I've been a tennis player for 20 years, now seriously into badminton and there's so much I can't unlearn. Footwork - My instinct is still to run through shots and overcommit to a smash. It's funny, I often find myself running into other courts. I also jumped sideways at full stretch to make a shot once. Strategy - I still find myself looking for "passing shots" when really I should just go at the body, or in the middle (if playing doubles). I also find myself positioning in areas strategic for tennis, but easy to get by in badminton. Swing Technique - While I don't think I'll ever pick up the limp wrist swing form of a lot of badminton players, I have managed to learn it for one shot, the backhand clear to the opposing baseline. I dont worry too much about my forehand and smash as I can hit as hard as most any badminton player I've played with. I have a lot of work to do on cutting down on my backswing. My arm is often cocked already before a shot, which is bad since it makes it easier to tell what kind of shot i'm going to do next. So how about it? Any other former tennis players, or knowledgeable badminton players, who have tips for me for making the switch to badminton?
Tips Unlike tennis when you've played three shots you don't get to sit down and have a drink for two minutes
I'll try and give you a few tips : Footwork : try exagerating the size of your last step, this should help... When jumping, try and search for hight (jump vertically rather than horizontally) Strategy : badminton is all about controlling the net, so your opponent lifts the feather up and you get the attack. You should try and improve your net play, and stay closer to the net in general. Swing Technique : difficult to help without being on court. I would say one important point is to shorten your swing compared to tennis. The basic swing of pro-supination (is this correct in english?) is easy to show but quite difficult to explain in written language!! Well, I don't know if this will help much, the best solution is probably to find a good trainer who can teach you directly!
TENNIS PLAYER HERE! haha well not really i teach tennis but play badminton for my school. for me, the switch was pretty easy just as long as you're having fun. my footwork still needs some work. i tend to go back into tennis mode all the time just running to the shots. its easier to just take a few larger steps to get to the bird. remember how in tennis you have the ready position at the baseline? well be ready in the middle of the court. i guess you'd call it the service line of the badminton court. you can get anywhere from that position. aim deep and at the corners. just like in tennis, make your opponent move. that or smash as hard as you can at the player's face and pray he/she doesnt hit i back i wanna ask, do you smash like you serve in tennis? its fun isnt it?
Re: Re: switching from tennis Yeah sure, throw the shuttle way up to the air and hit it like tennis I wonder what people are going to say about this
Re: Re: switching from tennis Actually, when I'm not playing, I study the strategies and stuff, just like i would tennis, but i guess i'm looking for ways to leave my tennis mindset behind for a bit. And yeah, I smash like i serve. I've been wondering about that. I hit it hard but the whole motion takes too long since the racket head still needs to pass behind the back. I really need to make my swings more compact.
Re: Re: Re: switching from tennis sheesh, haha. smashing in badminton is like a serve in tennis because, the motion is just about the same! it doesnt mean throw the shuttle in the air haha. actually i tried that before. i broke a window doing so.
Re: Re: Re: Re: switching from tennis Something I created in Chit-Chat about both the sports. Somewhat useful if you need some knowledge in the game. Tennis & Badminton
