How Is Badminton Scored?
Rally Scoring to 21, the 2-Point Advantage, the 30-Point Cap & Complete Service Rules Explained
Last updated: April 6, 2026
Badminton uses rally scoring — every rally earns a point for the winner, regardless of who served. Games are played to 21 points with a minimum 2-point advantage. If the score reaches 29-29, the 30-point cap applies and the next point wins (30-29). A match is best of 3 games — the first player or pair to win 2 games takes the match.
How Rally Scoring Works in Badminton
Since 2006, badminton has used rally scoring (also called the rally point system). Under this system, every rally results in a point for the winning side — regardless of who served. Before 2006, badminton used a service-point system where only the serving side could score. If the receiving side won the rally, they simply gained the serve without earning a point. This old system made matches unpredictable in length and often led to very long games.
The BWF (Badminton World Federation) introduced rally scoring to make matches shorter, more exciting, and more television-friendly. Under rally scoring:
- If the serving side wins the rally, they score 1 point and continue serving.
- If the receiving side wins the rally, they score 1 point and gain the serve.
A rally can end in several ways: the shuttlecock hits the floor inside the opponent's court, the shuttlecock goes out of bounds, a player touches the net with body or racket during play, a player hits the shuttlecock twice, the shuttlecock is caught and held on the racket (a sling/throw), or a service fault is committed.
Rally scoring applies universally across all BWF-sanctioned competitions — World Championships, Olympic Games, BWF World Tour events, and continental championships.
Games, the 2-Point Advantage & the 30-Point Cap
A badminton match is played as best of 3 games. The first player or pair to win 2 games wins the match.
Standard game end: Each game is played to 21 points. When one side reaches 21 and leads by at least 2 points (e.g., 21-19, 21-17, 21-8), the game ends immediately.
The 2-point advantage rule (deuce): If the score reaches 20-20, the game does not end at 21. Instead, play continues until one side leads by 2 points (e.g., 22-20, 23-21, 24-22, up to 29-28).
The 30-point cap — badminton's unique rule: If the 2-point advantage has not been achieved and the score reaches 29-29, the cap triggers. The very next rally decides the game — the winner scores the 30th point and wins 30-29. This prevents games from continuing indefinitely.
Why the 30-point cap matters: Between scores of 20-20 and 28-all, the standard 2-point advantage applies normally. But at 29-all, the cap overrides the advantage rule. This creates one of the most dramatic moments in racket sports — a single rally with the entire game on the line.
Match outcomes: Matches can finish 2-0 (straight games) or 2-1 (with a deciding third game). There is no difference in value — both count as a win. In team events like the Thomas Cup, individual match results may matter for tiebreaking purposes.
Service Rules & Court Positioning
The serve in badminton is unique among racket sports — it must be hit underhand and below a fixed height. Understanding service rules is essential because the score determines who serves and from which court.
Basic service rules (since 2018):
- The shuttlecock must be struck below 1.15 meters from the court surface. This fixed-height rule replaced the old 'below the waist' rule, which was harder to judge consistently.
- The racket shaft must point downward at the moment of contact — the racket head cannot be above the server's hand.
- The server must stand within their service court with both feet stationary (not moving) and touching the floor.
- The shuttlecock must travel diagonally across the net into the opponent's service court.
Singles service positioning:
- When the server's score is even (0, 2, 4...), serve from the right service court.
- When the server's score is odd (1, 3, 5...), serve from the left service court.
- The receiver stands in the diagonally opposite service court.
Doubles service positioning:
- The serving side's score determines the service court: even score = right court, odd score = left court.
- The player who is in the correct service court at that score serves (this means the same player keeps serving as long as their side keeps winning rallies — they switch courts after each point they score).
- The receiving pair does not change positions when they score (they only change when they are serving and score a point).
Doubles Scoring: How the Service Rotation Works
Doubles scoring follows the same point system (rally scoring to 21, 2-point advantage, 30-point cap), but the service rotation is more complex:
Who serves? At the start of a game, the serving pair decides which player serves first. After that, the service rotation follows a strict pattern based on the serving side's score:
- Even score → the player in the right service court serves to the diagonally opposite receiver.
- Odd score → the player in the left service court serves to the diagonally opposite receiver.
Key principle: When the serving side wins a rally, the same player serves again but switches to the other service court (because the score changed from even to odd or vice versa). When the serving side loses a rally, the serve passes to the receiving pair.
The receiving pair: The receiving pair does not switch positions when the serving side scores. They only change positions when they are serving and score a point.
Common confusion: Unlike the old service rules (pre-2006), there is no 'second server' concept. When the serving side loses the rally, the serve goes directly to the other pair. This simplified system was introduced alongside rally scoring.
At the start of each game: After game 1, the winner of the previous game serves first in the next game. The winning player/pair gets to choose which player serves (in doubles) and from which side.
Intervals and Change of Ends
Badminton has structured rest periods built into the match:
Mid-game interval: When the leading score reaches 11 points in any game, there is a mandatory 60-second interval. This is a rest period for players to towel off, take a drink, and receive brief coaching.
Between games: There is a 120-second interval (2 minutes) between games. Players return to their chairs, receive coaching, and prepare for the next game.
Change of ends: Players switch ends of the court:
- After the first game.
- After the second game (if there is a third game).
- In the third game, when the leading score reaches 11 points.
The change of ends in the third game is important because it ensures fairness — factors like air currents, lighting, and background visibility can vary between ends of the court. Switching at 11 points (approximately half the game) ensures neither player is disadvantaged for the majority of the deciding game.
The Old 15-Point System (Pre-2006)
Before 2006, badminton used a fundamentally different scoring system:
Men's singles: Games played to 15 points with service-point scoring (only the server could score). Women's singles: Games played to 11 points with service-point scoring. Doubles (all): Games played to 15 points with service-point scoring.
Under this system, if the receiving side won the rally, they gained the serve but scored no points. A match of three games could last well over an hour, with long stretches where neither side scored because the server kept losing rallies.
The 'setting' rule: Under the old system, when the score reached certain tied scores (13-13 or 14-14 in a 15-point game), the player who reached the tie score first could choose to 'set' the game — extending the target by a fixed number of additional points.
The BWF switched to 21-point rally scoring in August 2006 for all events. The change was revolutionary: matches became shorter and more predictable in duration, television broadcasters could schedule coverage more reliably, and the sport became more appealing to new audiences who could easily follow the point-by-point progression.
Common Misconceptions About Badminton Scoring
"A game ends at exactly 21 points." Only if the winner leads by at least 2. If the score reaches 20-20, the game continues. It can go to 22-20, 23-21, all the way up to 29-28 (win by 2), or 30-29 (cap).
"There is no point cap in badminton." Wrong — there is a hard cap at 30 points. At 29-29, the next point wins. This distinguishes badminton from volleyball (which has no cap).
"Badminton is best of 5 games like volleyball." No — badminton is best of 3 games. A match ends when one side wins 2 games.
"Only the serving side can score." This was true under the old pre-2006 rules. Since 2006, every rally awards a point to the winner regardless of who served.
"The serve must go below the waist." The old 'below the waist' rule was replaced in 2018 with a fixed height rule: the shuttlecock must be struck below 1.15 meters from the court surface. This change made the service rule objective and easier to enforce consistently.
"In doubles, each player on a pair gets to serve before the serve passes." This was true under the old system (second server concept). Since 2006, when the serving pair loses a rally, the serve goes directly to the opposing pair — there is no second server.
Worked Example: A Complete Badminton Game
Here is how a game might progress, showing the key scoring moments:
Score 0-0: Player A serves from the right court (even score). A wins the rally → 1-0 A. A now serves from the left court (odd score).
Score progresses to 11-8: When A reaches 11 (or B reaches 11 first), the 60-second mid-game interval is called.
Score reaches 20-18: A scores → 21-18 A. Game over — A wins because they have 21 and lead by 3 (more than 2).
Alternative: Score reaches 20-20 (deuce): The game does not end at 21. A scores → 21-20. A needs one more point to win by 2. B scores → 21-21. Now B scores → 22-21. B needs one more. A scores → 22-22. This continues...
Score reaches 29-28: If A scores → 29-29. Now the 30-point cap activates. The very next rally decides the game. B scores → 30-29 B. B wins the game — no 2-point advantage needed at 29-all.
After the game: 120-second interval, players switch ends. If A won game 1 and B won game 2, a deciding third game is played with a change of ends at 11 points.
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