Badminton Glossary

The narrow strip along each side line, also called the tramlines. It is in play for doubles rallies and out for the doubles serve, which is why the doubles court is wide to rally in and narrow to serve into.

The rear third of the court, from which clears and smashes are usually played. In singles it is the area a player has to defend after being pushed back; in doubles it belongs to whoever is attacking from the rear of the pair.

Any stroke played on the side of the body opposite the racket hand. Badminton backhands are played with the thumb along the grip, which is why the backhand clear is the hardest stroke in the sport to hit deep.

The central recovery position a singles player returns to between shots, roughly in the middle of the court a step behind the short service line. Doubles has no fixed base because the pair rotates between attacking and defending shapes.

A short defensive reply to a smash, played with a still racket so the shuttle drops just over the net. It converts an opponent's power into your own net shot and is the standard answer to a smash you cannot lift.

A fault in which the shuttle is caught and held on the racket face and then slung during a stroke. Also called a sling or a throw. A single stroke in which the shuttle touches the head and the strings in one motion is not a carry.

Players change ends after the first game, after the second game if a third is to be played, and in the third game when a side first reaches 11 points. Missing the change is corrected as soon as the shuttle is out of play, and the score stands.

A high, deep shot hit to the opponent's back boundary line. An attacking clear is flatter and faster; a defensive clear is higher and buys time to recover to base.

Disguising a stroke so the opponent commits to the wrong reply — showing a clear and playing a drop, or slicing a smash into a drop at the last moment. Badminton rewards deception more than any other racket sport because the shuttle decelerates so sharply.

The state at 20-all, where a game can no longer be won by a single point. Play continues until one side leads by two, or until the score reaches 29-all and the cap takes over. Under the 3×15 system deuce begins at 14-all.

A flat shot travelling roughly horizontally, just clearing the net. Drives dominate mid-court doubles exchanges, where neither side has time to lift and neither can hit down.

A shot played softly from the rear court so the shuttle falls just over the net. A fast drop travels steeply and lands mid-court; a slow drop hangs and lands near the net.

Any breach of the Laws that ends the rally against the offending side. Common faults include the shuttle landing out, passing under or through the net, being hit twice, being carried, and touching a player or their clothing.

A serve that starts with the action of a low serve and is flicked at the last moment to the back service line. It exists to punish a receiver who is standing too close and rushing every serve.

The front third of the court, between the net and the short service line. The area where net shots, kills and hairpins are played, and where most doubles points are ultimately won.

Any stroke played on the same side of the body as the racket hand. Most attacking badminton strokes — the smash, the attacking clear, the fast drop — are forehand overhead strokes.

The unit of a badminton match. The standard game runs to 21 points with a two-point advantage from 20-all and a cap at 30. From 4 January 2027 the standard game runs to 15, with the advantage from 14-all and a cap at 21.

A net shot played so tightly that the shuttle rises just over the tape and drops almost vertically on the other side, tracing a hairpin. The hardest shot in badminton to answer, because it leaves the opponent nothing to hit down on.

A break of up to 60 seconds during each game, taken when the leading score reaches 11, plus up to 120 seconds between games. Both are maximums; for televised matches the referee may make them mandatory and of fixed duration.

A fast downward shot played from the forecourt to end a rally outright. Usually the reply to a net shot that has risen too high.

A stoppage after which the rally is replayed and the score stands. Called when play is disturbed, when the server serves before the receiver is ready, or when the shuttle disintegrates and the base separates from the rest during a rally.

An underarm shot from the forecourt sending the shuttle high to the opponent's back court. The defensive answer to a net shot, and the moment a rally hands the attack to the other side.

An official seated at the end of a line who signals whether a shuttle landed in or out. Where no line judge is appointed, the umpire covers the call, and where the umpire is unsighted, the referee arranges cover.

The rear boundary of the service court. In singles it is the back boundary line of the court; in doubles it sits further forward, which is why a doubles serve that lands deep near the back line is out.

The best of three games, unless another system has been arranged in advance. BWF permits three alternatives: one game to 21, best of three to 15 and best of five to 11.

A point which, if won by the leading side, ends the match. In badminton it can arrive from either side simultaneously at 29-all in the deciding game, where the cap makes the next point decisive for both.

A doubles event with one man and one woman per side. Tactically distinct from level doubles because the standard shape puts one player at the net and one at the back rather than rotating side by side.

The cord or cable supporting the top of the net. A shuttle that touches the net and continues into the correct court is in play — badminton has no let for a serve that clips the tape.

Any shot played from the forecourt that lands close to the net on the other side. The tighter the shuttle stays to the tape, the fewer replies the opponent has.

A firm but unhurried shot played from the forecourt or mid-court into the gap behind the opposing net player. The doubles shot that creates openings without giving the attack away.

The exchange from the service until the shuttle is out of play. Under rally scoring every rally produces a point for one side or the other, regardless of who served.

The scoring system in force since 2006, in which the side winning a rally adds a point to its score whether it served or received. It replaced the side-out system, where only the serving side could score.

The player standing diagonally opposite the server and due to return the serve. In doubles the receiving pair does not rotate positions — they stay where they are until they win the serve back.

The official in overall charge of a tournament, distinct from the umpire on court. The referee may suspend play, reduce the minimum interval between a player's two matches to no less than 30 minutes, and disqualify for misconduct.

An overhead stroke played with the forehand grip over the non-racket shoulder, so that a shot which would be a weak backhand becomes a full-power forehand. The single most useful stroke in club singles.

Attacking a low serve immediately, taking the shuttle as high and as early as possible. The reason the flick serve exists, and the reason a low serve has to be tight to the tape rather than merely legal.

The stroke that starts a rally, governed by four conditions: the whole shuttle below the server's waist at contact, the racket shaft and head pointing downward, both players stationary with part of both feet touching the court, and no undue delay.

The area a serve must be delivered into, diagonally opposite the server. You serve from the right court when your side's score is zero or even, and from the left when it is odd — the opponent's score never enters into it.

The official seated opposite the umpire whose only job is to watch the legality of the service action — the waist height, the downward racket, and the feet. At club level the umpire, or the opponent, does the same job less formally.

A legacy call from the pre-2006 side-out system, announced when the serving side lost a rally and the serve passed without a point being scored. Under rally scoring it no longer exists: losing a rally now costs a point as well as the serve.

The historical option, under the old 15-point system, for the side reaching a designated score first to choose how many extra points a tied game would be played to. Rally scoring replaced it with a fixed two-point advantage and a hard cap.

The line 1.98 metres from the net that a serve must clear to be legal. It is the front boundary of every service court, in singles and doubles alike.

The method for checking a shuttle before play: a full underhand stroke struck from over the back boundary line, upward and parallel to the side lines. A shuttle of correct speed lands between 530 and 990 mm short of the far back boundary line.

The projectile, also called the shuttle or the bird. A feather shuttle has 16 feathers fixed in the base, each 62 to 70 mm long, and weighs 4.74 to 5.50 grams. Synthetic shuttles are permitted where flight and speed match the feather standard.

The steep, fast overhead shot hit downward into the opponent's court. The fastest shot in racket sport by shuttle speed off the racket, and the stroke most club players over-use from positions that do not permit it.

The official in charge of the match and the court, responsible for calling faults and lets, keeping players and spectators informed of the score, and reporting misconduct to the referee. The umpire may warn a side, fault it after a warning, and fault it immediately for a flagrant offence.

A shot in which the shuttle is struck by the frame of the racket rather than the strings. Illegal in the earliest codes of the game and legal since 1963 — today it is simply a shot that went wrong, not a fault.