Sports Facilities · 6 min read
Clear Height Requirements for Indoor Court Sports
Padel needs 6 m of clear height, pickleball 5.5 m, squash 5.64 m, basketball and volleyball 7 m, and tennis and badminton 9 m. The figure has to be clear across the whole court — trusses, lights, ducts and sprinklers all count against it.
If you are converting a warehouse, a hall or a covered yard, clear height is usually the constraint that decides which sports you can offer — not floor area. It is also the one most often measured wrongly.
Minimum clear heights by sport
| Sport | Minimum | Recommended | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Padel | 6 m | 7 m or more | Lobs are central to the game; low ceilings change how it plays |
| Pickleball | 5.5 m | 6 m | Lower than most racket sports |
| Squash | 5.64 m | 5.64 m | Fixed by the court's own dimensions |
| Basketball | 7 m | 7 m+ | Measured above the whole court, not just the rims |
| Volleyball | 7 m | 9 m for competition | Serve and block trajectories drive the figure |
| Tennis | 9 m | 12 m for competition | Highest requirement of the common indoor sports |
| Badminton | 9 m | 12 m for international play | High clears are unplayable below this |
How to measure it properly
- Identify the lowest obstruction over the intended court footprint, not over the building as a whole.
- Measure to the underside of that obstruction, from finished floor level — including any floor build-up you are about to add.
- Repeat at several points: portal frames slope, and the lowest point is rarely at the centre.
- Subtract the depth of any lighting you intend to hang below the structure.
- Check the pitch of the roof against the court's full 20 m or 23.77 m length before assuming the middle figure applies throughout.
What a building can take
Working from the table above, clear height alone narrows the options quickly.
- Under 5.5 m — no full-size court sport. Training, fitness or table sports only.
- 5.5 m to 6 m — pickleball and squash are viable; padel is not.
- 6 m to 7 m — padel becomes possible, though 7 m plays considerably better.
- 7 m to 9 m — add basketball and volleyball.
- 9 m and above — tennis and badminton come into range.
Raising the height
Where a building falls just short, the options are to lower the floor, raise the roof, or relocate services. Lowering a floor means excavation, drainage and structural checks on foundations. Raising a roof is a structural project in its own right. Moving lighting and ducts out of the court zone is usually the cheapest of the three and worth pricing first.
Send us the building and the sports you want to run in it. We will work out what it can actually take before you commit.
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Written by CourtHub Editorial. Last updated 20 August 2026. Specifications quoted here follow the sport's standard playing dimensions. Where a figure depends on your specific site, market conditions or supplier, we say so rather than publishing a number we cannot stand behind.
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