Serve rules

A legal badminton serve is hit underarm with the whole shuttle below 1.15 m from the floor, the racket hitting the base (cork) first, both feet still and inside the service court, and the racket moving forward in one continuous motion. The shuttle must go upward off the racket, over the net, and land in the court diagonally opposite.

Those are the badminton service rules from Law 9 of the BWF Laws of Badminton. Below is each one explained, a checker where you can break them one at a time, and the answers to the arguments about waist height that still come up at club nights.

Fault or legal? Build a serve

Drag the contact height, untick a condition, change where it lands. The verdict updates with the Law behind it, including the two cases that make it a let rather than a fault.

Badminton serve rules: height (the 1.15 m rule)

The whole shuttle must be below 1.15 m (about 3 ft 9 in) from the surface of the court at the instant the server's racket hits it (Law 9.1.6). “Whole” means the top of the feathers too, not only the cork. Service judges at top events use a measuring device on a stand next to the court to judge it.

The BWF introduced this fixed height as an experimental law at international events from 2018, because the old test, below the server's waist, depended on each umpire's eye and each player's height. It is now written into Law 9.1.6.

Badminton serve rules: above the waist?

The old rule said the whole shuttle had to be below the server's waist, defined as an imaginary line round the body level with the lowest part of the bottom rib, and the racket shaft had to point downward at contact. That rule hasn't disappeared: the BWF keeps it as an alternative service law that an event can choose instead of the 1.15 m height, which is handy when nobody has a measuring device. Ask which one your league uses; for most clubs, “below the waist and racket pointing down” is a fair stand-in.

Every badminton service rule

The spin serve ban

In 2023 a few players started spinning the shuttle as they dropped it, making it tumble unpredictably over the net. The BWF banned it on an interim basis that May and the ban is now permanent in Law 9.1.5: the server must release the shuttle without adding spin.

When does the serve start and end?

The serve starts with the first forward movement of the server's racket head once both players are ready (Law 9.2), and it is delivered when the racket hits the shuttle, or misses it in the attempt (Law 9.3). Everything before the first forward movement, like bouncing on your toes or settling the racket, is preparation.

Receiver rules

The receiver has rules too. They must stand inside the diagonally opposite service court without touching its lines, and keep part of both feet still on the floor until the serve is struck (Law 9.1.3–9.1.4). Leaping at the net before the server hits it is a receiver fault. If server and receiver fault at the same moment, it's a let. In doubles, the receiver's partner may stand anywhere on their side but mustn't block the server's or receiver's view, and if the partner returns the serve, it's a fault.

Where do you serve from?

From the right service court when the serving side's score is even, the left when it's odd. In singles the box is long and narrow; in doubles it's short and wide. Details on the singles and doubles pages.

Serve types that are legal

Low (short) serves, flick serves, drive serves and high serves are all legal if they follow the rules above, whether forehand or backhand. Most doubles players use a backhand low serve; singles players often serve high and deep. See them all in types of badminton shots.

Test yourself with the rules quiz, or read on about faults and lets.