure gets in the way of the run-off. |
| A driveway or backyard slab | Only if you have about 9.14 m by 18.29 m of flat hard surface for the minimum playing area. See court dimensions. |
Why the small court matters
A smaller court means shorter distances to cover, which is part of why Pickleball Australia's seniors FAQ says pickleball involves less running than tennis. It also means several pickleball courts can share the footprint of one tennis court. Shoalhaven City Council, for example, converted one hard tennis court at Kangaroo Valley into three dedicated pickleball courts in 2026.
Sources for this page
Every fact above comes from one of these pages, read in November 2026. See the full sources list and my editorial policy.
- 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, GPF Edition, Section 3 (PDF linked from Pickleball Australia)
- ITF: 2026 Rules of Tennis (PDF)
- BWF: Laws of Badminton (PDF booklet, June 2016 text, hosted by worldbadminton.com)
- University of Auckland copy of the BWF Laws of Badminton (court diagram measurements)
- Pickleball Canada: How to Line a Pickleball Court (PDF)
- PANSW: Court hire
- Pickleball Australia: Pickleball Seniors portal and FAQs
- Australasian Leisure Management: New pickleball courts for Shoalhaven's Kangaroo Valley community (15 May 2026)
- International Padel Federation: Rules of Padel (PDF)