RULES · SERVING
Badminton serving rules without the jargon
A legal serve starts in one service box and travels to the box diagonally opposite. Your own score tells you whether to stand on the right or the left.
Reviewed against the BWF Laws of Badminton · Updated 31 August 2026The whole rule in three steps
- 01Your score is even: serve from your right. Your score is odd: serve from your left.
- 02Serve into the diagonally opposite box—never straight ahead.
- 03Keep both feet inside your box and make one continuous forward swing.
INTERACTIVE SERVICE COURT
Change the score and watch the service box move.
The orange ring marks the server. The highlighted box is the legal target. The third example shows a straight serve that is a fault.
Loading the 3D service court…
0, 2, 4… → rightWith an even score, the server stands in the right service court and serves diagonally.
Drag to rotate · Double-click to reset01 / WHERE TO STAND
Use your score, not the total score
Look only at the score of the person serving. An even number means the right service court; an odd number means the left.
The receiver stands in the box diagonally opposite. Neither player should touch the service-court lines with a foot while waiting for the serve.
02 / THE ACTION
One smooth forward movement
Once both players are ready, do not add a long delay. Start the serve and keep the racket moving forward until it hits the shuttle.
At the instant of contact, the entire shuttle must be below 1.15 metres. The racket must first hit the base of the shuttle, and some part of both feet must remain on the court and still until the serve is delivered.
03 / WHO SERVES NEXT
The rally winner gets the next serve
If the server wins the rally, that player scores and serves again from the other side because the score has changed by one.
If the receiver wins, the receiver scores and becomes the new server. The new server chooses right or left from their own new score.