What makes up a foul in badminton?

Question: What makes up a foule in badminton?

Answer:
Hi Aoife, thanks for your question.

Generally badminton fouls can be classified into 3 main areas:

• Fouls at the Net Area
• Contact Faults
• Double Hit
• Service fouls

When a player commits a foul during a rally, he or she losses that rally and a point will be awarded to the opponent.

Faults at the Net Area

When you’re retrieving shots near the net area, there is a high chance that you’ll commit a fault.

Basically, you are:

1. Not allowed to touch the net during play. Your body and racket must not make contact with the net. Otherwise it will be a fault.

2. Not allowed to hit the shuttle BEFORE it passes the net to your side.

If the shuttlecock is travelling to your side of the court but has NOT fly pass the net, you are NOT allowed to take it.

Similarly, if you place your racket over the net before the shuttle comes to your side, it is also a fault.

Contact Faults

During play, you cannot make contact with the shuttlecock. Contact can only be made with your racket.

If your opponent hits the shuttle towards and you are not fast enough to dodge it, it is a foul.

Double Hit

Well, this is not volleyball.

Once your racket makes contact with the shuttlecock, you are not allowed to hit it again until your opponent returns the shuttle back to you.

When the shuttle is at your side of the court and you hit the shuttle twice, it is a foul.

In badminton doubles, only one player in a partnership is allowed to retrieve the shuttlecock.

If both players touch the shuttle with their rackets, it is considered to be a “double hit”.

Service Fault

Service faults are committed when players deliver the badminton serve.

When delivering a badminton serve,

• The shuttlecock must be struck from BELOW YOUR WAIST.
• Your racket must swing in an UPWARD direction from below your waist.
• Your racket head must be pointing DOWNWARDS.

  If you fail to perform ANY of the above in your badminton serve, it’s a service fault.

Technically, you are not allowed to hit a service that looks like a badminton drive.

If you follow the service rules, there is no way that you can hit a serve that looks like a drive.