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Rules of Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles), who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their rackets so that it passes over the net and lands in their opponents' half of the court. A rally ends once the shuttlecock has struck the ground, and the shuttlecock may only be struck once by each side before it passes over the net.

The Badminton Court

As seen on the expertly-drawn badminton court left, there is a dark red box. During general play the shuttle must land within the opposing player's red box. On the line is in, meaning if any part of the shuttle touches the line (even if it's the edge of the feathers) the point is counted. The light red shaded area indicates the service area. The shuttle must land in the diagonally opposite side of the court when serving.

The blue box indicates the doubles court for during general play. Similarly, the light blue shaded area indicates the service area. On the line is in, meaning if any part of the shuttle touches the line (even if it's the edge of the feathers) the point is counted. Note that the service area is short and wide in comparison to the singles court.

Scoring System

Each game is played up to 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally (this differs from the old system, where players could only win a point on their serve). A match is the best of three games.