An indoor volleyball court is 18 metres long and 9 wide, and a beach court is 16 by 8. But a regulation court is more than that rectangle: the free zone around it, the lines, the service zone and the clear space above also count. These are all the official measurements under the FIVB rules 2025-2028.
Indoor volleyball court dimensions
| Element | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Playing court | 18 x 9 m (two 9 x 9 m halves) |
| Attack line | 3 m from the centre line, on each side |
| Lines | 5 cm wide, included within the 18 x 9 m |
| Free zone | At least 3 m all round (FIVB competitions: 5 m at the sides and 6.5 m behind) |
| Service zone | 9 m wide behind the end line, to the end of the free zone |
| Clear height | At least 7 m above the floor (12.5 m in FIVB competitions) |
On each side, the attack line separates the front zone, the 3 metres next to the net, from the back zone. It’s the line a back-row player must not touch at take-off if they want to attack a ball above the net. And a detail that decides many points: the lines are part of the court, so a ball that lands on the line is in.
Net, antennae and posts
- Net height: 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for women. Heights by age group
- Net: 1 m wide and 9.5 to 10 m long, with 10 cm mesh and a 7 cm top band.
- Side bands: 5 cm wide, directly above each sideline.
- Antennae: 1.80 m rods that stick out 80 cm above the net and mark where the ball must cross.
- Posts: 2.55 m high, placed 0.5 to 1 m outside the sidelines (in FIVB competitions, 1 m away and padded).
Beach volleyball court dimensions
| Element | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Playing court | 16 x 8 m |
| Lines | 5 cm ribbons; there is no centre line or attack line |
| Free zone | At least 3 m (5 to 6 m in FIVB competitions) |
| Service zone | 8 m wide behind the end line |
| Net | 8.5 m long and 1 m wide, at the same height as indoors |
| Sand | At least 40 cm deep in FIVB competitions |
The beach court is smaller because each team has only two players. With no attack line, both can attack from anywhere on their side.
Mini-volleyball courts
Smaller courts are used for young children, and each federation or league sets its own sizes. For example, at the 2025-2026 Valencia Municipal Games in Spain, mini-volleyball is played on an 8 x 4 m court for under-10s and a 12 x 6 m court for under-12s; from under-14 onwards the official 18 x 9 m court is used.
Other facility requirements
- A flat, horizontal and even surface with no risk of injury; light-coloured indoors.
- Minimum temperature of 10 °C.
- Lighting of at least 300 lux (2,000 lux in FIVB competitions).