Badminton Rules

1. COURT AND COURT EQUIPMENT

    

   1. Court size for singles - 44 feet long x 17 feet wide .
       
   2. Court size for doubles - 44 feet long x 20 feet wide .
       
   3. Net height - 5 feet .
       
   4. Shuttlecocks - Also known as birdies or birds. One type has feathers with a cork base, and the other is plastic with a rubber base.
       
   5. Rackets - Made of lightweight material like wood, plastic or metal.
       
   6. The court shall be a rectangle laid out with lines 40 mm wide .
       
   7. The lines shall be easily distinguishable and preferably be coloured white or yellow.
       
   8. All lines form part of the area which they define.
       
   9. The posts shall be 1.55 metres in height from the surface of the court and shall remain vertical when the net is strained as provided in Law 1.10. Posts shall not extend into the court. [Until 1 August 2004, the limitation on extensions into the court will apply only to IBF-sanctioned events].
       
   10. The posts shall be placed on the doubles side lines as in Diagram A irrespective of whether singles or doubles is being played.
        
   11. The net shall be made of fine cord of dark colour and even thickness with a mesh of not less than l5 mm and not more than 20 mm.
        
   12. The net shall be 760 mm in depth and at least 6.1 metres wide.
        
   13. The top of the net shall be edged with a 75 mm white cloth tape doubled over a cord or cable running through the tape. This tape shall rest upon the cord or cable.
        
   14. The cord or cable shall be stretched firmly, flush with the top of the posts.
        
   15. The top of the net from the surface of the court shall be 1.524 metres at the centre of the court and 1.55 metres over the side lines for doubles.
        
   16. There shall be no gaps between the ends of the net and the posts. If necessary, the full depth of the net at the ends shall be tied to the posts.

   
    

2. Playing Rules

   
    

   1. Fifteen points constitute the usual game, except for women's singles (in which 11 points are played). When the score is tied at 13-all, the side reaching it first chooses to finish the game at 15 or to set the game at 5 points. When tied at 14-all, he/she chooses to play 1 or 3 points. Similarly, in 11-point games, the score may be set at 3 when the score is 9-all and at 2 when 10-all.
       
   2. 2.2 The service must be delivered to the diagonal service court. A bird that lands on a line is considered good. In singles, the bird must land in the long, narrow court and in doubles in the short, wide court. A let serve is one in which the bird touches the top of the net but lands in the proper court. A service that is let is served again. It is a fault unless it lands in the service court.
       
   3. 2.3 Only one service (trial) is allowed per inning (not like tennis, where two trials are allowed), unless the bird is missed entirely or it is a "good" let. The service alternates to courts starting in the right-hand court for doubles at all times. In singles, the service starts in the right-hand court at the beginning of the game, but thereafter service is made from the right-hand court when the score is even (for that side) and from the left-hand court when the score is odd (for that side). Only one hand is allowed the side beginning the serve in doubles the first inning and two hands are allowed each inning thereafter.
       
   4. 2.4 It is a fault (loss of service or hand for the serving-side and loss of point for receiving-side) when:
       
   5. 2.4.1 Service is illegal; i.e., the bird is struck when above the waist or the head of the racket is higher than the hand when hit.
       
   6. 2.4.2 Service or played shot lands outside the specified court, passes through or under the net, or hits a player or obstruction outside the court.
       
   7. 2.4.3 Server or receiver steps out of his proper court before delivery of serve or feints in any way before the service. Only the person served to may return the bird.
       
   8. 2.4.4 A player reaches over the net to hit a bird (he may follow a shot over).
       
   9. 2.4.5 A player touches the net with his racket or any part of his body.
       
   10. 2.4.6 A player hits the bird twice or momentarily holds or throws it with his racket.
        
   11. 2.4.7 A player fails to return the bird to the opponent's proper court. (He cannot hit a doubtful bird and call "out," as permitted in some sports.)
        
   12. 2.4.8 The server steps forward as he serves.
        
   13. 2.4.9 The bird is hit on the rim or neck of the racket - called a "wood."