The Difference Between Tennis & Badminton

Tennis and badminton are racket sports, meaning that players use rackets to rally an object -- in the case of tennis and badminton, a ball and birdie respectively -- against each other. Both sports are played professionally and are followed by millions of fans around the world. Yet, while the objective of both sports is to have the ball or birdie stay on the other side of the net, both sports are played very differently.

  1. The Court

    • Tennis courts are much larger than badminton courts. Tennis courts are 36 feet wide and 78 feet long while badminton courts are 20 feet wide and 44 feet long. Both tennis and badminton courts use the side alleys in doubles matches and excluded in singles matches. However, badminton courts have two baselines, or long service lines. The baseline furthest out is for singles while the internal baseline is for doubles.

    The Rackets

    • Tennis rackets are a lot larger than badminton rackets. Tennis rackets have a head size of 90 to more than 100 square inches and can be up to 27.5 inches long. They are also heavier, weighing up to 350 grams when strung. Badminton rackets have a small head size and long neck attached to the handle. They are very light, weighing up to 100 grams.

    The Technique

    • While the balance of consistency and power are both especially important in tennis and badminton, both sports employ different tactics to achieve said balance. Tennis players manipulate the tennis ball by inducing different spins such as top spin, side spin and even under spin on the ball. Badminton players use drop shots, shots which drop very close to the net, much more often than do tennis players. Badminton players also tend to hit the birdie to clear the net much higher than tennis players do to tennis balls.

    The Physical Intensity

    • There has been much debate over physical intensity when both tennis and badminton are compared to each other. While tennis players have to cover much more ground than do badminton players, tennis is a sport that is played at a much slower pace. However, tennis players carry heavier rackets and swing them at much higher forces than do badminton players. A statistical comparison by Brookhaven Science Associates showed that badminton is played at a higher physical intensity than tennis.