By Justin Ma, 7x US Junior National Badminton Champion.
Last updated August 30, 2024
·
9 min read
We’ve all been there: We meet up to play badminton but we don’t know what the conversation is all about.
What in the world is…
About 18 years ago, when I started playing badminton, it was like that for me, too.
Now, I’m a 7x US Junior National Champion, a professional player for 8 years – and have heard all badminton terms there are (multiple times!).
In this blog post, I’ll unravel the most common badminton terminologies for beginners so you have fewer awkward moments in your next badminton match.
As a quick overview:
| # | Terminology | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drive Shot | A low shot over the net, flat and fast, making it difficult for the opponent to return. |
| 2 | Clear Shot | A long shot from the back of your court to the back of your opponent’s court, either defensive or offensive. |
| 3 | Drop Shot | A shot from the back of your court to the front of your opponent’s court, designed to disrupt the opponent’s rhythm. |
| 4 | Net Shot | A short shot from the front of your court to the front of your opponent’s court, tight to the net. |
| 5 | Smash Shot | Come on, you know what a smash is! It’s this beautiful, strong shot aimed at finishing the rally. |
| 6 | Lift Shot | A high and long shot from the front of your court to the back of your opponent’s court, generally defensive. |
| 7 | Net Kill Shot | A short smash played at the front court, aggressive and meant to finish the rally. |
| 8 | Flick Serve | A deceptive serve, starting the rally long instead of short, catching the opponent off guard. |
| 9 | Footwork | The steps you take to move quickly and efficiently around the court. |
| 10 | Rally | One badminton play, from serve to end (when the shuttle hits the net or ground). |
Let’s dive right in:
In short: A low shot over the net.
The drive shot is one of the most basic but most crucial shots for all players to learn.
A drive is a flat shot that travels horizontally quickly over the net. These shots are usually very low and fast, making hitting other shots difficult in response.
So you can’t ‘smash’ a drive. You can just barely return it.
Drive shots are more common in doubles when players are standing side by side, but can also be done in singles if you are in a good position.
In short: A long shot from the back of your court, to the back of your opponent’s court.
The clear is another basic shot in badminton that all beginners should know.
You hit the shuttlecock from your backcourt to your opponent’s backcourt. This shot is designed to move your opponent to the back of the court, giving you time to reset your position or prepare for the next shot.
There are two types of clears:
In short: A shot from the back of your court to the front of your opponent’s court (close to the net).
You want to place the drop as close to the net as possible.
There are two types of drops – a slow drop or a fast drop. Slow drops have a bigger arc and land closer to the front court, but travel slower. Fast drops have a sharper angle and land further from the front court.
Both of these shots are great at disrupting your opponent’s rhythm, as they have to move to the front.
In short: A short shot from the front of your court to the front of your opponent’s court.
A net shot is similar to a drop shot, but it is played from your frontcourt instead.
The goal is to make it as tight to the top of the net and as close to the front court as possible. A good net will help you finish rallies because it normally forces your opponent to lift.
After they lift, you will have a good chance to hit a smash shot or a drop shot, both of which are attacking shots.
In short: A strong, downward shot.
Oh yes, the devastating, fear-inspiring smash.
The smash is the most aggressive attacking shot in badminton. It is a strong shot aimed downward in hopes of finishing off and winning the rally.
This shot is hit from above the head at the highest contact point, aiming to hit it down as steeply as possible.
Many beginners love learning the smash because it can also be seen as one of the flashiest badminton shots.
In short: A high and long shot from the front of your court, to the back of your opponent’s court.
The lift is a high shot that is played from your own frontcourt to the opponent’s backcourt.
Lifts are generally defensive as they are high and long, but you can also play offensive lifts that are more flat and move quicker to your opponent’s court.
Normally, you want to avoid hitting too many lifts because it gives your opponent more chances to attack (and smash, smash, smash).Â
In short: A short smash.
Net kills are aggressive, and finishing shots are played when your opponent hits a loose or high shot in the front court.
It is similar to a smash, except you are playing it from your own frontcourt as well.
This usually requires fast reflexes, as you need to catch the shot early to hit it with good angle and speed. Imagine trying to return one of these!
Why use a net kill? The main goal of a net kill is to finish the rally immediately by hitting the shuttlecock down into the opponent’s court before they can react.
In short: A deceptive serve, where you star the rally long (instead of short).
The flick serve is when you hit a flat, long serve when you look like you are doing a short serve. This serve comes very quickly and is generally tough for players to receive because they are expecting a short serve.
If you do this a lot, people at an open gym may think you are an annoying player. 🙂
In short: How you move your feet to get to the shuttle (quickly).
Footwork is the procedure of steps you take to get around the court efficiently, effectively, and safely.
Footwork is essential because if you can’t reach the shuttle, you won’t be able to hit it.
Proper footwork will also help you move quicker around the court, giving you more chances to finish off the rally. All beginners should learn proper footwork first so they don’t develop bad habits on the court.
In short: One badminton play, from serve (start) to end.
In simpler terms, a rally is just a point in badminton. It starts with the serve and ends when the shuttle gets hit in the net or touches the ground.
Players might frequently ask if you if you want to “rally” – this just means to play together.
In short: How you move your feet to get to the shuttle (quickly).
Deception in badminton means – trick shots. This means disguising your shots to make your opponents think you are hitting it one way but instead hitting it another way.
Deception can be very useful to give you the upper hand in a rally because it is harder to anticipate or return.
A backhand shot is the opposite of a forehand shot – you will need to change your grip in order to generate enough power to hit it. Usually, your thumb will be on the flat side of the racket so that you can generate power with your thumb and your wrist. A lot of power can be generated if you flick your wrist.
I tried to make the previous blog post as informative as possible. So that you can read it, and then join a badminton club and understand the majority of the conversation.
But, because badminton has so many terminologies, there might be some additional questions top of mind. Here are the most common ones I’ve heard:
A cross-court shot in badminton is when you hit the shuttle diagonally across the court. From one side to the other.
The goal of this shot is to force your opponent to move quickly across the court. This is a great move to change the pace of the rally, drain the stamina of your opponent – or to win the rally.
The only downside is that you can hit the shuttlecock outside the court, losing the point. So, in general I recommend beginners to stick to straight, lower-risk shots.
A doubles game in badminton involves two players on each side of the court, making it a total of four players.
As a result:
Doubles games are also typically more fast-paced and dynamic due to the reduced court space per player.
A push shot in badminton is a gentle stroke used to push the shuttle over the net into the opponent’s court.
It’s typically executed with a small, controlled movement, aiming to place the shuttle just over the net or into the back corners of the court.
As such, it’s similar to a net shot – but not the same!
While both shots are played close to the net, the push shot is more aggressive and aims for placement (which may or may not be close to the net) – whereas the net shot focuses on delicacy and control to keep the shuttle as close to the net as possible.
But that difference is more for advanced players. As a beginner, just learn ‘net shot’, which is the more common terminology.
A hairpin net shot is a specific type of net shot. You know, the short shot from the front of your court to the front of your opponent’s court.
A ‘hairpin net shot’ is difficult, as the shuttle travels in a tight arc, resembling a hairpin. That’s where it gets it’s name from. Do you see the distinct shape?
As a result, the shuttlecock falls sharply on the other side of the net.
The goal of this shot is to make it difficult for your opponent to reach and return, often forcing them into a defensive position.
The hairpin net shot is more challenging to execute, requiring more control to generate the specific trajectory and placement.
The service court in badminton refers to the specific area from which players must serve. In singles, the service court is narrow and long. In doubles, it’s wider and shorter (see the illustration above).
The long service line in badminton is the back boundary line of the service area. If your shuttlecock goes outside this line when you serve, you lose the point.
The exact position of the long-service line varies depending on whether you’re playing singles or doubles.
The purpose of the long-service line is to limit the length of serves, ensuring that they are not hit too deep into the opponent’s court.
The short-service line is a line near the net, marking the closest point that your serve must reach.
Together with the long service line, it marks the total length of the court your serves should be placed in.
The short-service line is the same for both singles and doubles. It runs parallel to the net and is located 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 meters) from the net on both sides of the court.
