01 · The Court
Every line has a job
A regulation badminton court is 13.4 metres long and 6.1 metres wide, split in two by a 1.55-metre net. The lines look busy, but each one tells you where you may stand, where the serve must land, and where a shot is in or out.
Singles
Narrow, and side long
In singles you use the full length of the court but the inner width side lines. The outside tramlines are for doubles only — step outside them and the rally is over.
5.18 m
Playing width in a singles rally.
Doubles
Full width
Doubles adds the outer tramlines, widening the court to the full 6.1 metres — but the service court is shorter. The back service line sits closer to the net than the long back boundary.
6.1 m
Full width used in doubles.
The net
1.55 m high
The net runs across the middle at 1.55 metres at the posts, dipping slightly at the centre. Shots must clear it — and you cannot touch it during a rally.
Next — how the serve starts every rally & what the rules allow