Badminton Rules Explained: The Complete 2026 Guide to Scoring, Serving, Court Lines & Faults

Badminton is played to 21 points (best of three games), you score on every rally whether you served or not, and the serve must be hit underarm with the whole shuttle below 1.15 m. A shuttle landing on a line is in; touch the net or hit the shuttle twice and you lose the rally. This guide is the map — each section links to the full rule.

What new players get wrong in their first week

Teach a beginner and you'll watch the same five mistakes turn up in roughly the same order. They serve from shoulder height because it feels natural — illegal the instant it's above 1.15 m. They stand on the wrong side for their score, because nobody told them it's the server's number that picks the box. They call a shuttle that kisses the line "out" (it's in; the line is court). In doubles, both partners lunge at the same shuttle and double-hit it. And at 21–20 someone starts unscrewing their grip, not realising deuce keeps the game alive until someone leads by two. Every one of those has its own section below. This whole guide is really just those five arguments, settled.

The rules in 60 seconds

• Scoring: rally scoring to 21, win by 2, hard cap at 30. Best of 3 games. → Scoring system
• Serving: diagonal, underarm, whole shuttle below 1.15 m at contact; serve from the right court on an even score, left on odd. → Service rules
• Court: 13.4 m × 6.1 m (doubles); singles is narrower (no side alleys). A shuttle on the line is in.
• Faults: out, into/under the net, touching the net, double hits, carrying the shuttle, reaching over to hit before it crosses. → Faults
• Lets: the rally is replayed with no change to the score (e.g. the shuttle breaks).
• Kit: net 1.524 m at the centre; 16-feather shuttle, 4.74–5.50 g.

Singles vs doubles in one line

Same scoring and serving height. The differences are court width (doubles uses the side alleys; singles doesn't) and the doubles serve, where the back alley is out. → Singles rules · Doubles rules

FAQ

• Q: How do you win a game of badminton? Be first to 21 points with at least a 2-point lead; if it reaches 29–29, the next point wins (30–29).
• Q: Do you have to serve to score? No. Modern badminton uses rally scoring — the winner of each rally scores, whoever served.
• Q: How high is a badminton serve allowed to be? The whole shuttle must be below 1.15 m from the floor when you strike it.
• Q: Is the line in or out? A shuttle touching any part of a boundary line is in.
• Q: How many games are in a match? Best of three — first to win two games takes the match.
• Q: Are singles and doubles scored differently? No — only the court boundaries and the serve differ.