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.
- Sports hallA large indoor hall with multi-sport line markings, used for court sports like basketball, volleyball and badminton.
- 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.
Rules
- Out of boundsThe rule that a ball or player leaving the marked playing area is out of play and possession is decided at the boundary.
- Touching the netA net-play rule that penalises a player for contacting the net during a rally in net-divided sports.
- Foot faultA serving fault called when the server's foot touches the baseline or court before striking the ball.
- LetA call that stops a point and has it replayed without penalty, used across several racket sports.
- Three-hit ruleThe volleyball rule that a team may contact the ball at most three times before it must cross the net.
Equipment
- BasketballA large, inflated ball with a dimpled surface used to play basketball.
- Padel racketA solid, stringless perforated racket used to play padel.
- Tennis racquetA strung frame with a handle used to hit the ball in tennis.
- Pickleball paddleA solid, flat paddle used to hit the perforated plastic ball in pickleball.
- Cricket batA flat-fronted wooden bat used by batters to hit the ball in cricket.
Playing surfaces
- WoodAn indoor sprung timber or parquet floor — grippy, consistent and lightly cushioned; the classic surface for indoor court sports.
- Hard courtA rigid acrylic, concrete or asphalt court that gives a true, consistent, medium-paced bounce — the standard multi-use outdoor surface.
- ClayA soft, granular racquet-sport surface of crushed brick, stone or shale that slows the ball, gives a high bounce and lets players slide into shots.
- GrassNatural turf grown on soil — the traditional surface for many field sports and, in tennis, a fast court with a low, skiddy bounce.
- SandLoose beach sand: a soft, shifting, energy-sapping surface with no true bounce that rewards balance and footwork, used for beach sports and conditioning.
Techniques
- Volleyball SpikeA powerful attacking hit that drives the ball sharply downward over the net into the opponent's court, usually after an approach and jump.
- Volleyball DigA defensive contact that keeps a hard-driven ball in play by passing it up off the forearms, usually from a low position.
- VolleyA shot played near the net by blocking the ball out of the air before it bounces, using a short, firm punch rather than a full swing.
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- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
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- Content updated
- 2026-08-04
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