Pickleball court dimensions and size, in feet

Pickleball court dimensions are 20 feet wide by 44 feet long, including the lines, and that single measurement covers both singles and doubles — unlike tennis, the court does not change between formats. Inside that rectangle sit two seven-foot non-volley zones and four service courts, and all of it is measured to the outside edge of the two-inch lines.

Pickleball court size: every measurement

Regulation court, USA Pickleball

Element	Measurement
Court, outside of lines	20 ft × 44 ft
Non-volley zone (kitchen), each side	7 ft deep × 20 ft wide
Service court, each	10 ft wide × 15 ft long
Baseline to kitchen line	15 ft
Net height at the sidelines	36 in
Net height at the centre	34 in
Line width	2 in
Recommended total playing area	30 ft × 60 ft
Tournament playing area	34 ft × 64 ft

The two numbers people miss are the last two. The court is 20 × 44, but the space is 30 × 60 — you need five feet behind each baseline and each sideline to chase a ball without hitting a fence.

How the 44 feet break down

Walk it from the net. Seven feet of kitchen. Then fifteen feet of service court, which is split down the middle into two boxes ten feet wide. That is 22 feet, and the other half of the court mirrors it. The centreline runs from the kitchen line to the baseline only — it does not cross the kitchen.

Pickleball court vs tennis court

A doubles tennis court is 36 by 78 feet. A pickleball court is 20 by 44. In area that is about 880 square feet against 2,808 — roughly a third. Four pickleball courts fit comfortably in the footprint of one tennis court, which is why conversions are the fastest way clubs add capacity.

If you are converting rather than building, the net is the catch: a tennis net is 36 inches at the posts but 3 feet at the centre, two inches higher than pickleball wants. Details in pickleball net height.

How much space you actually need at home

The court is 20 × 44, but a backyard court that is exactly 20 × 44 plays badly — every deep ball becomes a fence. Plan for:

• 30 × 60 ft for a comfortable rec court. This is the recommended minimum.
• 34 × 64 ft if you want to run tournament-style play or add spectator room.
• Ten feet of overhead clearance minimum for indoor play; twenty is better for lobs.

If you only have the 20 × 44 pad, you can still play — just expect a lot of let-it-go calls near the fence.

Surfaces and orientation

Post-tension concrete or asphalt with an acrylic sports coating is the standard, and it is what almost every public court uses. Orient the court north–south so neither player serves into a low sun. Slope the surface one inch per twenty feet in a single plane for drainage; never crown it, because a crowned court gives the two sides different bounces.

Line marking

Lines are two inches wide, painted in a colour that contrasts with the surface — white on green or blue is the convention. Every line is measured to its outside edge, and the line is part of the court it bounds. That matters on the kitchen line, which belongs to the non-volley zone, so a serve landing on it is a fault. The rest of the in-or-out rules are on the pickleball rules page.