Beginning Badminton Rules

Created by British military officers stationed in India in the mid-1700s, badminton is a two- or four-person game played on a court. Players use rackets to hit a small, rubber-ended shuttlecock, or “birdie,” over a net. Points are scored when the birdie hits the ground, in bounds, on your opponent’s side.

  1. Court and Equipment

    • A badminton court is 44-by-17-feet for singles play and 44-by-20-feet for doubles play. Spanning the middle is a 5-foot-high net. Each player uses a lightweight racket made of plastic, wood or hollow metal. The birdie—shaped like a long, slim triangle—is usually made of feathers or plastic with a rounded cork or rubber base.

    Scoring

    • A match generally consists of three games played to 15 or 21 points. Points can be earned by either the serving or receiving side. A point is earned when your opponent can’t hit back an in-bound birdie that goes over the net. In a 21-point game, if the score becomes tied 20-20, a player must score two consecutive points to win. If opponents continue to tie, and the score reaches 29-29, the first side to score 30 wins the game.

    Serving

    • At the start of the match, toss a coin to determine who serves first. After that, the server is the player who won the last point. During a serve, players face each other diagonally, standing on the righthand side of the court. The server must hit the birdie underhand to his opponent, making sure the racket makes contact with the birdie below the waist. For the serve to be a good serve, the birdie must travel diagonally over the net, landing in-bounds on the right side. If the server misses the birdie, he may try again. The player who wins the first game serves first in the second, and so on.

    Dos and Don’ts

    • During play, a player may not reach over the net to hit the birdie. It’s OK for the birdie to hit the top of the net as the players hit it back and forth--an exchange called a rally. But if the birdie is hit into the net, or out of bounds, the rally is lost. A rally is also lost if the birdie touches the receiving player's clothing or body. A player may also never hold or carry the birdie on the racket. Mistakes or errors must be cited at the time they occur.

    Doubles Difference

    • In doubles play, teammates alternate serving, switching to the right side of the court when it is their turn. If both teams agree at the start of a match, teammates can switch serving sides during a game, serving from the right when the score is even, and from the left when the score is odd.