How to rally in badminton

Badminton is an Indian game called Poona. English Army Officers returning from India introduced Poona to British culture in the late 19th century. In 1895 a governing body called the Badminton Association standardized the sport in a similar fashion to tennis. In a singles match, a flip off a coin determines who serves first. The winner of the coin flip is the server and gets to pick which side of the badminton court he wants. Only a server can score points in badminton. A rally begins when the opponent returns the serve.

Things You'll Need

  • Net, 5 feet by 12-feet
  • Court, 20 feet by 44 feet
  • Rackets
  • Shuttlecock
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Instructions

    • 1

      Serve the shuttlecock over the net to your opponent. Serving starts a rally. The goal of serving is to hit the shuttlecock over the net and in a place where your opponent cannot return it. On a serve you can produce an ace. When the opponent cannot return the serve, the server has hit an ace. An ace gains the server one point. The server prevented a rally because the opponent could not return the serve. A rally is hitting the shuttlecock back and forth over the net until a person misses.

    • 2

      Learn how to position the shuttlecock on your opponent's side of the net where she is not standing. If the opponent returns the serve, then a rally has started. When serving, the shuttlecock gets hit over the net on the side of the court diagonal to the server; the opponent stands diagonal to the server when receiving the serve, but is free to move anywhere in the court area during the rally. The badminton court is marked off on the floor by lines.

    • 3

      Make your opponent run from side to side, toward the net and away from the net in an attempt to win a rally. The best badminton strategy for winning a rally is hitting the shuttlecock from side to side, at the back of the court and close to the net. Your opponent will eventually miss and the shuttlecock will fall to the floor, ending the rally. If you are the server and your opponent can't return the shuttlecock, you win the rally and gain a point. If as the opponent you win the rally, you do not earn a point, but you do win the serve, gaining the opportunity to win future points as long as you hold the serve.

    • 4

      Play a rally strategically so you can prevent the other person from returning the shuttlecock. Add points in the game starting at 0-0 or love-all. In men's singles, 15 points means a win. In ladies singles, 11 points means a win. The first man to earn 15 points and the first woman to earn 11 points wins the game. The winner of a badminton match must win the best two out of three games.