Laws of Badminton

The game
Like tennis, badminton can be played
by singles and doubles, mixed or same
sex.

Matches are played to the best of three

sets.

The sport's governing body, the

International Badminton Federation
(IBF), has introduced a series of rule
changes to make the game faster and
more entertaining.

Under the old system the first player

(or team) to reach 15 points won the
set, except in women's singles when
the target was 11 points.

However both men and women now

play up to 21 points. If the score
reaches 20-20, the winner is the player
or team with a two-point advantage.

And if the score goes up to 29-29, the

winner is the first to reach 30 points.

In badminton the serve is of huge

importance. Points used to be only won
on serve.

But this has been scrapped under the

new changes, so a player or team can
win the point without holding serve.

A team now has only one serve in

doubles, rather than two under the old
rules.

Serving
In singles, players serve diagonally
from one service box to another,
alternating between the left and right
side of the court as points are won.

The server always serves from the

right-hand box at the start of a game
and when they have an even number of
points.

They serve from the left-hand court

when they have an odd number of
points.

In doubles, the player on the right

always starts the serve and, when a
point is won, the players switch sides
and the server then serves from the
left, continuing to alternate until a
serve is lost.
At present a player can only score if
they are serving but now points will be
awarded to the winner of each rally.
Second service in doubles has also
been scrapped and best-of-three-set
matches will be won by the first to 21
points, instead of 15 for men and 11
for women.

Service action
The shuttlecock must be hit below the
server's waist and the racket head
must stay below the server's wrist,
which means the shot must be played
underarm.

The court
Badminton is played indoors, on courts
6.1m wide by 13.4m long.

The net posts are 1.55m high.

Courts should have a clearance of 2m

on all sides and a ceiling height of 12m.