What are the basic rules of badminton?

In badminton, the serve must be hit in an upwards direction, with an underarm hitting action. You are
not allowed to play a tennis style serve. The main rule here is that when you hit the shuttle, it must be
below your waist. To be exact, the rules define this to be a height level with the lowest part of your
ribcage.

What are the skills needed in badminton?

Basic badminton skills include learning how you hold the racket, serve the shuttle and move your feet.

Fundamental Skills & Rules in Badminton

Badminton is a fairly easy game to learn and fun to play casually and competitively. Basic badminton
skills include learning how you hold the racket, serve the shuttle and move your feet. You can practice
drills to improve your game. Rules and scoring are established for singles and doubles games.

Grip

You will want to learn how to hold your racket with the forehand to hit shuttles on that side of your
body and backhand to hit on the opposite side. You will use a forehand grip to hit above your head as
well. You can hit the shuttle using a backhand grip with your elbow up or down. It is good to practice
hitting with these grips to improve your skills.

Footwork

Your footwork can bring more success to your game if you learn the basics of moving on the court and
practice them. Your ready position should include standing in the center of the court if you are playing
singles and bending your knees with your body relaxed and waiting for play. Move your feet by shuffling
them or gliding from left to right and stepping or lunging forward. To move backward, go fast enough
that you get behind the shuttle to hit it hard enough.

Serving

Four types of badminton serves include: 1) the high serve to move your opponent to the back of his or
her side of the court; 2) the low serve to make your opponent have to get under the shuttle; 3) the flick
serve that is used occasionally to confuse your opponent who thinks you are going to hit a low serve; 4)
the drive serve where you hit the shuttle low, fast and to the rear of the receiver's court as a strategy
move that will result in a missed hit.

Scoring

Simple badminton rules include a scoring system where you play until you score 21 points. Three games
constitute a match. A point is scored each time there is a serve and the side that wins the rally scores
the point. You have to win by at least 2 points unless the game reaches 29 and there is still not a winner.
The first side to score 30 points wins. If you win a game you will serve first in the next game.

Singles

To begin a singles game of badminton you will serve from the right side of the court. After the initial
serve, the position depends on the server's score. If your score is even, you serve from the right and if it
is odd you serve from the left. In addition, if the server wins the rally he will continue to serve, and if the
receiver wins, the next serve goes to the receiver.

Doubles

In doubles play, serving goes back and forth between partners. The serving side is the same as in singles
play in terms of even score serves from right and odd score from left. The serving partner alternates
court sides if she continues to score during a rally and will serve until a rally is lost. When the serve
comes back to the team the partner will serve next.

Additional Rules

The Badminton World Federation rules state that there is a 60-second interval when the winning team
scores the 11th point. In addition, two-minute intervals are taken between games. If a match reaches
three games, there is a change of ends when the winning side scores 11 points.

Badminton Equipment & Facilities

Different versions of badminton have been played for centuries, but it was the game of "Poona" in
India that was the basis for the game of badminton we play today. In the 1860's a group of stationed
British army officers learned the game and took it back with them from India. The game grew in
popularity until 1895 when the Badminton Association of England was formed, along with the rules of
game play that are used around the world even today. In order to play this form of badminton, certain
equipment and facilities are needed.

Racket

The badminton racket is one of the most important tools a player has in the game. Badminton rackets
are much lighter than most other sports rackets because they are made from materials such as carbon
fiber or lighter metals such as aluminum. Parts of the racket include the head, throat, shaft and
handle with a maximum length of 27.77 inches and a width of 9 inches. It Strings that are stretched
across the opening of the racket in a checkerboard pattern, which acts as the hitting surface.
Badminton rackets can vary widely in cost depending on whether they are purchased as part of a basic
backyard set or as more expensive professional models.
Shuttlecock

The badminton shuttlecock, also referred to as a shuttle or birdie, acts similarly to a ball in other
racket sports. However, the design of the birdie creates more drag as it is propelled through the air
due to its feathered shape. The shuttlecock is made up of a cone shape with a hard cork at its tip.
Shuttlecocks can be made from a variety of materials -- more expensive models are actually made
from feathers, and less expensive models are made from plastic feathers. The shuttle has 16 feathers
attached to the base and the length of the feathers range between 2.44 and 2.75 inches.

Net

A mesh net divides the badminton court into two sides. A badminton net is placed lower than a
volleyball net at five feet and one inch high on the sides and five feet high in the center. The length
may vary depending on whether doubles or singles are playing, with singles reaching 17 feet and
doubles reaching 22 feet. The net is 30 inches wide with a 3-inch white tape doubled over the top.

Facilities

The badminton court should be 44 feet long by 22 feet wide if playing doubles, and 44 feet long by 17
feet wide for singles. If the facility is indoors, there needs to be enough height for the shuttlecock to
be able to float across the net without hitting the ceiling. This height will vary depending on the
strength of the players.

Single Badminton Rules

A singles match in badminton features one player on each side of the net. You'll get more of a
cardiovascular workout in a singles game than in a game of doubles, because you are responsible for the
entire side of your court. The Badminton World Federation, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, writes and
regularly updates the formal Laws of Badminton, which govern all official international competitions.

Match

A badminton match consists of a best two-out-of-three game series. The BWF requires players to win a
game by a margin of two points. Play each game to 21 points unless, without a two-point margin, the
score reaches 29-all. At 29-all you only need a one-point margin, meaning the first player to reach 30
points is the winner.

Serving

The service line for a singles game is the back line of the court. The serve -- not to be executed until both
players indicate they are ready -- must be underhanded and completed behind the service line. In
singles, a player serves from the right service court diagonally over the net to his opponent’s right
service court when the server has a score of zero or an even number. When the server has scored an
odd number of points, she serves from her left service court into her opponent’s left service court.

Court

During a rally, a player can hit the shuttle from any position on his side of the net. The singles sidelines
indicate your left and right boundary. The singles lines are 18 inches closer to the middle of the court
than the doubles lines. A rally ends when the shuttle touches the playing surface in bounds or a fault is
committed. In between games and after the first player scores 11 points in the third game, change ends
with your opponent.

Points

When the server wins the rally, he scores a point, retains the serve and moves to the alternate service
court to serve again. When the receiver wins the rally, she earns the serve, but may or may not gain a
point depending on the set of rules in use. In official BWF play, the receiver scores points. However, in
classic-rules badminton, used at some college recreational programs, only the server can earn points.

Faults

In official BWF games, faults result in a point for your opponent and you must surrender the serve.
Swinging at, but missing, the shuttle on the serve is a fault; as is hitting the shuttle so it passes
underneath, rather than over, the net. You can also receive a fault when you hit the shuttle out of
bounds or for touching the shuttle with your body or clothing.