Rules of Badminton
Rules
The following information is a simplified summary of badminton rules based on the BWF Statutes publication, Laws of Badminton.
Badminton court
The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are usually marked for both singles and doubles play, although badminton rules permit a court to be marked for singles only. The doubles court is more full than the singles court, but both are of the same length. The exception, which often confuses newer players, is that the doubles court has a shorter serve-length dimension.
The full width of the court is 6.1 meters (20 ft), and in singles, this width is reduced to 5.18 meters (17 ft). The full length of the court is 13.4 meters (44 ft). The service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 meters (6 ft 6 inch) from the net, and by the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked by a long service line, which is 0.76 meters (2 ft 6 inch) from the back boundary.
The net is 1.55 meters (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 meters (5 ft) high in the centre. The net posts are placed over the doubles sidelines, even when singles are played.
The minimum height for the ceiling above the court is not mentioned in the Laws of Badminton. Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be suitable if the limit is likely to be hit on a high serve.
Serving
The legal bounds of a badminton court during various stages of a rally for singles and doubles games
When the server serves, the shuttlecock must pass over the short service line on the opponents' court, or it will count as a fault. The server and receiver must remain within their service courts, without touching the boundary lines, until the server strikes the shuttlecock. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long as they do not block the vision of the server or receiver.
At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts. The server hits the shuttlecock so that it would land in the receiver's service court. This is similar to tennis, except that in badminton serve the whole shuttle must be below 1.15 meters from the surface of the court at the instant of being hit by the server's racket, the shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce, and in badminton, the players stand inside their service courts, unlike tennis.
When the serving side loses a rally, the server immediately passes to their opponent(s) (this differs from the old system where sometimes the serve passes to the doubles partner for what is known as a "second serve").
In singles, the server stands in their right service court when their score is even, and in their left service court when their score is odd.
In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player continues to serve, but he/she changes service courts so that she/he serves a different opponent each time. If the opponents win the rally and their new score is even, the player in the right service court serves; if odd, the player in the left service court serves. The players' service courts are determined by their positions at the start of the previous rally, not by where they were standing at the end of the rally. A consequence of this system is that each time a side regains the service, the server will be the player who did not serve last time.
Scoring
Each game is played to 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally regardless of whether they served (this differs from the old system where players could only win a point on their serve and each game was played to 15 points). A match is the best of three games.
If the score reaches 20-all, then the game continues until one side gains a two-point lead (such as 24–22), except when there is a tie at 29-all, in which the game goes to a golden point. Whoever scores this point will win.
At the start of a match, the shuttlecock is cast and the side towards which the shuttlecock is pointing serves first. Alternatively, a coin may be tossed, with the winners choosing whether to serve or receive first, or choosing which end of the court to occupy first, and their opponents making the leftover the remaining choice.
In subsequent games, the winners of the previous contest serve first. Matches are best out of three: a player or pair must win two games (of 21 points each) to win the game. For the first rally of any doubles game, the serving pair may decide who serves and the receiving pair may decide who receives. The players change ends at the start of the second game; if the match reaches a third game, they change ends both at the beginning of the game and when the leading player's or pair's score reaches 11 points.
The following information is a simplified summary of badminton rules based on the BWF Statutes publication, Laws of Badminton.
Badminton court
The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are usually marked for both singles and doubles play, although badminton rules permit a court to be marked for singles only. The doubles court is more full than the singles court, but both are of the same length. The exception, which often confuses newer players, is that the doubles court has a shorter serve-length dimension.
The full width of the court is 6.1 meters (20 ft), and in singles, this width is reduced to 5.18 meters (17 ft). The full length of the court is 13.4 meters (44 ft). The service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 meters (6 ft 6 inch) from the net, and by the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked by a long service line, which is 0.76 meters (2 ft 6 inch) from the back boundary.
The net is 1.55 meters (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 meters (5 ft) high in the centre. The net posts are placed over the doubles sidelines, even when singles are played.
The minimum height for the ceiling above the court is not mentioned in the Laws of Badminton. Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be suitable if the limit is likely to be hit on a high serve.
Serving
The legal bounds of a badminton court during various stages of a rally for singles and doubles games
When the server serves, the shuttlecock must pass over the short service line on the opponents' court, or it will count as a fault. The server and receiver must remain within their service courts, without touching the boundary lines, until the server strikes the shuttlecock. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long as they do not block the vision of the server or receiver.
 |
| Backoff hand serving |
At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts. The server hits the shuttlecock so that it would land in the receiver's service court. This is similar to tennis, except that in badminton serve the whole shuttle must be below 1.15 meters from the surface of the court at the instant of being hit by the server's racket, the shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce, and in badminton, the players stand inside their service courts, unlike tennis.
When the serving side loses a rally, the server immediately passes to their opponent(s) (this differs from the old system where sometimes the serve passes to the doubles partner for what is known as a "second serve").
 |
| Position of serving |
In singles, the server stands in their right service court when their score is even, and in their left service court when their score is odd.
In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player continues to serve, but he/she changes service courts so that she/he serves a different opponent each time. If the opponents win the rally and their new score is even, the player in the right service court serves; if odd, the player in the left service court serves. The players' service courts are determined by their positions at the start of the previous rally, not by where they were standing at the end of the rally. A consequence of this system is that each time a side regains the service, the server will be the player who did not serve last time.
Scoring
Each game is played to 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally regardless of whether they served (this differs from the old system where players could only win a point on their serve and each game was played to 15 points). A match is the best of three games.
If the score reaches 20-all, then the game continues until one side gains a two-point lead (such as 24–22), except when there is a tie at 29-all, in which the game goes to a golden point. Whoever scores this point will win.
 |
| Scoring system |
At the start of a match, the shuttlecock is cast and the side towards which the shuttlecock is pointing serves first. Alternatively, a coin may be tossed, with the winners choosing whether to serve or receive first, or choosing which end of the court to occupy first, and their opponents making the leftover the remaining choice.
In subsequent games, the winners of the previous contest serve first. Matches are best out of three: a player or pair must win two games (of 21 points each) to win the game. For the first rally of any doubles game, the serving pair may decide who serves and the receiving pair may decide who receives. The players change ends at the start of the second game; if the match reaches a third game, they change ends both at the beginning of the game and when the leading player's or pair's score reaches 11 points.
Comments
Post a Comment