Master Badminton Serve Rules: Best Beginner’s Guide for 2024

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Written By Ali Shuttler

Start every badminton game with a serve. The serve is the first move that sets the tone for the rest of the game in this exciting sport. It’s important to know the badminton serve rules to avoid losing points or even matches. Whether you’re playing singles or doubles, make sure the ball is in play, and don’t let badminton bites ruin your game.

Badminton rules state that the initial server for a badminton match is determined by a coin toss or other means, and they must stand within their respective service court to begin. The server must hit the shuttlecock, or ball, below its waist and ensure that it lands within the opponent’s service court. This applies to both casual games and tournament play.

Badminton rules state that if the serve is not executed correctly, it will be considered a fault, resulting in a point for the opponent. This can happen if the shuttlecock lands outside of the service court or hits above waist height. Additionally, if it fails to cross over to the opponent’s side, the point will be awarded to the opposing player. It is important to keep these rules in mind during a badminton match to avoid badminton bites. Remember to stay on the sidelines and execute your serve properly.

It’s crucial for players on the badminton court to understand that they only get one chance at serving correctly in the hand service court. If they fail on their first attempt, they lose their serve and give up a point to their opponents playing on the doubles court. Remember to always brush up on your skills by checking out Badminton Bite for more tips and tricks!

To make sure you’re serving correctly in badminton doubles, keep your feet stationary within the court boundaries during your serve and avoid any movement until after contact with the shuttlecock has been made. Ensure that you’re hitting under your waist level and striking from behind your service line on the even side of the court. Remember to follow the rally scoring system.

In doubles games on a badminton court, both players have an opportunity to serve from their respective service courts before switching sides with their opponents. It’s essential to remember which player served last from the left service court so that there isn’t any confusion during gameplay with the shuttle.

Table of Contents

Understanding the Service Court in Badminton

Respective Service Courts: Understanding the Badminton serve rules in court

The service court is one of the critical areas in badminton that players must understand to play the game successfully. It is the area where a shuttle must land to be considered legal and start a rally. The service court is divided into two respective service courts, namely the right and left service courts. The right-hand side of the court is known as the right service court, while the left side is known as the left service court. A player must serve from within the service box and aim to score a subsequent point.

Hand Service Court Determination

In badminton, determining which hand service court to use depends on your position on the court during a rally. If you are standing at even-numbered points within your box, then you will serve the shuttle to your opponent’s right-hand side (right service court). Conversely, when standing at odd-numbered points within your box, you will serve the shuttle to your opponent’s left-hand side (left service court).

Service Judge Responsibility

The role of a service judge in badminton cannot be overemphasized. They are responsible for monitoring whether or not a player serves the shuttle correctly within their respective service courts’ boundaries on both the odd and even sides. A player can receive a fault if they fail to serve accurately within their respective courts’ boundaries on both the odd and even sides. Therefore, it is essential for players always to ensure that they serve the shuttle accurately within their respective courts’ boundaries on both the odd and even sides.

Avoiding Faults and Ensuring Correct Service Lands

Faults occur when a shuttlecock lands outside of its respective service court or fails to pass over the net during serving. Hence, ensuring that you serve accurately within your respective courts’ boundaries is crucial in avoiding faults and winning games.

Serving Above Waist Height: At What Height Can You Hold a Shuttlecock While Serving?

Shuttlecock Serving Height: Striking Below the Waist Level

The game of badminton is a sport that requires precision, skill, and technique. One of the most important aspects of the game is serving. It is crucial to understand the rules and regulations surrounding shuttlecock serving height in badminton, as well as the respective service courts, service box, and potential service fault.

According to the official rules of badminton, the shuttlecock must be struck below the waist level within the service box during a serve. The waist level is determined by the lowest part of the server’s ribcage. This means that if any part of the shuttlecock is above this height when it is struck, it will be considered a fault.

Entire Shuttlecock Must Be Below Waist Level

It’s essential to note that not only should you hold your shuttle below your waist while serving, but also ensure that every part of it stays below your waistline when hitting it. The entire shuttlecock must be below waist level when it is struck; otherwise, it will result in a fault according to the badminton court service rules. Remember to serve from within the service box and adhere to all other service rules to avoid any faults during the game.

Holding Shuttle Above Waist Height Is A Fault

Holding or striking a shuttle above waist height while serving on the badminton court is considered a fault. This rule ensures fairness in play and prevents players from gaining an unfair advantage over their opponents. If you commit this mistake during play on the badminton court, it results in a point for your opposing team, and they are given serve.

Overhead Badminton Service: Not Having Your Racquet Head Pointing Downwards

Racket head pointing downwards is an error in overhead badminton shuttle service.

One of the most common errors players make is having their racket head pointing downwards. This mistake can lead to a variety of issues, including the shuttlecock landing outside the tramlines and giving a subsequent point to your opponent. To avoid this error, it’s important to understand the correct direction for your racket head based on your forehand or backhand position.

Forehand and backhand positions require different directions for the racket head when hitting the shuttle.

In a forehand position, your racket head should be pointing towards the court’s centerline. On the other hand, in a backhand position, your racket head should be pointing towards the front wall. It’s crucial to note that these directions are opposite from each other and must be followed accordingly. Failing to do so can result in an incorrect serve and loss of points.

Odd side of the front service line requires the racket head to point towards the ribcage.

Another critical aspect of overhead badminton service is understanding how to hold your racket when serving from odd sides of the front service line. In such cases, you need to have your racket head pointing towards your ribcage while holding it at waist level. This technique helps ensure that you hit the shuttlecock correctly and land it within bounds.

Incorrect direction of the racket head can result in shuttlecock landing outside tramlines leading to a subsequent point for opponent

It’s essential always to keep in mind that having an incorrect direction for your racket head can lead to disastrous consequences during gameplay. For instance, if you serve with your racket pointed downwards instead of following proper guidelines, there’s a high chance that you’ll end up hitting too hard or too soft, causing the shuttlecock to land outside tramlines or beyond boundaries altogether.

The Basic Serving Rules in Badminton

Diagonal Serve Across the Court

The serve is an essential part of badminton, and it is crucial to understand the rules surrounding it. The first rule to note is that a serve must be done diagonally across the court. This means that if you are serving from the right-hand side of the court, you must aim for the left-hand side of your opponent’s court, and vice versa.

Standing Within Service Court

Another important rule to remember when serving in badminton is that you must stand within the service court and not touch any boundary lines during your serve. If you step outside of this area or touch any lines while serving, it will result in a fault, and your opponent will be awarded a point.

Hitting Shuttlecock on Net

If the shuttlecock hits the net during a serve but still falls into the proper service court, it is considered a good serve. However, if it hits the net and lands out of bounds or fails to cross over to your opponent’s side of the court, then it will result in a fault.

Using Lines on Court

Finally, lines on the court are used to determine whether a serve is in or out of bounds. If your serve lands on any part of these lines, it is considered in bounds and play continues. However, if it lands outside these lines, then it will be deemed out of bounds.

How Many Serves are Allowed in Badminton?

One Serve Only: The Basic Rule in Badminton

In badminton, each player is only allowed to serve once before their opponent takes over. This rule ensures fairness and balance between the two players. A player’s serve can make or break a game, so it’s essential to understand the basics of serving in badminton.

The Right Technique for Serving in Badminton

To execute a proper serve in badminton, players must follow specific rules. Firstly, the server must hit the shuttlecock below their waist using an underhand motion. Secondly, they must stand within the boundaries of the service court and serve diagonally to their opponent’s service court. These rules ensure that both players have an equal chance of winning points during a game.

Serving Order and Scoring System

When beginning a game, both players start with a score of 0-0. The server serves from the right side of the court when their score is even and from the left side when their score is odd. If they win a rally, they will continue serving until they lose one. Afterward, it will be their opponent’s turn to serve. The first player to reach 21 points wins unless there is a tie at 20-20; then play continues until one player leads by two points.

What Not To Do When Serving in Badminton

While there are specific rules for serving in badminton, there are also things that players should avoid doing when serving. For example, players should not fake or feint while serving as this can confuse their opponent and result in penalties or lost points. Servers should not touch any part of the court lines or step out of bounds before hitting the shuttlecock as this results in faults.

Service Rules for Doubles in Badminton: Are They Different from Singles?

Different Service Rules for Doubles in Badminton

Doubles and singles have different service rules in badminton. The doubles court is wider than the singles court, which means that the serving rules also differ between them. In doubles, the server must serve from the right-hand side of the court if their score is even, and if their score is odd, they must serve from the left-hand side of the court.

The reason for this rule is to ensure that both players on each team get an equal opportunity to serve from either side of the court. This rule also makes it easier for players to cover more ground during a game and reduces any advantage one player may have over another due to their position on the court.

Two Types of Service Rules in Doubles

There are two types of service rules in doubles: traditional and new. The traditional rule allows players to lift their back foot during service, while the new rule requires them to keep both feet on the ground during service. This change was made to prevent players from gaining an unfair advantage by jumping or lunging forward during service.

The new service rule has been controversial among some players who feel that it limits their ability to generate power and accuracy during a serve. However, supporters argue that it creates a level playing field for all players and reduces any potential for cheating or gamesmanship.

Rotating Service Positions in Doubles

When do you rotate service positions in doubles? In a standard game of badminton, teams switch sides after every point scored until one team reaches 11 points (or 21 points in international play). At this point, teams switch sides again but only when one team has served twice consecutively.

This rotation ensures that both teams have an equal opportunity to serve from either side of the court throughout a game. It also helps prevent any potential advantages gained by serving from one particular side or angle.

Which Side of the Court Should You Serve From in Badminton?

Correct Court Side for Badminton Serve

Serving in badminton is a crucial aspect of the game, and it is essential to serve from the correct side of the court. The court is divided into two sides: the right side and the left side. The server must stand within the service court on the correct side of the court to ensure that they do not lose points or give their opponents an advantage.

Even Side and Left Side

If you are serving in badminton, you need to know which side of the court you should serve from. If your score is even, you must serve from the right side of the court. On the other hand, if your score is odd, you must serve from the left side of the court. This rule applies to both singles and doubles games.

Centre Line and Sideline

When serving in badminton, it is also essential to ensure that your racket does not cross over either the centre line or sideline during your serve. If this happens, it results in a fault, which means that you lose a point. Therefore, it’s vital to practice serving techniques regularly to avoid committing such faults during a game.

Who Serves First?

In badminton doubles games, deciding who serves first can be confusing for some players. In general, players toss a coin before starting a match to determine who will serve first. However, if there is confusion about who should serve first in subsequent games (after game one), then players can follow these rules:

  • After game one: The team that wins serves first.
  • After game two: The team that did not start serving in game two serves first.
  • After game three: The team that did not start serving in game three serves first.

Common Faults to Avoid When Serving and Receiving Serve in Badminton

Serving and receiving serve are two of the most important aspects of badminton. A good serve can give you a point, while a poor one can cost you the game. In this section, we will discuss some common faults to avoid when serving and receiving serve in badminton.

Common Faults When Serving

One of the most common faults when serving is not hitting the shuttlecock below the waist. This is because hitting it above the waist can cause it to fly too high or too low, making it difficult for your opponent to return. Another fault is failing to keep both feet stationary during service. This means that both feet must be on the ground before, during, and after contact with the shuttlecock.

Not serving within the service court is another fault that many players make. The service court is a designated area where serves must land; failure to do so results in a service fault. Other service faults can occur when the shuttlecock is hit too high or too low or if it lands outside of the service court.

To avoid these faults, players should practice proper serving techniques such as keeping their feet still and hitting below their waistline.

Common Faults When Receiving Serve

When receiving a serve, one common fault is not standing in the correct position. Players should stand behind their baseline but within reach of the shuttlecock’s landing spot. Moving before the serve is made is another mistake that players make when receiving serves.

Failing to return the shuttlecock over the net also counts as a fault during play; hence players need to ensure they hit back overhand or underhand in an accurate manner.

What Happens If You Make These Faults?

Faults can result in lost points or even disqualification from a match if repeated continuously without correction by officials. Therefore, it’s important to practice proper serving and receiving techniques to avoid these mistakes. Coaches should also emphasize the importance of practicing to avoid these common faults while playing.

Mastering the Badminton Rules Serve

Mastering the Badminton Rules Serve is crucial for any player who wants to excel in this sport. Understanding the service court, serving above waist height, and avoiding common faults are just a few aspects of serving that can make a big difference in your game.

In badminton, the service court is divided into two sides by a centerline. The server must stand within their respective service court and hit the shuttlecock over the net into the opponent’s court. It’s important to serve from the correct side of the court and avoid stepping on or outside of the boundaries.

Players must be careful not to hold the shuttlecock too high as it can result in a fault. The racquet head should also not be pointing downwards during an overhead badminton service.

Knowing how many serves are allowed in badminton is essential for players competing in matches. In singles games, each player gets one serve per point while doubles games allow for two serves per team.

The rules for serving in doubles differ slightly from those in singles. In doubles games, players take turns serving and receiving on opposite sides of the court. It’s important to communicate with your partner and avoid crossing over into each other’s service courts.

Avoiding common faults when serving and receiving serve can help prevent losing points unnecessarily. Some common faults include touching or moving your feet while serving, failing to hit the shuttlecock over the net, and hitting it out of bounds.

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