Play

What is badminton and how do I play?

Badminton is:

• A net game
• Played on a rectangular court
• A volleying game, with rallies beginning with an underhand serve
• A game that has five disciplines – singles (Men/Women), doubles (Men/Women/Mixed)

Singles badminton involves serving diagonally into a long, service box. Rallying then continues on a long court with the border on the first side line.

Doubles badminton involves serving diagonally into a shorter, wider service box than in singles badminton. After the serve, rallying takes place on the whole court area.

For players with a disability, court sizes are adapted according to the category of player under a classification system. For more details of this, take a look at our disability badminton section.

The aim of the game is to score points by:

• landing the shuttlecock in your opponent’s court;
• forcing your opponent to hit the shuttlecock out of the court area;
• forcing your opponent to hit the shuttlecock into the net;
• striking your opponent’s body with the shuttle.

What are the actual rules of badminton?

Everything you need to know explained and illustrated:

Variation on Singles

There are many different ways to play singles on a full or half court. We have included seven variations of singles, offering alternative fun competitions by adapting the boundaries and offering different scoring formats. This is suitable for all levels of player and be used for some friendly competition or as a coaching aid to help players identify their own strengths and weaknesses.

Club finder map

Are you looking to play badminton at a club near you? To find a club, click on the button below:

Want help with where to play?

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