Badminton Laws

The International Badminton Federation at their AGM on 6 May 2006 approved the adoption of a new rally point scoring system for the laws of badminton.

The following information is a simplified summary of the Laws, not a complete reproduction. The definitive source of the Laws is the IBF Laws publication, although the digital distribution of the Laws contains poor reproductions of the diagrams.
Playing court dimensions
Badminton court, isometric view The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are almost always marked for both singles and doubles play, although the laws permit a court to be marked for singles only. The doubles court is wider than the singles court, but the doubles service court is shorter than the singles service court. The full width of the court is 6.1 meters (20 ft), and in singles this width is reduced to 5.18 meters (17 ft). The full length of the court is 13.4 meters (44 ft). The service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 meters (6.5 ft) from the net, and by the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked by a long service line, which is 0.78 meters (2 ft 6 inch) from the back boundary. The net is 1.55 meters (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 meters (5 ft) high in the centre. The net posts are placed over the doubles side lines, even when singles is played. Surprisingly, there is no mention in the Laws of a minimum height for the ceiling above the court. Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be suitable if the ceiling is likely to be hit on a high serve.
Equipment laws
The Laws specify which equipment may be used. In particular, the Laws restrict the design and size of rackets and shuttlecocks. The Laws also provide for testing a shuttlecock for the correct speed:
>> To test a shuttlecock, use a full underhand stroke which makes contact with the shuttlecock over the back boundary line. The shuttlecock shall be hit at an upward angle and in a direction parallel to the side lines.
>> A shuttlecock of the correct speed will land not less than 530 mm and not more than 990 mm short of the other back boundary line....