Badminton singles rules: the court, the serve, and the score

Badminton singles rules keep the same 21-point rally scoring as doubles but narrow the court to 5.18 m (17 ft) and stretch the service box back to the rear boundary line. You serve from the right when your score is even, from the left when it's odd. The rest of the court is unchanged.

Badminton singles court size: 17 feet wide, 44 feet long

A full badminton court is 13.4 m (44 ft) long and 6.10 m (20 ft) wide. Singles is played to the inner sidelines, 5.18 m (17 ft) apart, and the 0.46 m (1 ft 6 in) tramline down each side is out for the entire rally — not just the serve.

Everything else carries over. The net stands 1.524 m (5 ft) at the center and 1.55 m at the posts, the short service line sits 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) from the net, and the center line splits each half into a right and left service court. A shuttle touching a line is in. For the full measurement set, see badminton court dimensions.

Badminton singles serve rules: which side, which box

Serving from the right and the left

Serve from the right service court when your score is even (0, 2, 4 …) and from the left when it's odd. Only the server's score matters — the opponent's total is irrelevant, and there's no partner sequence to track. Every game starts at 0–0, so the first serve is from the right.

Win the rally and serve again from the other side; lose it and your opponent serves from the box their own score picks.

The side follows from a single number, so the score alone tells you where to serve. Badminton Scoreboard, a badminton scoreboard app for iPhone and Apple Watch that tracks match scores, is one way to hold that number while you're busy playing.

The service court runs to the back line

This badminton service court rule costs the most points: in singles the service court runs long and narrow, from the short service line back to the rear boundary line, bounded by the inner sideline. The doubles long service line — drawn 0.76 m (2 ft 6 in) inside the back line — does not apply. A flick serve two feet from the back line is good in singles, long in doubles.

The two boxes end up close in area and nothing alike in shape: a singles service court is about 2.59 m wide by 4.72 m deep, a doubles one 3.05 m by 3.96 m. Singles makes you cover depth; doubles makes you cover width.

What makes the serve legal

The delivery laws are identical in both formats. Both feet stay stationary and in contact with the floor from the start of the service until it's delivered, the racket meets the base of the shuttle first, and it moves continuously forward once the serve begins. Under the BWF's fixed service height the whole shuttle must be below 1.15 m from the court surface at contact; older laws — and plenty of club play — still use the waist-and-lowest-rib test instead. The receiver stands inside the diagonally opposite service court and stays still until the shuttle is struck, and a serve that clips the net cord and lands in the correct court is in play, not a let. Badminton serve rules covers the faults in detail.

Badminton singles vs doubles: what actually changes

Rule	Singles	Doubles
Width in play	5.18 m / 17 ft — inner sidelines	6.10 m / 20 ft — outer sidelines
Service court depth	Short service line to rear boundary line	Short service line to doubles long service line
Service box shape	Long and narrow	Short and wide
Serving side	Server's own score — even right, odd left	Team score sets the side; the server keeps their court while the pair keeps winning rallies
Typical rally	Longer, built on clears, drops and lifts, with a recovery to base between shots	Shorter and flatter, the pair rotating between attacking and defending shapes

Scoring, net height and court length are identical. The rotation on the other side of that table is covered in badminton doubles rules.

Scoring, intervals and changing ends

A match is the best of three games, each to 21 points with rally scoring — every rally awards a point regardless of who served. At 20–20 play continues until one side leads by two; at 29–29 the next point takes the game, so 30 is the ceiling. There's a 60-second interval when the leading score reaches 11 and two minutes between games. Ends change after each game, and again in the third when a side reaches 11.

The center base singles demands

Doubles splits the court between two players; in singles all four corners are yours. Players manage it by recovering to a base near the middle after every shot — around the center line, a step behind the mid-point, since the back corners take longer to reach than the net. The narrower court makes it survivable: 0.46 m less to defend on each side than doubles gives up.

Badminton singles rules people get wrong

• Playing the tramlines. They're out for the whole rally, not only the serve.
• Serving short of the back line out of habit. Your service court ends at the rear boundary line.
• Picking the service side from the wrong number. It's your own score — not the rally count, not the opponent's total.
• Calling a let on a net-cord serve. If it lands in the correct service court, play on.
• Receiving from outside the box. The receiver must be inside the diagonally opposite service court and stationary.

FAQ

What is the badminton singles court size?

5.18 m (17 ft) wide by 13.4 m (44 ft) long. The length matches doubles; the width is 0.92 m narrower because singles uses the inner sidelines.

Which side do you serve from in singles badminton?

The right service court when your score is even, the left when it's odd. The first serve of every game comes from the right, since the score starts at 0–0. Your opponent's score has no bearing on it.

Can you serve past the doubles long service line in singles?

Yes. The singles service court extends to the rear boundary line, so a deep serve landing just inside the back line is good. That shorter line only applies when serving in doubles.

Where should you stand between shots in singles?

Near the middle of the court, slightly behind the mid-point, so the back corners stay reachable. Getting back to that base after every shot is what keeps the long, narrow singles court defensible.