Badminton faults

No one wants to give away free points in a match especially when there is neck to neck fight, a single point given by badminton faults (Foul) can be very discouraging, but don’t worry in this article I will tell you every single fault that you need to know while playing a match to avoid giving away free points and after you complete read reading this guide you will be able to confidently argue with umpire about fault made by your opponent and gain advantage in a match.

What is a fault in badminton?

To define a fault in badminton in one sentence, it refers to an action which provides a point to your opponent if you perform it during a match.

There are a lot of voilations in badminton defined by BWF in its rule book but here are the most common ones which we see in a match

Badminton Faults Types

• Service badminton Faults
• Receiving Faults
• Contact Faults
• Crossing Net badminton Faults
• Lets 
• Misconduct From Players

1. Service Faults in badminton

1.1 ) What is a service Fault in badminton

It refers to the actions if done while doing a serve will award a point to your opponent

Here is the list of faults in badminton during serve

1.2 ) No movement of Body

While you are doing a service in badminton you are not allowed to move around, in simple words do not lift your legs Off The Ground

You can lift your Heels but not full feet otherwise it will be called as a fault.

One more thing your foot should not touch the midcourt line while serving it is also a fault.

1.3 )Position of your racket

In past, position of racket to avoid a service fault was to keep your racket head below your waist but now it has completely changed

Because most of the player used to complain about unfair fault given by umpire, to be fair each player has different height and accordingly there waistline also going to differ which is an advantage for tall players,

But now there is a standard height of 1.15 m

According to this rule the whole of the shuttle shall be below 1.15 metres from the surface of the court at the instant of being hit by the server’s racket

Source

A flag shaped equipment will be used by service judge to check for the height of your contact point

Some racket’s shaft length is shorter than others which can be very disturbing, check these rackets for convenient playing experience.

1.4) Single action

If you are thinking of making deception shot while doing serve then you are also not allowed to do it

I mean you can by doing the same action for all types of service but not by performing double action with your racket.

Also keep in mind that if you miss your shuttle while doing service and it lands on the ground without touching your racket then it is not a foul and you will get another chance of doing service.

1.5) Delays

Neither side shall cause undue delay to the delivery of the service once the server and the receiver are ready for the service.

On completion of the backward movement of the server’s racket head, any delay in the start of the service shall be considered an undue delay.

These are two rules rolled into one.

First, you cannot hold your serve indefinitely, hoping that the receiver will lose concentration or become uncomfortable. Similarly, the receiver cannot delay indefinitely.

How long is an undue delay? The rules don’t say, because it’s left to the umpire’s discretion.

In club play, you just have to be reasonable you should not take more than five seconds to serve (once ready).

Second part

When serving, you cannot pause between backswing and forwards swing Many club players use this pause to upset the receiver’s timing. That is against the rules: it’s a fault(foul).

Note that this rule also forbids an extremely slow serving action, because that would constitute an undue delay.

1.6 ) Hitting feather first

While serving if you made contact with shuttle’s feather first than it is a fault, You should make contact with shuttle from bottom not by the feather.

2 . Receiver badminton Faults

It’s not just for the server, the receiver can also commit a foul.

If while receiving service, players move even before the service has been done to gain an unfair advantage then it is a fault means that the receiver cannot cross the front service line and also not allowed to move before the service is been made.

You are also not allowed to move your racket around to distract server before service, also shouting and any other use of verbal communication is not allowed while receiving

To sum up, the receiver should stand almost still and quiet

3 . Touching net during a rally

Many players especially beginners ask me can i touch the net in badminton? And the Answer to this is that

If your body or racket touch net while the shuttle is still in play then it is considered a fault.

But if the shuttle is not in play then you touch the net it is not a fault , like if opponent hits the shuttle out/in, shuttle hit opponent’s body here in these situations shuttle is not in play so even if your body or racket touches the net it is not a voilition

For example, if you are rushing towards the net to make a net kill against your opponent high net shot and suddenly you lose your balance and your body touches the net now if the shuttle is dead means you have already hit your shot and after that your body touches the net then it is not a fault but if the shuttle is still in play and you touch the net then it is a fault.

4. Double hitting shuttle

If you have played volleyball match before you know that you are allowed to hit at maximum three times to make the ball cross the net but in badminton, it is different as soon as you hit the shuttle it must go over the net to keep rally ON,

One more thing to know that that carrying shuttle on the racket is also a fault meaning that shuttle should make bounce on your string one time and not stays on your racket face, it is a Fault!

5. When the rally ends

Badminton is much different than tennis as you know in tennis you are allowed to hit after one bounce but in badminton as soon as the shuttle hits the ground the rally has ended and you are not allowed to hit the shuttle after it bounces off from the ground.

6. Disturbing your opponent badminton faults

In the above video, Lee Chong Wei (player in yellow ) blocked the net kill off his opponent and this is not a foul.

Because his racket is not over the net and this means that he is not interfering with the stroke of his opponent and just doing the stuff in his side of the court.

Note that your opponent is allowed to put his racket in the path of the shuttle.

He is not allowed to block your stroke by putting the racket over the net, but he is allowed to block your shot.

It’s a subtle distinction: your stroke is the movement of your racket; your shot is the movement of the shuttle.

If your opponent obstructs this — such as putting his racket in the way so that you would be forced to hit it — then you win the rally.

7. Crossing racket during Net Kill

You will agree with me that Net kills validity arguments are one of the most difficult ones to resolve I mean without an Umpire it is very difficult to tell whether your net kill is valid or not, but still for your tournament you need to know which is a valid net kill or not.

Well, to tell you in simple words if the contact point with a shuttle is in your court then it is a valid shot but if the shuttle has not crossed the net and you crosses net with the racket to make that shot than it is a fault.

Important:- If you have made the kill during the shuttle been in your court then it is not a fault also you are allowed to follow through your swing after hitting that shot and if your racket crossed the net during that action it is not a fault

But if you hit the shuttle before it crosses the net than it is a fault

It will become more clear by the above-watching video 

Now at first glance you will be thinking that this is a fault because his racket is obviously crossed the net but when the video is played in slow motion you will know that the player has crossed the net after he made that shot, it is not a fault because the contact point of shuttle with racket was in his net area and after he made his shot racket follow through across the net which is not a fault as I mentioned earlier

8. Invading to the opponent’s court

Whether it is over or under net you are not allowed to cross it while the shuttle is in Play

According to BWF if player invades an opponent’s court over the net with racket or person except that the striker may follow the shuttle over the net with the racket in the course of a stroke after the initial point of contact with the shuttle is on the striker’s side of the net;

Invades an opponent’s court under the net with racket or person such that an opponent is obstructed or distracted; or obstructs an opponent, i.e. prevents an opponent from making a legal stroke where the shuttle is followed over the net.

• When the shuttle hits the ceiling
• When player shout in, out or any verbal communication to confuse his opponent
• Holding your racket across the net while an opponent is lifting shuttle is also fault

Different types of LET in Badminton

LET in badminton means no point will be awarded to any player for rally and the point will be played again.

When a ‘let’ occurs, play since the last service shall not count and the player who served last shall serve again.

There is many reasons for which an LET is given in badminton.

A player is not ready to receive service

When a receiver is not ready and did not attempt to make a shot against his opponent service then it is LET, one thing to note that if receiver attempts to hit shot against service even though he is distracted than no rally will continue.

When both server and receiver make fault at the same time then the umpire will call it LET

For example, you are serving in doubles and your racket head is above 1.15 m which is according to latest BWF rule is a fault and at the same time receiver moved even before you completed your service which is a receiver fault in this situation umpire will call it to let and that point will be played again.

Disturbance during rally

If you have played any tournament before then you will know that in badminton there are Court which is adjacent to each other how to make number of matches played at the same time which saves a lot of time especially in large tournaments, but what if shuttle from adjacent court lands in your court during rally is going on, hair umpire will call let.,

Let’s take another scenario at this time shuttle landed OFF court during a rally, it was outside the doubles line and created no disturbance for the player during a rally at that time no let will be called.

Shuttle breaks during play

This situation is very rare in international matches as they use quality shuttles but still, BWF has described in their APPENDIX that if during play shuttle disintegrate and the base completely separates from the rest of the shuttle umpire will call LET.

This situation arises mostly in the lower level tournament as the shuttle is not of top-class quality so next time if this happens to you, make sure to appeal Umpire demanding LET.

When line call becomes difficult to tell

When a line judge is unsighted Umpire is unable to decide line call then according to BWF it is LET.

Disturbance by Coach or Opponent

I know it is very low-quality tactic how to make your opponent concentration weak with the help of your coaches, asking them to make sound with the motive of distraction, this rule is also applicable to a player if he also uses verbal communication to distract his opponent and if Umpire feels it is LET.

Misconduct by Players in Matches

In badminton, it is necessary to play with sincerity because badminton rules do not provide much flexibility to a player regarding how they can act or Express themselves in the tournament.

You might not know this but in badminton, there are also card given for misconduct by players

And mainly there are three types of card

• Yellow 
• Red 
• Black

Umpire has the power in badminton to give card if he feels is necessary, a player will get a card if he does not follows rules which are prescribed by BWF.

So the process is like that at first warning will be given to the player and if a player continues to avoiding Umpire warming then a yellow card will be awarded and if it stills persist red card will be given which means a point will be given to his opponent.

A black card is given when there is no other option for Umpire, it results in disqualification from the tournament.

If you have any other question about badminton faults feel free to ask in the comment section

Remember badmintonisgreat.com if you face any problem in your badminton career.

Thank you for reading…….