In a match between Adcock/Adcock and Zheng/Huang, the commentator suggested that while under the old rules it was very difficult to attack Adcock and Adcock's service, under the new rules this is easier for their opponents. Why should that be?
The new rules require the whole shuttle to be under 1.15m. Previously, taller players could serve from a higher start, which makes the shuttle come quicker over the net, and at a flatter angle. However, since neither Adcock is tall (Gabby is only 1.67m), this effect should be minimal at best; Gabby can probably serve from a higher point than before. For Chris, old and new laws probably allow about the same serve. So I don't see any reason why the new service rules would be detrimental to the Adcocks.
New rules only make it harder for very tall players, like Twin Towers, Ivanov, Axelsen etc, who now have to squat a bit when serving to avoid getting faulted. Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
re the 'old' rule, of waist height I don't think it's height specifically that would make the difference(giving advantages/disadvantages within the old rule), it's more the leg length. A person could be tall with short legs and a long torso, and their waist is still not that high (so a disadvantage). Contrast that with a person the same height, with long legs and a short torso, their waist would be higher (so an advantage). What date did the absolute height rule come into effect? And what governing body did it?
Early 2018 to December 2018 to future, depending on how you count: February and March 2018 saw the German Open and All England play with the new rules. These are very high-level tournaments, but officially it was still an experiment. At the AGM 2018, Fixed Service height rules were adopted for all tournaments starting December 10th, 2018. The laws were updated to reflect that in December 2018. All of these changes were made by BWF. Continental Championships (governed by BEC/BAC/BOC etc.) have all adopted the new rules as well. Other Continental Confederation tournaments (International Challenge, International Series, Future Series, various youth tournaments) have largely adopted the fixed service heights, but are not strictly required to yet. Most national tournaments and federations have not even started to adopt the new service laws. From what I've heard, most national federations plan to introduce fixed service height rules in the season 2020/2021, although some federations will only apply this to their top-level tournaments. I'd expect most players in official federations to play with fixed service height rules starting in 2021/2022 or even 2022/2023. Since the service height devices need to be distributed and solutions have to be found for tournaments without service judges or even without umpires, this can take a while.
