RULES

The rules of badminton have changed in the last couple of years. The two most important changes related to the number of points in a game and who wins a point. In both men’s and women’s badminton the number of points you must have to win a game is 21. Whoever wins a volley now wins the point.

While all official competitions apply these new rules of badminton, many community and backyard games are still played by what we now call the “classic rules of badminton.” In the classic rules there are differences in men’s and women’s play. The men traditionally play a game to a total of 15 points. Should both players be tied at 13 points, the first to reach that number can choose to add five points to the game, with whoever reaches 18 first being the winner. Should a tie develop at 14-14, the game can be extended by 3 points or end at 15 points.

For women, the traditional games are shorter, ending at 11 points. The rules allow women to decide to add 3 points should a game be tied at 10, or end it at 11 points. The classic rules also differ in determining who can score a point--only the server can score. In addition, players change sides of the court after each game or when the scores reaches 8 in men’s or 6 women’s play. A match consists of 3 games with the best 2 out of 3 determining the winner.