Hi, I’ve recently started playing badminton again after a 10 years pause and my backhand doubles serve is terribly inconsistent. I’ve never been 100% happy with it, especially under pressure and I used to do a sideways swipe serve as in: Unfortunately, my club regularly plays with shuttles that are in a bit of a sorry state and this causes the feathers to catch during the swiping action and the shuttle then swerves and tumble in unpredictable ways, so instead of practising my old serve I decided to shop around for a better, more consistent serve that impacts only the cork, which I found at: I’ve been practising this on my won for a 20 minute session and I found it to work super well for me, allowing me to consistently get the shuttle only centimetres over the net, at a decent pace and practically sending each shuttle on top of the previous one. When I first played the serve in a match, however, I realised that a little “cheat” that I used when I practised it might make it illegal. Without using the cheat, however, my serve was all over the place again. A big part of what made the serve consistent for me in practice was that I paid close attention to positioning of both racket and shuttle. I hold the shuttle between middle finger and thumb and exactly in the opposite direction to the way I want it to fly. Then I align the racquet so that the head is exactly perpendicular to the direction of the flight on the top part of the racket head. The swing is then a dead straight push and the shuttle moves exactly the same way without any tumbling, every single time. It’s a great serve with pretty much no room for attacking as it remains consistently low and drops under the net almost immediately after crossing the net. The trouble is that I touch the shuttle to the strings to work out the angles perfectly before initiating the back swing. Without doing this it is considerably harder to get the angles right, but is it legal to do so? I know that the serve officially begins with the backswing, but I wonder whether it does not officially end as soon as you touch the shuttle to the racket? So am I already faulting before I even start the back swing?
You're allowed to rest the shuttle on the stringbed. Many of us do it. Including pros. Just no double swing.* * Although if you look carefully, some pros like Lin Dan used to do a triple swing and Fischer used to do a double swing and they were never faulted...
Yes it is legal since you haven't startet the service before the first forward movement of the racket. And you lineing up the racket and shuttle does not count as the first forward movement, since you are not ready to serve yet. (see rule 9.2) Regarding Lin Dan and Fischer's double action, the explanation can only be that the first forward movement of the racket (which do not hit the shuttel) does not count as a stroke, since they have no intention to hit the shuttle (see the definition of stroke in the rules). And one could argue that they are not ready to serve before this first movement. (I do not agree with this however)
Realistically, you can get away with anything, as you can always claim you were not ready to serve until whatever time you deem your backswing to start. So, for example, Lin Dan does a kind of double swing. However, it is consistent, and for him, he would claim he is not "ready to serve" and has not even "started" his backswing, until after the first half of the double swing. Anyway, in your situation, you are not even close to being illegal. I serve the same way you do - and it is very consistent and a very good serve. However, if you feel it may be considered illegal, simply swap the sequence round: instead of putting the shuttle ready, and then touching with the racket, place the racket first then touch the shuttle to the racket! Nobody will claim you already started when you are moving the shuttle with your hand, rather than the racket! Good luck!
regarding Lin Dan and Nielsen multiple actions, I think it's also because the opponents know they won't hit at the first 1-2 swings. had the opponent rush forward at the first swings, the referee will and should fault them. I think the problem will arise in social games, it can also happen in competitive games. it's either the server or the receiver that can be the bad guy. 1. There are some social games where the rule doesn't apply and you can do double swings and it counts as a very good deception (at least until a guy points out the rule) 2. The receiver immediately move to receive the serve although the server doesn't intend to serve on the first swings, then the receiver claims a point because of the server fault.
Rule 9.2 Once the players are ready for the service, the first forward movement of the server's racket head shall be the start of the service. Your question is answered by this part: '...the first forward movement of the server's racket head shall be the start...' Whatever you do before beginning the first forward movement of the racket head has no bearing on the legitimacy of your service. You are free to touch the racket's stringbed with the shuttle or even sing to it.
The first part of that sentence is a tricky one to uphold. The server could claim THEY are not ready even after multiple forward and backward swings. The rules are very difficult to uphold and enforce! They are very subjective!
I'm not saying players should be allowed to have these crazy unnecessary double swings. I am saying its difficult to enforce because players can claim whatever they want. The double swing by Lin Dan is not meant to be deceptive, its just the way he serves - but that doesn't excuse the matter in my view. Your comment has reminded me of watching the womens singles final at the all england. Players seem to have really long rituals before they hit a high serve, moving rackets and looking at shuttles and all sorts of things. Is any of that necessary? No. So why aren't they faulted for delaying the serve? Well, they haven't started their back swing... I think its fine, but unnecessary! Does anyone remember Jonas Rasmussen and his crazy serve where he moved all over the place before serving? It was a terrible serve, but perfectly legal. In my view, I think the start of the service should be signalled by having been stood in place to serve and both sides being motionless for a moment - that to me is a sign that the player is ready to serve and the rally should start. Thus, any weird actions that happen afterwards should be considered forward and backward swings. But how on earth would you write that as a rule? Would it even help or is there some crazy loop hole? I don't know. What I do know is that matches are not won or lost based on modern day serves - so is it worth worrying or complaining about. The player with the most skill and the best tactics still wins... Although it astounds me how bad players are at serving nowadays compared to professionals of 10 years (and more) ago.
