Badminton Serve Rules and Types of Serve: A Complete Guide

The serve is the only shot in badminton where you have total control: the shuttle is in your hand, your opponent is waiting, and nothing happens until you are ready. It is also the shot with the strictest rules. This guide covers the official serving rules, which service court to use in singles and doubles, the most common service faults, and the four types of serve you should learn.

The official serving rules

The BWF Laws of Badminton (Law 9) list what makes a serve correct. In plain terms:

1. No undue delay. Once both players are ready, the server must not hold up the serve.
2. Stand in the right place. Server and receiver stand inside diagonally opposite service courts, without touching the boundary lines of those courts.
3. Feet stay put. Part of both feet of both players must stay in contact with the court surface, in a stationary position, from the start of the serve until it is delivered. You cannot step or jump into the serve.
4. Hit the base first. The server’s racket must initially hit the base (cork) of the shuttle, not the feathers.
5. Below 1.15 m. The whole shuttle must be below 1.15 m from the court surface at the instant it is hit.
6. One continuous movement. Once the forward swing starts, it must continue until the shuttle is hit. Pausing or faking the serve is a fault.
7. Over the net and into the box. The shuttle must pass over the net and land in the receiver’s service court, or it would land there if not intercepted.

The serve is complete once the shuttle is hit, or once the server tries to hit it and misses. A complete miss is a fault.

The receiver must be ready. If the server serves before the receiver is ready, a let is played. A receiver who attempts to return the serve is treated as ready.

The 1.15 m rule (and why you cannot serve overhand)

The old rule said the shuttle had to be below the server’s waist, judged by the lowest rib. That was hard for umpires to judge consistently, and it gave taller players an advantage because their waist was higher. From 2018 the BWF introduced a fixed height of 1.15 m measured from the floor, which is now the standard law, and service judges at major events use a measuring device to check it.

This is why the answer to “can you serve overhand in badminton?” is effectively no, and why you do have to serve underhand: at 1.15 m, the shuttle is around hip height for most adults, so any overhead or sidearm action at shoulder height breaks the rule. In casual games nobody brings a measuring stick, but serving clearly below the waist keeps you well inside the law.

Which service court to serve from

You serve from the right service court when your side’s score is even (0, 2, 4…) and from the left service court when it is odd (1, 3, 5…). The receiver stands in the diagonally opposite court.

The service court is the box between the short service line and the back of the court, on one side of the centre line. Its shape differs:

The line you serve behind is the short service line, sometimes called the front service line. You can stand anywhere in your service court behind it, as long as you do not touch the lines.

Exact measurements are in our badminton court dimensions guide.

Serving in singles

In singles, the server keeps serving as long as they keep winning rallies, alternating between right and left courts as their score changes. When the receiver wins a rally, they score and serve next, from the court that matches their new score. See singles rules.

Serving in doubles

Doubles serving confuses most new players, so here is the logic:

• Only one player on each side serves at a time. If the serving side wins the rally, the same player serves again, switching to the other service court.
• If the receiving side wins the rally, they score and gain the serve. Nobody changes court. The player who is already in the correct court for their side’s new score (right for even, left for odd) serves.
• Only the player in the receiving court may return the serve. If their partner touches it, the serving side wins the point.

Our doubles rules guide walks through a full rally sequence with the score.

Service faults

Any of these gives the point to the receiving side:

• the whole shuttle is above 1.15 m when it is hit,
• the server’s feet move, lift off the floor, or touch a line before contact,
• the server hits the feathers before the cork,
• the server pauses, feints or restarts the forward swing,
• the shuttle lands outside the receiver’s service court, including short of the short service line or, in doubles, behind the long service line,
• the shuttle fails to cross the net or goes under it,
• the server swings and misses.

The receiver can also commit a fault by moving before the serve is struck or by standing on a line.

The four main types of serve

Low serve (short serve)

The most common serve in doubles and increasingly in singles. Using a backhand or forehand grip, push the shuttle so it skims just over the tape and drops near the short service line. A good low serve forces the receiver to lift.

Tips: keep your wrist firm, use a short push rather than a swing, and aim for the shuttle to peak on your side of the net.

High serve (long serve)

A forehand serve hit high and deep so the shuttle drops almost vertically near the back line. It is the standard serve in singles because it pushes your opponent to the back of the court. In doubles it is risky because opponents can smash it.

Tips: drop the shuttle in front of your leading foot, swing from low to high, and follow through over your opposite shoulder.

Flick serve

A disguised serve that starts like a low serve, then a quick wrist and finger action sends the shuttle over the receiver’s head. It works best in doubles against receivers who rush the net.

Drive serve

A fast, flat serve aimed at the receiver’s body or backhand side. It can catch an opponent off guard, but under the 1.15 m rule it is harder to keep the trajectory low, so use it sparingly.

How to serve: step by step (forehand high serve)

1. Stand about a metre behind the short service line, close to the centre line, side-on with your non-racket foot forward.
2. Hold the shuttle by the feathers at about waist height in front of you.
3. Bring your racket back with a relaxed forehand grip (see how to hold a badminton racket).
4. Drop the shuttle and swing forward and up in one motion, keeping both feet on the floor.
5. Hit the cork below 1.15 m and follow through high.
6. Recover quickly to a ready position in the middle of your court.

Serving questions

Does a serve that hits the net count?

Yes, if it still lands in the correct service court. There are no net-cord lets in badminton.

Can you serve backhand in badminton?

Yes. The backhand low serve is the standard serve in doubles at every level.

What happens if the serve lands on the line?

It is in. Lines are part of the service court they enclose.

Can the receiver stand anywhere?

The receiver 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 hit.

How many serves do you get?

One. There is no second serve in badminton. A faulty serve loses the rally.

For the rest of the game’s rules, see our complete rules of badminton.