Badminton Service Rules: The Complete Guide to a Legal Serve (Court, Position & Contact)

A legal badminton serve is hit diagonally into the opposite service court, underarm, with the whole shuttle below 1.15 m at contact, both feet stationary and touching the floor, and the racket moving in one continuous forward motion. Get any of those wrong and it's a service fault.

The order an umpire checks your serve

A service judge isn't watching one thing — they run a checklist in a fraction of a second, and it helps to know the order. Feet first: both planted, nothing on a line, nothing sliding. Then contact height: is the whole shuttle under the 1.15 m line at the strike. Then the action: one continuous upward swing, racket head below the hand, no hitch or pause to bait the receiver. Recreational players almost always get pinged on the action, not the height — a little stop-start fake feels clever and is an instant fault. Serve boring and legal; it beats serve clever and called every time.

The conditions for a legal serve

• Diagonal: server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts.
• Contact height: the whole shuttle below 1.15 m from the floor when struck (see the 1.15 m rule).
• Underarm & shaft down: the racket head must be below the hand and the shuttle hit base-first, in one upward, continuous motion (no double action / balk).
• Feet: both feet stationary, part of each touching the ground, not touching any line, until the serve is struck.
• Receiver: must stand still until the serve is struck; may not move feet until then.

Which service court?

The server's score parity decides it: even → right court, odd → left court (full detail in "Where to stand"). The short service line is 1.98 m from the net; the serve must clear it. In doubles, court selection also determines who serves next and how rotation works — worth understanding before your first pairs match.

Example

At 0–0 you serve from your right service court, diagonally into the receiver's right court (your diagonal). Shuttle struck at, say, 1.05 m — legal. Strike it at 1.20 m and it's a fault even if it lands in.

FAQ

• Q: What makes a badminton serve legal? Underarm, whole shuttle below 1.15 m, feet stationary and off the lines, served diagonally into the correct service court.
• Q: Which service court do I serve into? The one diagonally opposite yours.
• Q: Where is the short service line? 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) from the net — your serve must pass beyond it.
• Q: Can my feet move during the serve? No — both feet must stay still and touching the floor until contact.
• Q: Underarm only? Yes — the racket head must be below your hand; overhead serves are illegal.
• Q: Does the receiver have to stay still? Yes — until the shuttle is struck.
• Q: Is a bad serve a fault? Yes — a service violation is a fault that immediately loses you the rally, giving your opponent a point under rally scoring.