I'm playing with someone who likes to take their time of getting comfortable and make a big show of animating the shuttle from pointing to the ceiling to pointing forward before serving. Then, she suddenly serves when everyone fell asleep already. I find the game becoming slow and annoying even before the rally starts. What do the rules say about that: - What is considered a faulty delayed serve? - When does the serve period start? - What do the opponents and partner (me in this case for the next few weeks...) have to do in this time? Do we have to stand still or is it only about not moving the feet from the ground? If I can't squat or do some drills, can I bring a book? - How much time can the opponent request saying their aren't ready?
Rule 9.1.1 applies if both parties are ready: If your opponent is claiming not to be ready, §16.1 applies: Both give leniency to the umpire to evaluate what exactly constitutes an undue delay. There is no fixed time limit. Instead, the time limit depends on the format of the game, if one side is getting an advantage, and other factors. Umpires will typically escalate from: Announcing "play" Talking to the player ("Get ready quicker") Warning that a card is imminent Yellow card Red card Black card Steps may be skipped or repeated; one prominent example is Carolina Marin receiving 2 red cards at the 2015 German Open. When server and receiver are ready, as decided by the umpire. It doesn't matter though, since in effect the laws and punishments for delay are the same whether a serve is imminent or not. The receiver has to get ready concurrently to the server. If the server is not ready yet, the receiver can effectively do what they want, as long as they are able to get ready on short notice (i.e. standing in the right court with a racket). The partners have to stay on court (including immediate surrounding). What they do there is their business, provided they don't unsight the server or receiver. There is no fixed time limit. An often-quoted guideline is 5 seconds, but it varies. At high-level matches where they want to show replays the referee may even instruct the umpires to wait 15 seconds after every rally. In this situation, you (as the side taking offense with this behavior) need an umpire. The umpire will be an independent arbiter of whether the delay is too much, and enforce appropriate delays. If your matches are at a tournament, request an umpire from the referee or tournament control. If your matches are in a league, consult your league regulations, or contact your federation. Typically an umpire is found by: The federation sends an umpire An unaffilliated umpire present in your hall An umpire present in your hall, playing in one of the teams Somebody else not affiliated with either team The teamsters or coaches Somebody from either team/club If your matches are in a private setting, talk to the player and say that you don't want to waste time and that their behavior needs to stop. If they don't improve, you can simply exclude this player from your group.
I take 5 seconds, not more and probably less, before receiving or giving a serve. I serve much better when taking a little bit of time to adjust my position. May be your partner too. Some opponents sometimes serve to me while my hand is showing a “wait” sign and tell I cannot do that but again it’s a very small club I play at. No need to argue with some of the players who are mainly playing a social game and better score the next point. That’s kinda the philosophy I adopted because service faults in a social club or everywhere. Including two staged services actions which are extremely annoying to me hehe. Like some players simulate a stroke, stop their racket (as to make you move) then bring the racket back before initiating another stroke and finally hitting the shuttle. Usually it ends in the net or is still a very poor service so it’s not like it matters much in term of scoring but it’s usually those players who will call you out for taking 3 seconds to be ready before a serve...
@phihag, you gave an in depth reply where I gather that I need an umpire to decide if her animation of the shuttle is a delay or not. Still, I'm not clear what are the rules of conduct during the serve time. You said as long as the partner doesn't block the view their are fine. But I know, for example, that the player who receives the serve mustn't move until the racket touches the shuttle - right? What about the other players, can they dance around? If they need to stay still, what does staying still mean?
A part of both feet of both server and receiver must be still on the ground: Apart from this, there is no need to "stay still". For instance, some receivers oscillate between leaning forward and back. That is perfectly legal. The receiver can also swing their racket (within reason, they must not deliberately distract their opponent). On the other side, many servers roll up their feet during forehand serves, with only the toes remaining in contact with the floor. That is fine as well. The partner of the server and the partner of the receiver can do whatever they want, provided they don't get in the view of server or receiver: This means that the partners of the server and receiver are allowed to dance, again provided they don't deliberately distract their opponents. It is rare in professional games, but in youth tournaments - even at a higher level - it sometimes happens that the partner is distracted, picking up feathers, looking at the coach, or tying their shoes, while both server and receiver are ready. If the serve is struck in this situation, the rally begins. It is on the partners to coordinate with the server/receiver (the partner's partner) when they are ready.
