Badminton: All The Official Terms You Should Know

You do not really know badminton till you know the official terms.

If you are playing badminton, besides learning the actual game and the rules, it is always good and handy to know the official terms that are used during the game. It helps to give you a well-rounded idea about the game which can help you understand the game better and in more depth.

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These terms should be familiar to those who are interested in not just playing badminton but who also love to watch badminton and follow it regularly. Knowing what these terms are and what they mean can help you understand what is said during a game of badminton.

Here is a list of most commonly used official term:

During service:

#1. Short– This means the service did not reach the line of service on the opponent’s side. It fell short of the line.

#2. Long– This means the shuttle landed outside the line. In singles, it means it fell outside the second baseline and in doubles, it means it fell beyond the first base line and the point was lost by the server

#3. Wide– This means the shuttle fell outside the sideline of the court. In singles, it means the first sideline and in doubles, it means the second sideline.

#4. Let– An umpire calls a let when the server makes a service not knowing that the opponent was not ready or due to some unforeseen circumstance where the receiver or the server was interrupted suddenly.

Scoring Terms:

#1. Love: Love means 0. The game starts with the scoring of Love all which means 0-0.

#2. Deuce: During a general game of 21 points, when both players have reached 20-20, it is termed as deuce. From here the player to score 2 straight points wins the match.

#3. Advantage: In the game, if there is a point where the players are at deuce, whoever wins the next point is said to have the advantage. There are two things that can follow, either the person with advantage wins the next point and wins the game or can lose the point and again it becomes deuce for the players.

Court Area:

#1. Forecourt: That is referred to the front part of the court where generally the net shots are played from.

#2. Mid-Court: This is the middle of the court, from where hitting winners are easy.

#3. Rear court: This refers to the back of the court. This is the best area to push your opponent to.

Badminton shots/ Techniques:

#1. Clear: To clear the shuttle means to simply send the shuttle back to get yourself out of trouble or to play it safe.

#2. Follow through: After hitting the shuttle, the action/ swing of the racquet has to be completed. This is called the follow through.

#3. Half smash: Half smash means playing a smash, but not with complete power.

#4. Drive: Drive is a parallel stroke played from the side of the court to the other. The idea is the not lift the shuttle high and give the opponent a chance to attack.

#5. Tap: A tap is a shot played from the forecourt in a way to the rally by taking a point. It is a very effective stroke and is played in a way to have the same impact as a smash.

#6. Slice: Slice means when you try to give the shuttle an angle that is harder for the opponent to reach and is played by cutting the shuttle on contact. It is played to give more depth, angle and deception to the shot.