The sport of badminton dates back many centuries, but the game as it is played today originated in the late 19th century in England. Badminton bears some resemblance to tennis, with the most notable difference being a shuttlecock used instead of a ball. The official rules of badminton are maintained by the Badminton World Federation.
Court
The badminton court measures 44-feet long and 17-feet wide for a singles match or 20-feet wide for a doubles match. The net is located at the center of the court and rests at a height of 5 feet, measuring 5-foot-1-inch in height at its ends.
Equipment
Badminton World Federation regulations state that a badminton racket can be no longer than 680 mm, or about 27 inches, and no wider than 230 mm, or approximately 9 inches. The stringed area of the racket must be stringed in a uniform pattern.
The shuttlecock, also called a shuttle or birdie, has a base made of cork that has been sheathed in leather. The shuttle may contain feathers or a synthetic material that rings the base.
Toss
Before the match, the participants engage in a coin toss. The winner can choose either which side will serve first or which end of the court she wants to play on. The loser of the toss gets to make the decision not chosen by the toss winner.
Game Play
The server hits the shuttlecock underhand with his racket while the shuttle is below his waist, attempting to send the shuttle over the net to the receiving player's court. If the server misses the shuttle or the shuttle doesn't travel over the net into the receiver's court, it is a fault. A fault also occurs if either player, their rackets or the shuttle hit the net. Otherwise, the two players volley the shuttle back and forth, called a rally, until a player misses the shuttle or it lands out of bounds.
Scoring
A player earns one point each time she wins a rally and each time her opponent commits a fault. The game continues until one player reaches 21 points. If both players are tied at 20 points, one player must obtain a two-point lead in order to be declared the winner. However, if the score becomes tied at 29 points, the winner of the next point and the first player to reach 30 points wins the game. The game winner then leads off the serve in the next game.
Badminton matches are typically best-of-three matches; therefore, the first player to win two 21-point games is the victor in the match.
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