Badminton rules, made simple

Badminton rules in one breath: every rally scores a point, a game goes to 21 (win by two, capped at 30), and a match is the best of three games. You serve underarm from below 1.15 m into the box diagonally opposite, from the right when the server's score is even and the left when it's odd. The shuttle is out only if it lands completely outside the lines, because the line is in.

That covers 90% of what happens on court. The rest of this guide explains the other 10%: singles vs doubles lines, every service fault, lets, net touches and what changes when the BWF switches to 15-point games on 4 January 2027. Everything here follows the BWF Laws of Badminton, the rulebook used from club nights to the Olympics, translated into plain English.

How to play badminton: the basic rules

Two sides (one player each in singles, two in doubles) hit a shuttlecock back and forth over a 1.524 m net with rackets. A rally starts with a serve and ends when the shuttle hits the floor or someone commits a fault. The side that wins the rally scores a point and serves next. You can only hit the shuttle once per side, and it must never touch your body or bounce: badminton is played entirely in the air.

The court is 13.40 m long and 6.10 m wide (44 ft × 20 ft) for doubles, 5.18 m (17 ft) wide for singles. See every measurement on the interactive court dimensions page.

Scoring rules

Badminton uses rally scoring: every rally adds a point to someone's score. Under the Laws in force until 3 January 2027 (Law 7):

• A game is won by the first side to 21 points.
• At 20-all, a side must lead by two (22–20, 23–21…).
• At 29-all, the side that scores the 30th point wins.
• A match is the best of three games, and the side that wins a game serves first in the next.

Serving rules

The serve is where most rule arguments start. A legal serve (Law 9) means:

• Server and receiver stand inside diagonally opposite service courts without touching the lines.
• Part of both feet of both players stays on the floor, not moving, until the shuttle is hit.
• The server's racket hits the base of the shuttle first, and the shuttle is released without spin.
• The whole shuttle is below 1.15 m from the floor at contact.
• The racket moves forward continuously from the start of the serve; no pause after the backswing.
• The shuttle goes upward off the racket, over the net, and lands in the receiver's service court.

Serve from your right service court when your (singles) or your side's (doubles) score is even, and from the left when it's odd. Details and an interactive fault checker are on the serve rules page.

Badminton rules for singles and doubles

The same court has two sets of boundaries, and which ones count depends on the game and on whether it's the serve or the rally. Toggle below and tap the court to test any landing:

In doubles, partners only swap service courts when their side wins a point on its own serve. Read the singles rules, the doubles rules, or step through a game with the doubles serving order tool.

Faults

A fault ends the rally and gives the point to the other side. The common ones (Law 13):

• The shuttle lands outside the boundaries or fails to pass over the net.
• The shuttle touches the ceiling, a wall, or a player's body or clothing.
• A player touches the net or posts while the shuttle is in play.
• A player reaches over the net to play the shuttle before it crosses, or invades under the net and obstructs or distracts the opponent.
• The same player hits the shuttle twice in succession, or the shuttle is caught and slung (a carry).
• Both partners hit the shuttle in succession, or a player deliberately distracts an opponent.

Lets

A let stops play and the rally is replayed, with the same server (Law 14). Lets happen when the server serves before the receiver is ready, when server and receiver both fault on the serve, when the shuttle is caught in or balanced on the net after crossing during a rally, when the shuttle comes apart, or when something unexpected interrupts play, like a shuttle from the next court. A serve that clips the net and lands in is not a let: play on. Test yourself on 29 fault-or-let situations →

Equipment basics

• Net: top of the tape 1.524 m (5 ft) at the centre and 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) over the doubles sidelines. Net height in every unit.
• Shuttle: 16 feathers fixed in a cork base (or a synthetic equivalent), weighing 4.74–5.50 g. Feather shuttles come in speeds to suit the hall's temperature: see the shuttlecock speed chart.
• Racket: the Laws limit the frame to 680 mm long and 230 mm wide; weight, balance and string tension are up to you (find yours).

Match format, intervals and changing ends

In a 21-point game there's an interval of up to 60 seconds when the leading score reaches 11, and up to 120 seconds between games (Law 16). Players change ends after the first game, after the second if there's a third, and in the third game when the leading score reaches 11 (Law 8). From 4 January 2027, with 15-point games, both the interval and the third-game change of ends move to 8 points.

Play is meant to be continuous: you can't stall to recover your breath, take coaching while the shuttle is in play, or deliberately alter the shuttle. Umpires warn first and can then award faults.

Badminton rules and regulations: where they come from

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) publishes the Laws of Badminton as part of its statutes, with 17 Laws covering the court, shuttle, racket, scoring, service, faults, lets, conduct and officials. Your club or league can agree local variations (one game to 21, or a let for a low ceiling), but anything sanctioned follows the Laws. New words? The badminton glossary has 90+ terms.

Every rules guide

• Scoring

  How badminton scoring works

  Badminton scoring explained: 21-point rally scoring, deuce, the 30-point cap, intervals, and the new 3×15 system coming in 2027, with a live simulator.

  6 min read

• Singles

  Singles rules

  Singles court lines (long and narrow), which box you serve from, and what's in or out, shown on an interactive court.

  6 min read

• Doubles

  Doubles rules

  Doubles court lines (short and wide to serve, full court after), the serving order, when partners swap sides, and the faults players argue about.

  7 min read

• Service

  Serve rules

  Every badminton service rule: the 1.15 m fixed height, one continuous motion, feet in the box, hitting the base first, and the faults umpires call.

  6 min read

• Faults & lets

  Faults and lets

  What counts as a fault in badminton (touching the net, double hits, carrying, crossing under) and when a point is replayed as a let.

  6 min read

• Lines

  In or out?

  In badminton, the line is in. See which lines count in singles, doubles and on the serve, and how line calls and challenges work.

  5 min read

• Net height

  Badminton net height

  Official badminton net height is 1.524 m (5 ft) at the centre and 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) at the posts. Every net measurement in feet, inches, cm and meters.

  4 min read

• Glossary

  Badminton glossary

  Badminton terms and definitions from A to Z: clear, drop, kill, let, rally, rear court, flick serve, deuce and more, searchable.

  10 min read

Rules tools

• Quiz

  Badminton rules quiz

  Twenty real situations on an interactive court. Call in or out, fault or let, and who serves next, then see the rule behind each answer.

• Score keeper

  Badminton score keeper

  Free online badminton scoreboard that knows the rules: 21-point scoring to 30 or the new 15-point format, who serves from which court, and change of ends.

• Doubles serving

  Who serves next in doubles?

  Step through a doubles game rally by rally and see exactly who serves, from which court, and who receives. The doubles service rules, finally clear.

• Court size

  Badminton court dimensions

  Every badminton court measurement in feet, meters, cm and mm: length, width, service lines, net height and area, on an interactive diagram.