Badminton Rules Explained — Rally Scoring and Serve Rules

Badminton comes down to scoring and the serve

Badminton’s rules are simple overall, but the serve rules are notoriously fussy. Get the scoring system and the serve right, and you know everything you need.

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Scoring — 21-point rally scoring

Game:    First to 21 points, winning by a margin of at least 2.
Match:   Best of 3 games — first to win 2 games wins the match.
Deuce:   At 20-20, play continues until one side leads by 2
         (except that at 29-29, the first to reach 30 wins).
Rally scoring: whoever wins the rally scores the point,
         regardless of who served.

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Serve rules (the most important part)

• The shuttle must land in the diagonally opposite service court to be valid
• At the moment of contact, the entire racket head must be below the server’s waist (roughly 1.15m)
• The racket head must point downward, below the hand holding the racket, at the moment of contact (underhand only)
• Both server and receiver must keep both feet planted inside their service court until the serve is struck
• Serve from the right court when your score is even, from the left when it’s odd

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Singles vs. doubles court

• Singles: uses the narrower sidelines, but the full length back to the rear boundary line
• Doubles: uses the wider sidelines, but the serve must land within the shorter, forward service line at the back → Same court, but singles and doubles use different valid boundary lines

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Common faults

• Illegal serve (above the waist, overhand, or feet moving)
• Shuttle lands outside the line (out)
• Touching the net (with the racket or the body)
• The same side hitting the shuttle twice in a row
• Hitting the shuttle before it crosses the net, by reaching over to the opponent’s side

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Serving order in doubles

• The side that just scored keeps serving (the same player alternates between the right and left service courts)
• Losing a rally on serve hands the serve over to the opponent (no “second server” in modern rules)
• If the racket or shuttle touches the line at all, it counts as “in”

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Key takeaways

1. Games are played to 21 points (win by 2), and a match is decided by winning 2 of 3 games.
2. A legal serve must be diagonal, below the waist, and hit with an underhand motion.
3. Serve from the right court on an even score, from the left on an odd score.
4. Singles and doubles use the same physical court, but different valid boundary lines.
5. Common faults include touching the net, hitting the shuttle out, and consecutive hits by the same side.

This guide follows Badminton World Federation (BWF) regulations.