Specification · Updated 2026
A pickleball court is
44 by 20 feet
Pickleball court dimensions are 44 feet long by 20 feet wide, 13.41 by 6.10 meters, for both singles and doubles. That is the painted rectangle. The space you actually need is larger, because the ball is in play well outside the lines, and USA Pickleball calls for a minimum playing area of 30 by 60 feet and recommends 34 by 64.
Those two numbers, the court and the playing area, are the ones people confuse, and confusing them is how a backyard court ends up with a fence at the baseline.
Key figures
- Court
- 44 × 20 ft (13.41 × 6.10 m), singles and doubles
- Non-volley zone
- 7 ft from the net on each side
- Service area
- 15 ft deep × 10 ft wide, two per side
- Net height
- 36 in at the sidelines, 34 in at center
- Line width
- 2 in
- Minimum playing area
- 30 × 60 ft (9.14 × 18.29 m)
- Recommended playing area
- 34 × 64 ft (10.36 × 19.51 m)
- Source
- USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, Section 2
Free to cite with attribution and a link. Full set at courtbaseline.com/reference.
Fig. 01
What is the pickleball court layout, line by line?
Seven lines and a net. The non-volley zone, which players call the kitchen, is the only part of the layout that has no equivalent in tennis, and it is the part most often painted wrong.
Every measurement
What are the official pickleball court dimensions in feet and meters?
The full specification. Pickleball court dimensions in feet are the native unit, since the rulebook is written in imperial; metric is a conversion.
| Element | Imperial | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Court, singles and doubles | 44 × 20 ft | 13.41 × 6.10 m |
| Court area | 880 sq ft | 81.8 m² |
| Non-volley zone, each side | 7 ft deep × 20 ft wide | 2.13 × 6.10 m |
| Service area, each | 15 × 10 ft | 4.57 × 3.05 m |
| Baseline to net | 22 ft | 6.71 m |
| Net height, sidelines | 36 in | 91.4 cm |
| Net height, center | 34 in | 86.4 cm |
| Net length | 21 ft 9 in min | 6.63 m |
| Line width | 2 in | 5.1 cm |
| Minimum playing area | 60 × 30 ft | 18.29 × 9.14 m |
| Recommended playing area | 64 × 34 ft | 19.51 × 10.36 m |
| Run-off behind baseline, minimum | 8 ft | 2.44 m |
| Run-off beside sideline, minimum | 5 ft | 1.52 m |
Lines count as in. The 2 inch width matters for layout because the court is measured to the outside edge of each line, so a court painted to the inside edge comes up 4 inches short in both directions.
How much space do you need for a pickleball court?
Plan on 34 by 64 feet of flat ground for a court you will enjoy playing on, and never less than 30 by 60. The pickleball court size people quote, 20 by 44, is the painted rectangle, and a fence or wall at that line makes the court unplayable from the baseline.
The difference is where the extra 20 feet of length goes: at least 8 feet behind each baseline for the serve and the return, which are both struck from behind the line. Width is more forgiving, which is why the minimum adds only 5 feet to each side.
For a multi-court facility, adjacent courts can share run-off, so four courts side by side need less than four times 34 feet. USA Pickleball's guidance for tournament play is generous enough that most operators plan 34 by 64 per court and let the shared zones absorb the rest.
Converting a tennis court: a 78 by 36 ft tennis court fits four pickleball courts with their minimum run-off, or two with the recommended area and room to spare. See the tennis court conversion page.
How high is a pickleball court net?
36 inches at the sidelines and 34 inches at the center. The two inch sag is specified, not incidental, and it is why shots down the middle clear more easily than shots down the line.
A pickleball court net is lower than a tennis net, which stands 36 inches at center and 42 at the posts, so a tennis net lowered to 34 inches at center is a common conversion. The net should run the full width of the court plus the posts, which sit 22 feet apart measured center to center, outside the sidelines.
How does a pickleball court compare with tennis and padel?
A pickleball court is a quarter of a tennis court and under half of a padel court by area. That ratio is why pickleball goes into spaces the other two cannot.
| Court | Dimensions | Area | Enclosed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickleball | 44 × 20 ft | 880 sq ft | No |
| Padel | 65 ft 7 in × 32 ft 10 in | 2,153 sq ft | Yes, glass and mesh |
| Tennis, doubles | 78 × 36 ft | 2,808 sq ft | No |
| Badminton, doubles | 44 × 20 ft | 880 sq ft | No |
Pickleball and badminton share the same 44 by 20 rectangle, which is not a coincidence: the sport was first played on a badminton court. The lines inside the rectangle differ. The full comparison, including which sport a club should build, is on padel vs pickleball.
Common questions
Pickleball court dimensions, answered
Are singles and doubles pickleball courts the same size?
What is the pickleball court size in meters?
How big is the kitchen on a pickleball court?
How much space do you need around a pickleball court?
Can a pickleball court be built smaller than regulation?
How many pickleball courts fit on a tennis court?
Read next
From the lines to the build
Cost guide
What a pickleball court costs
Surface, base, fencing and lighting, line by line, with a calculator.
Construction
How a pickleball court is built
Base, slope, surfacing and the mistakes that show up in year two.
Comparison
Padel vs pickleball
Court, cost, players and which one a facility should build.
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