Yes. You can play pickleball on a badminton court, and most of the court is already right: a doubles badminton court and a pickleball court are the same rectangle to within about a centimetre. Two things have to change. The net comes down about 66 cm at the centre, and the kitchen line is not the painted short service line.
Two more things you simply play around: the badminton posts stand on your side line, and the room around the court may be tight. Every figure below comes from the two rulebooks - the Laws of Badminton (BWF Statutes, Section 4.1) and the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook - and the whole guide is written for a social game in a Malaysian hall.
The short version
- The footprint already fits. Pickleball is 20 feet (6.096 m) wide, a doubles badminton court 6.100 m - 4 mm apart, with 11 mm in the lengths (USAP Rule 3.A.1; BWF Diagram A).
- Change the net. Badminton sits at 1.524 m in the centre, pickleball at 86.36 cm - a drop of about 66 cm (Law 1.10; Rule 3.B.7).
- Change the kitchen line. The short service line sits 1.980 m from the net, the non-volley zone 2.13 m, so the whole badminton line lies inside the kitchen (Diagram A; Rule 3.A.4.c).
- Live with the posts and the run-off. A badminton post stands on your side line (Law 1.5); pickleball wants a 9.14 m by 18.29 m playing surface (Rule 3.A.3).
Is a badminton court the same size as a pickleball court?
To within a centimetre, yes. Rule 3.A.1 of the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook sets the court at 20 feet (6.10 m) wide and 44 feet (13.41 m) long, for singles and doubles alike. Those feet convert to 6.096 m and 13.4112 m. Diagram A of the Laws of Badminton gives the doubles court as 6.100 m wide and 13.400 m long, so the two courts are 4 mm apart on width and 11 mm on length.
| Measurement | Badminton | Pickleball |
|---|---|---|
| Court width | 6.100 m, doubles side line to doubles side line | 20 ft = 6.096 m (Rule 3.A.1, printed as 6.10 m) |
| Court length | 13.400 m | 44 ft = 13.4112 m (Rule 3.A.1, printed as 13.41 m) |
| Net height, centre | 1.524 m (Law 1.10) | 86.36 cm / 34 in, ±0.25 in (Rule 3.B.7) |
| Net height, at the side lines | 1.55 m (Law 1.10) | 91.44 cm / 36 in, ±0.25 in (Rule 3.B.6) |
| Net posts | On the doubles side lines, 1.55 m tall (Laws 1.4, 1.5) | Should be 22 ft / 6.71 m apart, inside face to inside face (Rule 3.B.2) |
| A line 2.13 m from the net | None - the short service line is at 1.980 m | The non-volley zone line (Rule 3.A.4.c) |
If you would rather be shown than measure it yourself, that is the job: Court Sense is coach George Cheah's coaching in the Klang Valley - pickleball, padel and tennis, adults and children, one-to-one or in a small group, beginners as welcome as players who already play. Sessions are arranged on WhatsApp at +60 13-340 8183: message to agree the sport, a time and a court. Still choosing between the three? Our guide to choosing between pickleball, padel and tennis sets them side by side.
Pickleball net height vs badminton: how far does the net come down?
About 66 cm at the centre. The Laws of Badminton put the top of the net at 1.524 m in the middle of the court; the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook puts it at 86.36 cm, give or take a quarter of an inch (Rule 3.B.7). At the side lines the drop is about 64 cm, from 1.55 m to 91.44 cm (Rule 3.B.6). A badminton net stands about three-quarters higher than a pickleball net.
"The top of the net from the surface of the court shall be 1.524 metres at the centre of the court and 1.55 metres over the side lines for doubles." Laws of Badminton, BWF Statutes Section 4.1, Law 1.10
Lowering the hall's net instead of bringing your own has one catch worth measuring. A badminton net is 760 mm deep (Law 1.7), so once its top sits at 86.36 cm the bottom edge is about 10 cm off the floor in the middle, and a pickleball will find that gap: look along it before the first serve.
Can you use the badminton short service line as the kitchen line?
No - and this is the one mistake that changes who may hit what. The badminton short service line is 1.980 m from the net. Pickleball's non-volley zone, the kitchen, reaches 2.13 m. The whole badminton line therefore lies inside the kitchen: 15.4 cm short of the kitchen boundary at its near edge, 11.4 cm at its far edge.
"The non-volley zone lines run parallel to the net, 7 feet (2.13 m) from the net on each end between the two sidelines. All lines that bound the non-volley zone are part of the zone." 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, Rule 3.A.4.c
The arithmetic is short. Diagram A puts the short service line 1.980 m from the net, and Law 1.1 makes every badminton line 40 mm wide, so its far edge sits at 2.020 m. Pickleball measures to the outside edge of its non-volley zone line (Rule 3.A.2), putting the kitchen boundary at 2.1336 m. Volley with a foot on the paint and you have faulted: Rule 11.A requires every volley to be started outside the zone, and under Rule 11.A.2 the fault stands even when your own momentum carries you in after the ball is dead.
That is the fault nobody expects on a converted court: badminton trains you to stand on the short service line, and in pickleball those same feet are in the kitchen. A serve landing in the kitchen is a fault against the server too (Rule 7.E.2) - settle both before anyone starts calling a score, which our guide to how the score is called in pickleball takes rally by rally.
What can you not fix on a badminton court?
Two things: the posts and the room around the court. Law 1.5 of the Laws of Badminton puts the posts on the doubles side lines whether singles or doubles is played, so a badminton post stands on the edge of your pickleball court. Pickleball's posts should be 22 feet (6.71 m) apart, inside face to inside face (Rule 3.B.2) - by our own arithmetic, about 30 cm clear of each side line.
The run-off is the second thing you cannot change. Pickleball's minimum playing surface is 30 feet by 60 feet (9.14 m by 18.29 m, Rule 3.A.3); with the court centred in it, that works out at 1.52 m clear beyond each side line and 2.44 m beyond each baseline, which rows of badminton courts do not always leave. You feel it on the serve: the serving areas are the ground behind the baseline (Rule 3.A.4.g), and at least one of the server's feet must be in contact with that area when the serve is hit (Rule 7.A.1). In a social game a tight back wall is a comfort problem, not a rules problem.
How do you convert a badminton court for pickleball?
Four steps, in this order. Drop the net to 86.36 cm at the centre and 91.44 cm at the side lines (Rules 3.B.6, 3.B.7). Measure 2.13 m from the net on each side and mark that line (Rule 3.A.4.c). Agree which badminton lines you are ignoring. Then check the room behind the baselines and the posts you will be playing around.
- Net to 86.36 cm at the centre, 91.44 cm at the side lines (Rules 3.B.6, 3.B.7) - lower the hall's or stand up your own.
- Measure 2.13 m from the net on each side and mark or agree that line (Rule 3.A.4.c).
- Agree which badminton lines to ignore: the singles side lines (420 mm inside the doubles ones), the doubles long service line (720 mm inside the back boundary) and the short service line. The centre line stays - pickleball has one too (Rule 3.A.4.d).
- Check the room and the posts - with the court centred, 1.52 m past each side line and 2.44 m behind each baseline (our arithmetic from the 9.14 m by 18.29 m minimum, Rule 3.A.3), and a metal post where a cross-court dink lands.
Can you book a badminton hall for pickleball in Malaysia?
Ask before you measure anything. A hall may already have pickleball lines on the floor, a net set behind the counter, or a booking type for pickleball rather than badminton - and if it does, the conversion is somebody else's job. Three questions settle it: does the hall take pickleball bookings, can the net be lowered, and is a non-volley zone line already marked?
If the answer to the last one is no, ask what you may put on the floor before you bring tape. Marking the floor - timber, mat or synthetic - is the hall's call, not yours, and a marker set outside each side line at the kitchen line does the same job without touching the playing surface.
Outdoors, the same conversion has been promised. In November 2024 Selangor's Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, said local authorities would build more pickleball court facilities in public parks, with RM1 million allocated, as Bernama reported:
"by changing badminton courts that are situated in open spaces, as badminton is more suitable to be played in closed areas." Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, quoted by Bernama, 15 November 2024
Indoors it is in your hands, and a badminton court in the Klang Valley is a pickleball court waiting for a net and one line. The rest of our series is on the Court Sense guides page; when you would rather play than read, message Court Sense on WhatsApp at +60 13-340 8183.
Frequently asked questions
What if the hall's net cannot be lowered?
Bring a portable net. Some hall nets are strung on a fixed cable at badminton height and will not drop at all, which is why it is the first thing to ask when you book. A portable set has to give you 86.36 cm at the centre, with posts that should stand 22 feet apart (Rules 3.B.2, 3.B.7).
Can you stand in the kitchen in pickleball?
Yes, whenever you like - you simply may not volley from it. Rule 11.A requires every volley to be initiated outside the non-volley zone, and a player may contact the zone at any other time. After being in the zone, both feet must be completely outside it before you volley (Rule 11.A.3).
Can you use a badminton racket on a converted court?
No. Pickleball is played with a paddle rather than a strung racket, and with a holed plastic ball rather than a shuttle. Rule 3.D.2 caps the paddle at 17 inches long and 24 inches for length and width combined; Rule 3.D.3 sets no limit on weight. The non-marking shoes you wear for badminton are the right shoes.
Do you need an indoor ball to play on a badminton court?
No. Rule 3.C.1 of the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook says all approved balls are acceptable for indoor or outdoor play. Figure 3-2 of the same rulebook records a convention, not a rule: the ball with larger holes is customarily used indoors.
Sources
- Laws of Badminton, BWF Statutes Section 4.1 - Laws 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, 1.10 and Diagram A.
- 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook (PDF) - Rules 3.A.1 to 3.A.4.g, 3.B.2 to 3.B.7, 3.C.1 with Figure 3-2, 3.D.2 and 3.D.3, 7.A.1, 7.E.2 and 11.A to 11.A.3.
- Bernama, 15 November 2024, "Selangor Plan To Introduce Pickleball In SUKMA 2026 - Amirudin" - pickleball court facilities in public parks by changing badminton courts in open spaces, RM1 million allocated.