Badminton Court Line Marking: Layout, Line Width and Common Errors

Singles and doubles badminton court layout, 40 mm line width practice, contrasting colour selection and a contractor checklist for accurate badminton court line marking.

Published 10 May 2026

Badminton courts in Singapore are marked in many sports halls, school halls, condominium recreation rooms and dedicated badminton centres. The layout is compact compared with basketball, but the line work is dense — within a single rectangle the singles and doubles boundaries, the long and short service lines and the centre line all need to be readable. This article summarises the badminton court layout and gives a contractor checklist for line marking work.

Layout summary

The badminton court is rectangular. A single layout includes the outer boundary for doubles play, an inner side boundary for singles play, the long service lines for singles and doubles, the short service line on each side of the net, and a centre line dividing the service courts. The net runs across the centre of the court at a fixed height.

For the exact measurements of each line and the playing area, the authoritative reference is the BWF (Badminton World Federation) Laws of Badminton, included in the BWF Statutes. The version in force at the time of marking should be checked, particularly for any competition use.

Note: The file IBF-Court-2018-8.pdf supplied to us did not contain a usable badminton diagram in its current form — the page extracted to a basketball reference. We have therefore not reproduced detailed badminton measurements in this article. For competition-grade line marking, always confirm against the current BWF court drawing.

Line width and colour

BWF practice is for lines to be a contrasting colour against the playing area, typically white or yellow. Many manufacturers and contractors mark the lines at 40 mm width.
All boundary lines are part of the court they bound. The line width itself is therefore in-bounds, which is why a line that is too thick can change the playable area materially.
When badminton shares a hall with basketball or volleyball, badminton lines should be in their own colour so the player and umpire can read them at a glance.

Substrate and finish

Badminton is played predominantly indoors on timber sports floors, polyurethane sports flooring or rolled vinyl sports flooring. Each substrate needs a line paint compatible with the floor finish. On timber, line paint goes between the sealer and the final polyurethane finish. On vinyl and rolled PU surfaces, a paint that does not lift the surface is used.

Contractor checklist for badminton line marking

Confirm the games sharing the same hall and the colour scheme.
Mark out the centre of the hall and then the doubles boundary first.
Lay out singles boundaries, long service lines (singles and doubles), short service lines and centre line.
Use stencil or premium painter's tape to keep the 40 mm line width consistent.
Apply line paint in two thin coats rather than one thick coat — a single heavy coat tends to bleed and leave a raised edge.
Confirm the final visibility from the umpire's chair line of sight, not just from above.

Repainting worn badminton lines

Service-line wear is the most common visible defect on busy badminton courts because that is where players land and pivot most frequently. Spot-repainting is usually possible without redoing the whole layout, but the new paint should be the same product family as the old paint to keep a clean visual finish. For larger refurbishment work see our repair and repainting service and the notes on floor sanding and polish.

References used in this article

BWF Statutes — Laws of Badminton (publicly available; consult the current BWF document for any specific competition compliance)

Need help with a court marking job?

Call +65 6968 3098, WhatsApp +65 9632 0750 or email david@ezzogenics.com. We can arrange a site visit, measure your court, and recommend the right coating and line layout.