Pickleball Court Dimensions in Feet and Meters (With a DIY Layout Plan)
The court · Dimensions · Updated 2026-08-07
A pickleball court measures 20 feet wide by 44 feet long (6.10 x 13.41 meters), for both singles and doubles - exactly the size of a doubles badminton court. The net stands 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 at the center, and the 7-foot non-volley zone, better known as the kitchen, spans the full width on each side of the net.
Below: every measurement in feet and meters, the arithmetic behind the service boxes and buffers, and a DIY layout plan with exact tape lengths and diagonal checks for chalking a regulation court that plays true.
The official dimensions at a glance
USA Pickleball uses one court for every format: a 20 x 44 foot rectangle, split by the net into two 22-foot halves, with a 7-foot kitchen flanking the net on each side. Here is the full chart.
| Measurement | Feet / inches | Meters |
|---|---|---|
| Court width | 20 ft | 6.10 m (6.096 exact) |
| Court length | 44 ft | 13.41 m (13.4112 exact) |
| Each half, net to baseline | 22 ft | 6.71 m |
| Kitchen (non-volley zone) depth, each side | 7 ft | 2.13 m |
| Service box (each of four) | 10 x 15 ft | 3.05 x 4.57 m |
| Net height at sidelines | 36 in | 0.914 m |
| Net height at center | 34 in | 0.864 m |
| Court area | 880 sq ft | 81.75 sq m |
| Minimum playing area | 30 x 60 ft | 9.14 x 18.29 m |
| Preferred playing area | 34 x 64 ft | 10.36 x 19.51 m |
The metric figures use the exact definition of the foot, 0.3048 meters: 20 feet is precisely 6.096 meters and 44 feet is 13.4112 meters, so marking a court at the rounded 6.10 x 13.41 puts every line within half a centimeter of regulation. The kitchen's 7 feet converts to 2.1336 meters, and the 36 and 34 inch net heights convert to 91.44 and 86.36 centimeters.
Every line on the court
- Baselines: the two 20-foot end lines, parallel to the net. Serves are struck from behind them.
- Sidelines: the two 44-foot long edges. A ball landing on any boundary line is in; fully outside is a fault.
- Kitchen lines: 7 feet from the net on each side, spanning the full width. The line belongs to the kitchen, so volleying while touching it is a fault; see the kitchen rules guide.
- Centerlines: one per side, running 15 feet from kitchen line to baseline, splitting each backcourt into left and right service boxes. The kitchen itself has no centerline.
- The net: spans the full width at 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 at the center.
Singles and doubles share the same court
Tennis players expect doubles alleys; pickleball has none. The same 20 x 44 rectangle serves every format; what changes is scoring, not geometry. In doubles with traditional side-out scoring, only the serving team scores, games run to 11 win by 2, and the score is called as three numbers: serving team's score, receiving team's score, server number. The first serving team of each game gets only one server, so every game opens at 0-0-2. How to keep score in pickleball walks through a full game; rally scoring vs side-out covers the variant that scores a point on every rally.
The math behind the service boxes
Every box falls out of three numbers: 44, 20, and 7. The net splits the 44-foot length into two 22-foot halves, the kitchen claims the first 7 feet of each, leaving 22 - 7 = 15 feet between kitchen line and baseline, and the centerline splits the 20-foot width into two 10-foot halves. Each service box is therefore 10 x 15 feet, or 150 square feet, and the areas tally: four boxes at 150 is 600, two kitchens at 7 x 20 = 140 add 280, and 600 + 280 = 880, exactly 20 x 44. The serve travels diagonally cross-court from behind the baseline into the opposite box, one attempt per point; see the serving rules guide.
How much total space you need
The court alone is not enough, because players chase lobs behind the baseline and balls wide of the sidelines. USA Pickleball recommends a total playing area of at least 30 x 60 feet, preferred 34 x 64. The buffers follow directly: at the minimum, (30 - 20) / 2 = 5 feet beside each sideline and (60 - 44) / 2 = 8 feet behind each baseline; at the preferred size, 7 and 10 feet. For fencing, slope, and multi-court spacing, see the space requirements guide.
| Playing area | Total size | Side buffer (each) | Baseline buffer (each) | Total area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Court only | 20 x 44 ft | 0 ft | 0 ft | 880 sq ft |
| Minimum | 30 x 60 ft | 5 ft | 8 ft | 1,800 sq ft |
| Preferred | 34 x 64 ft | 7 ft | 10 ft | 2,176 sq ft |
DIY layout plan: chalk a court step by step
- Measure and clear the space: Find a flat, hard surface at least 30 x 60 feet, the USA Pickleball minimum; 34 x 64 is preferred. Sweep it first, since chalk and tape grip poorly on dust.
- Mark the first baseline: Snap a straight 20-foot line, leaving at least 8 feet of runoff behind it. Mark both corners and the 10-foot midpoint for the centerline later.
- Square the first corner: Measure 12 feet along the baseline from a corner, then 16 feet out toward the sideline. The corner is square when the diagonal between the two marks reads exactly 20 feet: 12-16-20 is a scaled 3-4-5 right triangle, since 144 + 256 = 400.
- Run the sidelines and far baseline: Measure 44 feet down each sideline, connect the far corners with the second 20-foot baseline, and confirm the rectangle with the diagonal check below before marking anything permanent.
- Place the kitchen lines: The net line sits at the 22-foot midpoint of each sideline. Measure 7 feet back from it on both sides and run a 20-foot line across the width; equivalently, each kitchen line sits 15 feet from its baseline, since 22 - 7 = 15.
- Add the centerlines: Connect the 10-foot midpoints of each baseline and its kitchen line. Each centerline is 15 feet long and creates two 10 x 15 foot service boxes.
- Hang the net: Set the top at 36 inches at each sideline and 34 at the center. The 2-inch sag is regulation, not slack; the net height guide covers tensioning and portable nets.
Worked example: tape, paint, and surface area
The outer boundary needs 2 x (20 + 44) = 128 feet of line, the two kitchen lines add 2 x 20 = 40, and the two centerlines add 2 x 15 = 30. Total: 128 + 40 + 30 = 198 feet, so one 200-foot roll of court tape marks a full court with 2 feet to spare. Painting at the common 2-inch line width covers 198 feet times one sixth of a foot, exactly 33 square feet. For surfacing quotes: 880 square feet for the court, 1,800 for the 30 x 60 minimum, 2,176 for the 34 x 64 preferred area.
Common mistakes when laying out a court
- Measuring the kitchen from the baseline. The 7 feet runs from the net; from the baseline, the kitchen line sits at 15 feet. Mixing those up builds a kitchen more than twice regulation depth.
- Skipping the diagonal check. Correct sides with unequal diagonals means a parallelogram, and every box inherits the lean. Thirty seconds with a tape prevents it.
- Leaving no runoff. Keep at least 8 feet behind each baseline and 5 feet beyond each sideline, the buffers built into the 30 x 60 minimum.
- Adding singles lines. Pickleball has no narrower singles court; singles uses the full 20-foot width.
- Reusing a tennis net at full height. A tennis net measures 36 inches at the center, 2 inches above pickleball's 34; lower it or use a portable net, as covered in pickleball vs tennis court dimensions.
How the dimensions shape the game
The 7-foot kitchen keeps the net area from becoming a smash zone, and it defines strategy. Because volleying while touching the kitchen or its line is a fault, players advance only to the kitchen line and trade soft shots that land in the opponent's kitchen, where they cannot be attacked - that shot is the dink, and dink rallies are the heart of doubles. The two-bounce rule requires the serve and its return to bounce before anyone volleys, pulling all four players up to the line early in nearly every rally.
Net height and tennis court conversions
The net stands 36 inches at the sidelines and 34 at the center; the 2-inch dip quietly rewards shots hit through the middle. The net height guide covers measuring and portable net setup.
Converting a tennis court? The numbers cooperate: a typical tennis court area of roughly 60 x 120 feet fits up to four pickleball courts, two minimum playing areas across (2 x 30 = 60) and two deep (2 x 60 = 120). The catch: a tennis net measures 36 inches at the center, 2 inches higher than pickleball's 34, so lower it or bring a portable net. Full layouts are in pickleball vs tennis court dimensions.
Court marked? Let Dink call the score. Once the lines are down, the hard part is tracking the three-number score and whose serve it is. Dink: Pickleball Score Keeper by Panda Taps, on the App Store for iPhone and Apple Watch, calls the full score out loud, tracks the server number and side-outs automatically, and supports both side-out and rally scoring. It works offline with no account, ready on whatever court you just chalked. Download Dink: Pickleball Score Keeper on the App Store.
Frequently asked questions
Are singles and doubles pickleball courts the same size?
Yes. Singles and doubles use the same 20 x 44 foot court, the size of a doubles badminton court, and no lines change between formats.
What are pickleball court dimensions in meters?
A pickleball court is 6.10 by 13.41 meters, exactly 6.096 x 13.4112 meters using 0.3048 meters per foot. The kitchen extends 2.13 meters from the net on each side.
How big is the kitchen in pickleball?
The non-volley zone extends 7 feet from the net on each side, across the full 20-foot width. The line counts as part of the zone, so volleying while touching it is a fault.
How much space do you need around a pickleball court?
USA Pickleball recommends at least 30 x 60 feet of total playing area, with 34 x 64 preferred. The minimum leaves 5 feet beside each sideline and 8 feet behind each baseline.