Badminton has some particular rules and regulations that you must abide by. To some players, especially to those who are beginners, it may seem complicated to understand. But the truth is, it’s not too hard to understand the rules, rather it’s hard to perform well physically and technically to defeat your opponent(s).
However, your first target is to know how to play badminton if you are a beginner. And we will try our best to help you by providing all the key information about playing badminton.
There will be some bonus tips at the bottom that will help you to perform well- like a pro!
We Covered This Article With Four Different Packs-
- Equipment
- Player
- How to play (rules)
- Techniques (Pro-tips)
Let’s open the packs one by one and see what’s in them…
Equipment
Every game needs some specific equipment. Badminton has its own. These are:
- Shuttlecock
- Racquet
- Net
Racket
The racket is a combination of racket, string and grip. There are different types of racket made of different materials such as carbon fiber, steel or aluminum.
Carbon fiber racket is lightweight and very easy to play with. And a lightweight racket is very important for winning the game.
The thin string is suitable for handling any racket. Though the thicker strings are more durable, many players prefer the thinner strings.
According to your level, you have to choose a badminton racket. So, you can also check for:
A player must learn how to choose a grip of a racket. A player’s good performance merely depends on the choice of grip and it increases the opportunity to handle the racket. The popular grips are PU synthetic grips or towelling grips.
RELATED: Best Badminton Strings Reviews
Mainly there are two types of grips. Such as:
- Replacement grips: Thicker and used to handle the size. Players prefer to use the replacement grips most.
- Over-grips: Thinner and used for the final layer.
Shuttlecock
Shuttlecock, also known as a birdie, is another must-needed equipment of badminton which is hit with a racquet. It is a high drag projectile, formed by 16 synthetic material or thin leather with a conical shape which is made for flying.
Net
Net is another important piece of equipment for badminton. Net divided the court into two equal parts. After that, the players take their own service court.
There are different types of badminton nets on the market. You have to buy according to your playing court- indoor or outdoor badminton net.
You can also check for badminton sets that offer a net, rackets, and shuttlecock.
Players
After gathering badminton equipment, you have to look for players. Depending on how many players will play, there are three types of badminton matches. These are:
- Singles
- Doubles
- Mixed Doubles
Singles
A single match means a player plays against one another. That means there is a total of one player on each side of the court. If you want to play this single-player badminton, just invite one of your friends.
Single badminton matches are held between either two men or two women. On an informal basis, you can organize between a man and a woman.
Doubles
In the double match, you have to form two teams and each team contains two players. Here, a team competes with another team on the other side of the court.
Each team has all male players or all female players.
Mixed Doubles
Mixed doubles are the same as doubles. But the difference lies in the formation of players. In mixed doubles, each team is formed with two players of different sex- a man and a woman.
So, you can play this type of match with your partner.
Setting Up A Badminton Court
We assume that you have collected your equipment and gathered players. Now what you have to do is to set up a badminton court.
There are two types of badminton courts- indoor and outdoor. Both are the same in measurement. The badminton court is rectangular in shape and divided equally with a net.
It can be marked for both singles and doubles. Though both courts are equal in length, the doubles court is wider than the single. The only exception is the doubles court has a shorter serve length dimension.
To set up a proper badminton court, you can check our badminton court setup guidelines.
How To Play Badminton: Simple rules Of Playing Badminton
Hope you prepared everything you need to play. Now let’s know how to play this fastest racquet sport.
To play this game, you have to start a rally just by serving from the service court. The team/player who will score more will win the match.
But how to serve the badminton ball, and how to count scores? We are going to write in detail about both of these systems.
Serving System
At the very beginning, determine which team will serve first with a coin toss. If you win the toss, then decide whether you (or your team) will be the server or receiver.
Serve from the right service court and start a rally. Continue this rally until the birdie falls to the ground. In case a player fails to hit and pass the shuttlecock over the net, then the opponent will serve to start another rally. That means, if you serve the ball and fail to achieve a point, then your opponent will serve this time. Thus the game will continue till the winning points.
Here are some key points you have to follow:
- While serving the shuttlecock, hold up the ball below your waist height and hit with your badminton racket. On the doubles court, the server should serve the shuttlecock diagonally into the opponent’s court.
- When the scores are even, the server will serve from the right service court. He will serve from the left service court otherwise- we mean, for odd numbers.
- If the server team fails to achieve a point then the player of the opponent team who was the receiver will serve this time. But, if the serving team wins the rally, then the partners should swap their service courts.
- After winning a game, both teams will switch sides of the court.
- The winning team will serve at the beginning of the next game.
Scoring System
Maybe you have already learned how to count scores. Even then we are writing shortly.
If you fail to hit or return the ball to the opponent’s court, then the opponent will win a rally and achieve a point. But, if you pass the ball over the net and it runs out of the boundary lines, even then your opponent will win the rally. Thus a team or player has to achieve points.
Moreover, if a player mistakenly touches the net, then the opponent will achieve a point as well.
How To Select The Winner?
To win a game, you must score 21 points before your opponent. It means whoever scores 21 points first is the winner of the game.
But, if the score is 20-20, then you have to achieve 2 extra clear points to win the game. That means you have to earn two points in a row.
If the scores tie at 29-29, then the team or player who will achieve a golden point first and earn 30 points total will be the winner of the game.
To win a match, you have to play 3 games and win two games out of three.
Some Other Basic Badminton Rules
Besides these rules, there are some basic rules you have to follow while playing this game. They are:
- While serving, the server should hit the birdie from below his waist height.
- The receiver can’t touch the lines before serving.
- No player is allowed to touch the net with the body or racket.
- There is a referee who umpires the whole game and counts the score in every game.
- A referee can be called lets because of unexpected issues or accidental moments. That time the score remained the same. If the receiver is not ready for the outcome then the referee can call for lets.
- There are two rest periods in the game. 90-sec rest after the first game and 5 min rest after the second game.
Some Killer Techniques To Win The Game
Till now you have learned the basic rules of playing badminton. Now, it’s time to know how to defeat your opponent. If you practice these techniques, surely you will be one step forward.
Here are the following techniques:
- Prepare your body to move faster on the court. For this, you can take a warm-up for several minutes. Try to increase your stamina and flexibility.
- Always wear a perfect pair of badminton shoes for the best performance. It will allow you to move on the court effortlessly with no harm.
- Choose a perfect badminton grip size. Thinner or thicker is not good for swinging the racket perfectly.
- Always beware of the movement of the birdie. Keep your eyes on it.
- Always stay in the middle of the court. Then you can move on to the whole service court. As soon as you hit the birdie, come back to the center again.
- Practice hitting with the sweet spot of your racket and hit on the center of the birdie.
- Don’t let the shuttlecock come close to you at all.
- Depending on the position of your opponent, serve the ball. While playing singles, make a long serve. Also, practice making a short serve. It will sometimes force your opponent to run forward and make him unable to return the shuttlecock in time.
- Try to figure out the weakness of your opponents and keep them running on the whole court. For this, don’t send your birdie to the same location, keep variation instead. You can hit and change the direction of your shuttle quickly.
Related Post: Yonex Nanoray 20 VS Nanoray 10 & Yonex Voltric Z Force Vs Yonex Arcsaber 11
Conclusion
Everybody should know the rules of badminton, but strategies should be his own invention. Badminton is not only a physical game but also a psychological game as well. So, always try to understand opponents’ weaknesses and apply your own strategies.
You can’t master this sport in a day. It needs time to get control over the racket and shuttlecock. Once you get control, everything will run in your direction while playing badminton.
So, practice, practice and practice to run everything on the court in your own ways.