How to serve

The serve is the only shot in badminton where you have complete control: the shuttle isn't moving, nobody's rushing you, and you get to choose exactly what happens. That makes it the easiest part of the game to improve and one of the most rewarding. A tidy, legal serve takes pressure off you and puts it straight onto your opponent. Here's how to do it well.

The four serves worth knowing

There are really just a handful of serves, and most recreational players only need three of them. Each sends the shuttle on a different path and suits a different situation.

• Low serve - the shuttle skims just over the net and drops onto the front service line. This is the bread-and-butter serve in doubles, where you don't want to give your opponents a free shuttle to attack.
• High (or long) serve - the shuttle is sent high and deep so it drops almost vertically into the back of the court. This is mainly a singles serve, pushing your opponent right to the back to open up the front.
• Flick serve - you set up exactly as if for a low serve, then at the last moment flick the shuttle quickly over the receiver's reach to the back of the service box. It's a surprise serve, not an every-point serve.
• Drive serve - a flat, fast serve aimed at the receiver's body. It's risky and easily attacked, so leave it alone until the basics are solid.

The backhand low serve (your go-to)

Most players today serve low with a backhand, because the shorter, more compact action is easier to control and disguise than the old underarm forehand. It's well worth learning as your default serve. Here's the technique step by step.

1. Stand with your racket foot forward and your weight settling onto that front foot. Hold the racket out in front of you with a relaxed backhand grip - thumb resting up the back of the handle for control.
2. Hold the shuttle by the feathers in front of the racket, with the cork (base) pointing down towards the strings.
3. Keep the racket head below your hand and the shaft angled downward. Your arm does very little - the power comes from a small, gentle push.
4. Release the shuttle and guide it forward with a short push of the thumb and a tiny wrist movement, brushing the shuttle so it just clears the net.
5. Aim to make the shuttle die right on the front service line. The flatter and tighter over the net, the less your opponent can do with it.

The high serve and the flick

For the high serve, a forehand action gives you more reach for the depth you need. Drop the shuttle slightly to the side of your front foot, swing through underneath it and follow through high, sending it steep and deep so it falls almost straight down at the back line. A high serve that lands short, in the middle of the court, is a gift to your opponent - height and depth are everything.

The flick serve borrows the low serve's disguise. Start identically, then replace the gentle push with a quick flick of the wrist to lift the shuttle fast over the receiver. The whole point is surprise, so save it for when an opponent starts creeping in to attack your low serve. Use it too often and it stops fooling anyone.

The service rules you must follow

Serving has more rules than any other shot, and breaking one gives a fault and the point to your opponent. The good news is they're easy once you know them. These are the key requirements in the current Laws of Badminton:

• Hit it low. The Laws set out two alternative height rules, and your federation chooses which applies. In top-level play with official measuring equipment, the whole shuttle must be below a fixed height of 1.15 metres from the floor at the moment you hit it. Under the other option, used in much club and recreational play, the whole shuttle must be below your waist, with the waist defined as an imaginary line level with the lowest part of your bottom rib.
• Racket pointing down (under the waist-height rule). Where the waist-height option is used, the shaft and head of your racket must also be pointing in a downward direction at the instant of contact - in plain terms, the racket head clearly below your hand, which keeps the serve an underarm shot. Note that under the 1.15 m rule this is no longer judged: only the shuttle's height matters. Either way, keeping the racket head below your hand is good habit.
• Hit the cork first. Your racket must strike the base (the cork) of the shuttle first, not the feathers.
• Feet still and grounded. Some part of both feet of both the server and the receiver must stay in contact with the floor, without moving, from the start of the serve until the shuttle has been struck. Don't touch any lines either - you and the receiver must stand within your service courts without touching the boundary lines.
• One smooth motion. Once you start your forward swing, it must be a single continuous movement. No stopping, double-pumping or hesitating.

Where to stand and where to aim

You always serve diagonally into the service box opposite you, and you switch sides each time your side wins a point. In doubles, stand close behind the front service line and near the centre line - this lets you serve low and tight while staying ready for the return. In singles, stand a little further back, since you'll mostly be using the high serve to push your opponent deep.

For aiming, keep it simple. Send your low serve towards the central 'T' (where the centre and front service lines meet) or straight at the receiver - serving wide just hands them an easier angle to attack. Send your high serve high and into the back corners. Mix in the occasional flick to keep opponents honest, and you'll have a serve that quietly wins you points all match.