Court
A flat, precisely marked playing area, usually rectangular and often hard-surfaced, used for net and hoop sports such as tennis, basketball and volleyball.
Definition
A court is the bounded playing area for sports organised around a net, hoop or wall — tennis, badminton, volleyball, basketball, squash, netball and padel among them. Compared with a pitch, a court is generally smaller, more precisely dimensioned and more often built on a hard, engineered base, though the exact size and line markings differ entirely from one sport to another.
The word refers to the venue and its lines, not to any single material: courts exist in clay, grass, acrylic hard court, hardwood parquet and cushioned synthetic layers. Many indoor courts carry overlapping line sets in different colours so a single space can host several sports.
Scope: The venue, independent of surface; contrast with 'pitch', which is typically larger and grassed.
Where you’ll hear “court”
Sports that use this term:
Tennis
A singles or doubles racquet sport that blends agility, strategy and stamina on court.
Basketball
A fast, dynamic team sport of running, jumping and quick decisions on court.
Volleyball
A non-contact team sport of rallies, jumps and teamwork — indoors or on the beach.
Badminton
A fast indoor racquet sport played with a shuttlecock that rewards agility and touch.
Padel
A sociable, doubles-first racquet sport played in an enclosed court where the walls stay in play.
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Facilities
- Basketball courtA rectangular hard-surfaced court with a raised hoop and backboard at each end where basketball is played.
- Tennis courtA rectangular marked court, divided across the middle by a net, where tennis is played as singles or doubles.
- Badminton courtA rectangular indoor court, divided by a high net, on which badminton is played as singles or doubles.
- Volleyball courtA rectangular court split by a high net over which two teams rally the ball, played indoors or on sand.
- Sports hallA large indoor hall with multi-sport line markings, used for court sports like basketball, volleyball and badminton.
Techniques
Equipment
- BasketballA large, inflated ball with a dimpled surface used to play basketball.
- Cricket batA flat-fronted wooden bat used by batters to hit the ball in cricket, with a curved back that concentrates weight behind the hitting area.
- Pickleball paddleA solid, flat paddle used to hit the perforated plastic ball in pickleball.
Positions
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- Content type
- Term
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-09-01
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