Scoring System and Service

The Basics

Each game is played up to 21 points, with players scoring a point whenever they win a rally (this differs from the old system, where players could only win a point on their serve). A match is the best of three games.

At the start of the rally, the server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts (see court dimensions). The server hits the shuttlecock so that it would land in the receiver's service court. This is similar to tennis, except that a badminton serve must be hit from below the waist in underhand form (upwards), the shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce, and in tennis the players stand outside their service courts.

In singles, the server stands in his right service court when his score is even, and in his left service court when his score is odd.

In doubles, if the serving side wins a rally, the same player continues to serve, but he changes service courts so that he serves to each opponent in turn. When the serving side loses a rally, the serve passes to their opponents (unlike the old system, there is no "second serve"). If their new score is even, the player in the right service court serves; if odd, the player in the left service court serves. The players' service courts are determined by their positions at the start of the previous rally, not by where they were standing at the end of the rally.

A consequence of this system is that, each time a side regain the service, the server will be the player who did not serve last time.

Details

When the server serves, the shuttlecock must pass over the short service line on the opponents' court or it will count as a fault.

If the score reaches 20-all, then the game continues until one side gains a two point lead (such as 24-22), up to a maximum of 30 points (30-29 is a winning score).

At the start of a match a coin is tossed. The winners of the coin toss may choose whether to serve or receive first, or they may choose which end of the court they wish to occupy. Their opponents make the remaining choice. In less formal settings, the coin toss is often replaced by hitting a shuttlecock into the air: whichever side it points to serves first.

In subsequent games, the winners of the previous game serve first. For the first rally of any doubles game, the serving pair may decide who serves and the receiving pair may decide who receives. The players change ends at the start of the second game; if the match reaches a third game, they change ends both at the start of the game and when the leading pair's score reaches 11 points.

The server and receiver must remain within their service courts, without touching the boundary lines, until the server strikes the shuttlecock. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long as they do not unsight the opposing server or receiver.

www.wikipedia.org

Scoring System Development of Badminton

Scoring System Development of Badminton

The current scoring system in badminton is the 3 x 21 rally point scoring system. This means that matches are played to 21 points, with a required 2 points difference between scores (meaning scores can go above 21). The winner of a rally scores a point regardless of who served. This scoring system was adopted from August 2006.

Traditional System

In the traditional scoring system in badminton, games were played to 15 points, except for women's singles which was played up to 11. A match was decided by the best of three games. Only the serving players were able to score a point. In doubles, both players of a pair would serve before the service returned to the other side: in order to regain the service, the receiving pair had to win two rallies (not necessarily consecutively).

1992 Scoring System

In 1992, the BWF introduced new rules: setting at 13-all and 14-all. This meant that if the players were tied at 14-14 for men's singles or 10-10 for women's singles, the player who had first reached that score could elect to set and play to 17 (for men) or to 12 (for women). If the players were tied at 13-13 (for men) or 9-9 (for women), the player could elect to set and play to 18 (for men) or to 12 (for women). This last tie election rule was removed a few years later.

2002 Scoring System - 5 x 7

In 2002 the BWF, concerned with the unpredictable and often lengthy time required for matches, decided to experiment with a different scoring system to improve the commercial and especially the broadcasting appeal of the sport. The new scoring system shortened games to 7 points and decided matches by the best of 5 games. When the score reached 6-6, the player who first reached 6 could elect to set to 8 points.

Return to the original scoring system

Yet the match time remained an issue, since the playing time for the two scoring systems was similar. This experiment was abandoned and replaced by a modified version of the traditional scoring system. The 2002 Commonwealth Games is the last event that used this scoring system.

3 x 21 rally point scoring system

In December 2005 the BWF experimented again with the scoring system, intending both to regulate the playing time and to simplify the system for television viewers. The main change from the traditional system was to adopt rally point scoring, in which the winner of a rally scores a point regardless of who served; games were lengthened to 21 points. However, in the old system, competitors may not be able to score after many exchanges, since serving is often slightly more difficult than defending, especially in professional badminton. The new scoring system thus makes the game duration significantly shorter. The experiment ended in May 2006, and the BWF ruled that the new scoring system would be adopted from August 2006 onwards.

www.wikipedia.org

Badminton Equipment Laws

The Laws specify which equipment may be used. In particular, the Laws restrict the design and size of rackets and shuttlecocks. The Laws also provide for testing a shuttlecock for the correct speed:

To test a shuttlecock, use a full underhand stroke which makes contact with the shuttlecock over the back boundary line. The shuttlecock shall be hit at an upward angle and in a direction parallel to the side lines.

A shuttlecock of the correct speed will land not less than 530 mm and not more than 990 mm short of the other back boundary line.

Badminton Faults and Lets

Faults

Players win a rally by striking the shuttlecock onto the floor within the boundaries of their opponents' court. Players also win a rally if their opponents commit a fault. The most common fault in badminton is when the players fail to return the shuttlecock so that it passes over the net and lands inside their opponents' court, but there are also other ways that players may be faulted. The following information lists some of the more common faults.

Several faults pertain specifically to service. A serving player shall be faulted if he strikes the shuttlecock from above his waist (defined as his lowest rib), or if his racket is not pointing downwards at the moment of impact. This particular law was modified in 2006: previously, the server's racket had to be pointing downwards to the extent that the racket head was below the hand holding the racket; and now, any angle below the horizontal is acceptable.

Neither the server nor the receiver may lift a foot until the shuttlecock has been struck by the server. The server must also initially hit the base (cork) of the shuttlecock, although he may afterwards also hit the feathers as part of the same stroke. This law was introduced to ban an extremely effective service style known as the S-serve or Sidek serve, which allowed the server to make the shuttlecock spin chaotically in flight.

Each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes back over the net; but during a single stroke movement, a player may contact a shuttlecock twice (this happens in some sliced shots). A player may not, however, hit the shuttlecock once and then hit it with a new movement, nor may he carry and sling the shuttlecock on his racket.

It is a fault if the shuttlecock hits the ceiling.

Lets

If a let is called, the rally is stopped and replayed with no change to the score. Lets may occur due to some unexpected disturbance such as a shuttlecock landing on court (having been hit there by players on an adjacent court).

If the receiver is not ready when the service is delivered, a let shall be called; yet if the receiver makes any attempt to return the shuttlecock, he shall be judged to have been ready.

There is no let if the shuttlecock hits the tape (even on service).