🏸Rules Badminton

Badminton is a racket sport played in singles (one versus one) or doubles (two versus two) on either side of a net, using a shuttlecock. Rallies are fast: the shuttle must never land in your own half. An Olympic sport since 1992, it is governed worldwide by the BWF (Badminton World Federation).

Score points by sending the shuttle into the opponent's court so they cannot legally return it before it lands. The goal is to win the required number of games before your opponent.

• •The shuttle must pass over the net and land inside the boundaries of the opponent's court.
• •Each side may hit the shuttle only once (no double hit); it must not touch the floor on your own side.
• •The serve is struck below the waist (downward) and goes diagonally into the opposite service court.
• •When serving, serve from the right when your score is even, from the left when it is odd.
• •A point is scored on every rally (rally-point scoring), whether or not you served.
• •Touching the net with your racket or body during play is a fault.

Badminton uses rally-point scoring: a point is awarded on every rally won, whether or not you served. The side winning the rally scores the point and gains (or keeps) the serve. In the current system a game is played to 21 points; at 20-20 a 2-point lead is required, and at 29-29 the next point (the 30th) ends the game.

Current official format: best of 3 games (2 games to win), each game to 21 points. Note: from 4 January 2027 the BWF switches to the "3x15" system (games to 15 points, extension at 14-14, cap at 21). Recreational formats may vary (games to 11, 15 or 21 by agreement).

A player or pair wins the match by taking 2 games. Each game is won by the first to reach the target score (currently 21, 15 from 2027) by the required margin, within the cap.