Badminton: the net, the serve and scoring

The court, net height, the serve below 1.15 m, the service court by score and games to 21 (to 15 from 4 January 2027).

The outline, topic by topic

Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.

Net: what is it?
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1.524 m high at the centre and 1.55 m at the posts.
Far higher than in tennis (0.914 m at the centre): the shuttle is always volleyed, never bounced.
At 29-29, who wins the game?
- Whoever scores the next point
- A two-point lead is needed
- The server
- The game is replayed
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Whoever scores the next point
The game is capped at 30: at 29-all, the next point wins. With games of 15 points (from 4 January 2027), this deciding point comes at 20-all.
Game of 21 points: what is it?
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A game won at 21 with a two-point lead, capped at 30.
The match is best of three games. The BWF switches to games of 15 points on 4 January 2027: a two-point lead at 14-all, capped at 21.
Why must the serve be struck low?
- So the shuttle clears the net more easily
- To force the server to serve short
- To prevent an unreturnable smashed serve
- To slow the shuttle at the start
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To prevent an unreturnable smashed serve
Struck below 1.15 m, the shuttle must rise to clear a 1.524 m net: the serve starts the rally without attacking it. A long serve is still allowed.