Pickleball court anatomy: every line, explained
A pickleball court has fewer lines than a tennis court but more than people expect — and getting the names straight is half the battle when you’re learning the rules. This article walks every line on the court, top to bottom, and tells you what each one is for.
The outer rectangle
The full court is 20 feet wide and 44 feet long — the same size for singles and doubles, which is one of the unusual things about pickleball. (Tennis has different doubles dimensions; pickleball doesn’t.) The four lines that form the perimeter are:
- Two baselines (the short ends of the rectangle)
- Two sidelines (the long ends)
A ball that lands on any of these lines is in. Pickleball is generous about line calls — the line is part of the court for every line on the court, with one famous exception below.
The net
The net stretches across the middle of the court at the centerline. Regulation height is 36 inches at the sidelines and 34 inches at the center — slightly lower in the middle because the net naturally sags a bit, and the rule accommodates that.
The Non-Volley Zone (the Kitchen)
The most famous line on the court is the Non-Volley Zone line, also called the Kitchen line or sometimes just “the line.” It runs parallel to the net, 7 feet from the net on each side. The area between the net and this line is the Non-Volley Zone (NVZ), almost universally called the Kitchen.
The Kitchen is where you cannot volley — that is, you cannot hit the ball out of the air while any part of you is touching the NVZ or its line. You can stand in the Kitchen, walk through it, or hit a bounced ball from inside it. Just no volleying.
The Kitchen line itself is part of the Kitchen for fault purposes — touching it during a volley counts as being in the NVZ. This is the one place on the court where “the line is in” works against you.
For the full rules, see The Kitchen (Non-Volley Zone) rules explained.
The service boxes
Behind the Kitchen line on each side of the court, the remaining area is divided into two service boxes by a short centerline that runs from the Kitchen line to the baseline. Each side has:
- Right service box (sometimes called the even service box)
- Left service box (sometimes called the odd service box)
The names “even” and “odd” come from scoring: when your team’s score is even (0, 2, 4, …), you serve from the right; when it’s odd (1, 3, 5, …), you serve from the left. See Scoring explained for the deeper version.
A serve must land in the diagonal service box on the other side of the court — right serves to the opponent’s right, left serves to the opponent’s left — and it must clear the Kitchen. If your serve lands in the Kitchen or on the Kitchen line, it’s a fault.
Lines that don’t exist on a pickleball court
If you’re coming from tennis, here’s what isn’t there:
- No alleys. The doubles court is the same width as the singles court.
- No service line behind the boxes. Pickleball serves can land anywhere from the Kitchen line back to the baseline (within the diagonal box).
- No “T” intersection at the service line. The centerline runs the full length from Kitchen to baseline.
Building or marking a court
If you’re setting up a temporary court — at a park, a driveway, or a gym floor — the dimensions you need are simple:
- Total area including out-of-bounds: at least 30 feet by 60 feet (gives players room to chase shots)
- Court itself: 20 by 44 feet
- Kitchen: 7 feet from the net, full court width (so a 14-by-20-foot rectangle)
- Net: 36 inches high at the sidelines, 34 at the center
A roll of athletic court tape and a tape measure will get you a playable court in about 30 minutes. For a more permanent setup, the USA Pickleball facilities manual is the canonical source — it covers fencing, surface materials, and orientation (the long axis of the court should run north-south to minimize sun glare).
Source
Court dimensions and line definitions are from the USA Pickleball Official Rulebook (USAP 2026), Section 2 (Court and Equipment Specifications).