Dear all, I was curious as to the regulations on receiving serve. There is this old tricky doubles guy who likes to stand on the side tramlines and make a quick, flat underhand flick serve to the middle center corner of my box. If I stand in the front-middle of the court (normal position for receiving a doubles serve), it is quite problematic to retrieve it. It is common to see the non-receiving partner stand in the middle or even on their partners side (pretty sure LYD and LJJ do this), but are there regulations for the actual receiver? I imagine it would be much easier to retrieve this serve by positioning myself more to the middle - even as to go onto my partner's side. What are the rules on this? Any funny stories about tricky serves are welcomed too.
The receivers can place themselves however they like, as long as they don't move before the serve is done. And for receiving that kind of serve, just turn and face the receiver and stay more in the middle of the halfcourt, near the centerline. And drive it back in the middle of the opponents court, there will be a big hole.
Thanks for the response. So theoretically, I can receive serve from my partner's side? Might be good for some fun mindgames
I think you have to stay within your "box" when receiving serve. However, if your opponent moves, make sure to reposition your body and feet to be able to cover their serve. For that particular wide serve, your feet should be positioned 90 degress from your initial position; that serve is most effective against people who don't do that.
I believe you need to stay in your own box, but not anywhere on the court. Like ppl pointed out, simply position yourself to face the server, then you will be fine.
i know of several of people who serve this way. nothing a backhand drive won't fix but stay in the middle and face our opponent is what i do. there was a case where there was a person stood RIGHT at the BACK, right hand side and served. i think he was from Germany? i was partnering with him at first. i can tell you i was shadowing a lot of holes that day... it was my turn against him and i just pushed it half court. that really screws them up!
I hate when my doubles partner does this since it leaves a giant gap unless you change your starting position to cover for it. Its much easier on the receiving side since you know exactly where the birdie is going to land, so you can plan your stroke ahead of time. If my partner is the one receiving, I'll usually stand more away from the midline than normal to give him/her space. Also physically pointing to the corner before they serve usually results in a disgruntled face from the server and a weak normal serve
You need to stand within your own court Badminton Law 9.1.2: The server and the receiver shall stand within diagonally opposite service courts without touching the boundary lines of these service courts 9.1.3 Some part of both feet of the server and the receiver shall remain in contact with the surface of the court in a stationary position from the start of the service until the service is delivered.
sometimes i wonder what will happen in a situation where the server and receiver both wants to position themselves with respect to their opponent...so it'd be like.. both parties unable to reach a satisfactory position... (in case you didn't get me...it'd be like server stands at point A, receiver stands at point X. server moves to point B after seeing receiver move, ready to serve. But receiver changes to point Y again and so on....) My guess is server gets penalised for delaying?? but when receiver is changing position he's also delaying isn't it? lol
According to the rules, both must be in a stationary position before the service can be executed. If both sides want to play a cat and mouse game thereby causing delay, both of them can be called up and warned by the umpire. The one disobeying thereafter could be red carded and lose a point! Further challenging the umpire will warrant a black card and an early exit from the tournament!
I would say that this matter could be settled without cards. Just calling both sides over and tell them to behave will do the trick. Using cards to early takes away a lot of manoeuvering room.
If I understand correctly, the doubles server is serving from the right service court and stands close to sideline for a flat and quick underhand serve to the rear of receiving court close to the centerline, and the receiver tries to stand close to the centerline and away from the front service line, so the receiver can avoid the hole in the rear of his backhand side. To me, the most effective way to receive this kind serve is doing "around the head" forehand return that will scare many servers from doing the serve again. A backhand return is simply not good enough. You would stand a little back and a little closer to the centerline, but not too much. As to the receiver positioning himself too far away from the front service line, too close to the the centerline, and face the server directly, the receiver will risk a sudden service change to the front right side corner in the receiving court instead the serve you'd expect. That may leave you with an even bigger hole to cover. I hope I understood the posts correctly (?).
Well I can't do the round-the-head shot well as I'm slow to get back, so what I'll do is a steep backhand cross drop shot as close to the net and away form the server on their left front court corner. This often takes them by surprise as they expect a high clear from me. It often becomes an outright winner!
Thanks, that's a good suggestion, I will give it a try. My backhand is not good and also slower to react, that's why I didn't have a lot success before.
