What are the 4 types of serves in badminton

Introduction

Badminton is an increasingly popular sport worldwide and a very accessible game which can be played by people of all ages. A basic understanding of the rules, etiquette, and court setup are essential for a smooth game. Once you are familiar with the rules, you will also need to understand the different serves used in badminton. Serving technique is one of the most important skills to master when playing badminton and there are four main types of serve:

High serve
Forehand serve
Backhand serve
Low service

Here we will look at each type of serve in more detail.

Types of Serves

Badminton serves are essential for successful play. There are four main types of serves in badminton, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. They are the low serve, the flick serve, the high serve, and the drive serve. Each type of serve is unique and can help you gain an edge over your opponents in the game.

Let’s take a closer look at each type of serve:

Low Serve
Flick Serve
High Serve
Drive Serve

High Serve

The high serve, also known as the “flick” serve, is where the shuttlecock is lifted high up in the air. This type of serve is used when the player wants to surprise their opponent by sending the shuttle high in order to put their opponent off balance and make them react more quickly. The High Serve usually travels downwards at an angle making it hard for the opponent to reach.

To hit this type of serve, players must:

Flick their wrists quickly
Use a “chopping” action to generate sufficient power and height.

Low Serve

The Low Serve is the most fundamental of all serves in badminton, as well as being the most frequently used by players. The key is to get the shuttle as low as possible through good technique, rather than just strength. The focus should be on stroke accuracy and good racket control to ensure that contact with the birdie is made near the bottom of its rather than in jerky motion at top of its arc.

When performing a low serve, realize that it does not need to land perfectly flat. It can be advantageous for it to have some spin and go beyond where you intended when trying to deceive your opponent, which requires proper placement based on your opponent’s playing style and preference. Keep in mind that an underarm serve can effectively trap your opponent by denying them a reasonable volley if they try to attack your low serve with their own aggressive smash or attack shot.

It is also important to keep track of where you are standing during a low serve so that you can make sure that you are standing behind the short service line when executing snipes shots which may require additional presence court side. With practice and patience, perfecting this serve will not only increase but diversify your chances of winning more points when playing singles or doubles matches.

Flick Serve

The flick serve, also commonly known as the cross court serve, is a badminton serve that requires wrist and fingertip control to successfully execute. With this type of shot, you start from the backcourt and hit the shuttlecock in an upwards direction over the net so it lands in your opponent’s backcourt. This type of serve is typically used informally or recreationally and can produce a variety of different results.

The technique required for this type of serving consists of two motions: throwing and slipping. To begin, throw your racket up with considerable speed into the shuttlecock while letting go midswing to create a slip effect. This action accelerates the racket head to give it more power when hitting the shuttlecock at impact point. You also need to ensure that contact with the shuttlecock occurs from below its center line to result in higher levels of spin on impact with its receiving side.

Although this technique has been used mainly at recreational or amateur levels, professional badminton players occasionally use this variation during tournaments due to its capacity to surprise their opponents by making them defend themselves against tricky heights and directions.

Drive Serve

The drive serve is considered to be the most commonly used badminton serve and it is also known as a push serve. The goal of this type of badminton serve is to land the shuttlecock inside the back boundary lines and close to the sidelines. This serve will have a flat trajectory, which makes it more challenging for opponents to react.

To execute this type of badminton serve, you’ll start in a ready position facing your opponent’s court with your non-dominant side closest to the boundary line. When you hit the shuttlecock, you must go through a downwards motion in order for it have enough power. Your follow-through should direct slightly to either side of your body for accuracy and control on placement.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are four types of serves in badminton: unfaulted, faulted, short and toss. Faulted serves hit the net, whereas a short serve goes into the service court before bouncing in the receiver’s court. Toss is when a server holds the shuttlecock high up and drops it straight down allowing themselves time to make a quick serve.

As you can see, mastering all four of these serves can give your opponents an extra challenge in your next competition!