If you are considering playing or watching badminton without much knowledge of the sport, then this is your ultimate guide.

For starters, it’s a racket sport played between either two players or two pairs. There is a shuttlecock that flies back and forth as the players/pairs hit it over the nets.

Now these are the basics, but there are a few things you need to know to take your first step in badminton. 

Badminton’s Gameplay

Before any badminton match starts, a coin toss takes place. It helps to decide the initial server and the court side players will take.

Then the match starts with the first set. The first server and the receiver get in their designated halves, split by the net. 

The server and the receiver always need to stand diagonally to each other. So when you are serving from the right side of your court, the opponent also needs to be on the right side of their court.

The first serve and the subsequent even serves need to be executed from the right side of your court. Whereas, the odd serves need to be made from the left side of your court.

When you are serving, the shuttle has to be below your waistline when you hit it in a forward direction. And your feet need to be in touch with the court while executing the serve. (Check out our piece on service rules here.)

Once the serve is made, then follows a rally, which lasts until the shuttle falls on the court, strays outside of the court, or hits or passes below the net. 

You will win a point if you win the rally. That means if your opponent fails to return your shuttle or any of the above things happen, then you get a point for each foul made by your opponent.

When you accumulate 21 points, you win a set, though you need to maintain a two-point lead. If there’s a tie on 20-20, then the game goes on till one of you gains a two-point lead. But there is an upper ceiling of 30 points to which a game can go far.

There are three such sets in a badminton match. You change ends after the first set and also after the second set if the match goes into the third set. The change of ends also happens in the third set when one of you reaches 11 points.

You win a match after winning two of the three sets. If you win two straight games, then the match ends there. But if you and your opponent win one game each, then you need to win the third game to claim the match.

Now, that’s all about the gameplay. Let’s glance at the dimensions of the court you will play on.

Badminton Court Dimensions

The standard badminton court is rectangular in shape, which is 13.40 meters long, measuring 5.18 meters in width for singles and 6.1 meters in width for doubles.

There is a net in the middle, which divides the court into two halves. You can learn more about the badminton court in detail here.

Different Disciplines in Badminton

There are five disciplines in badminton, and you can choose to play in any of those according to your preference. Shuttlers compete in men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles (one male and one female) categories.

In singles, there are two individual players playing against each other. And in doubles, a pair of two partners play against another pair.

Badminton Equipment

Now that you understand the gameplay, court dimensions, and different disciplines, you need to pick some equipment for you to start playing badminton.

You need rackets, shuttlecocks, suitable shoes, grip tape, racket strings, and a kit bag. Once you have all this, you are ready to conquer badminton.

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