Badminton Serve Techniques – Forehand vs Backhand

Every rally starts with a serve, and a weak serve gives the receiver a free attack. The two main serving techniques, forehand and backhand, suit different situations: the forehand is the natural choice for the high, deep singles serve, while the backhand is the standard for low serves, especially in doubles. This guide explains the rules you must follow, how to perform each technique, when to use it and how to practise until your serve is reliable under pressure.

Service Rules You Need to Know

Under the BWF Laws of Badminton, a legal serve requires that:

The server and receiver stand within their diagonally opposite service courts, without touching the boundary lines.
Part of both feet of the server and receiver stays in contact with the court surface, in a stationary position, until the serve is delivered.
The server first hits the base (cork) of the shuttle.
The whole shuttle is below a set height at the moment of contact. The Laws of Badminton (Law 9.1.6) state that “the whole shuttle shall be below 1.15 metres from the surface of the court” when it is hit. This fixed height was introduced in BWF competition in 2018 and has replaced the older waist-height rule in the Laws, although some school and local events still apply the waist rule.
The racket moves forward continuously from the start of the serve until it is delivered, with no pause or feint.
The shuttle lands in the receiver’s service court.

Breaking these rules is a service fault. For a broader explanation of scoring and service order, see badminton rules and scoring explained.

The Forehand Serve

The forehand serve uses a longer swing on the racket side of the body, which makes it the easiest way to generate height and depth. It is mainly used for the high serve in singles.

How to Hit a Forehand High Serve

Stance: stand about a metre behind the short service line, close to the centre line, side-on with the non-racket foot forward.
Grip: a relaxed forehand (handshake) grip.
Preparation: hold the shuttle by the feathers in front of you at about chest height, with the racket raised behind you.
Swing: release the shuttle and swing the racket down and forward in one smooth motion, shifting your weight from the back foot to the front foot.
Contact: strike the shuttle below the legal height, in front of your front foot, with an open racket face.
Follow-through: let the racket continue upward over your non-racket shoulder.

The aim is a shuttle that climbs very high and drops almost vertically near the singles back boundary line. A steep fall is harder to time and attack than a flatter serve.

Common Forehand Serve Mistakes

Hitting too flat, so the serve can be smashed from mid-court.
Contacting the shuttle too high, which is a fault.
Dropping the shuttle too far to the side, which causes mishits.
Stopping the follow-through early, which costs height.

The Backhand Serve

The backhand serve is played in front of the body with a short, compact action. It is the standard serve in doubles and is widely used in singles for the low serve, because it is easy to control and hard to read.

How to Hit a Backhand Low Serve

Stance: stand close to the short service line with the racket foot forward, or with feet roughly level, whichever is more stable for you.
Grip: a backhand grip, held short on the handle, with the thumb resting on the back bevel.
Preparation: hold the shuttle by a feather or two in front of your waist, cork pointing down toward the racket face.
Swing: push the racket forward a short distance, using the thumb and forearm rather than a wrist flick.
Contact: the shuttle should just clear the tape and fall inside the short service line area.
Follow-through: keep it short, then lift the racket straight away, ready for a net reply.

Common Backhand Serve Mistakes

Using too much wrist, which makes the serve float.
Pausing at the end of the backswing, which can be called as a fault.
Gripping the shuttle tightly, which makes the release inconsistent.
Standing too far from the short service line, giving the shuttle more distance to travel.

Forehand vs Backhand Serve Compared

Aspect	Forehand serve	Backhand serve
Main use	High serve in singles	Low serve in doubles and singles
Swing length	Long	Short and compact
Ease for beginners	Feels natural; height is easy to find	Needs practice for consistent low trajectory
Disguise	Harder to disguise	Easy to switch between low and flick from the same action
Variations	High serve, low serve, flick	Low serve, flick serve, drive serve

Many players use both: a forehand high serve in singles when they want to push the receiver back, and a backhand low serve in doubles and for variety in singles.

Serve Variations

High serve: very high and deep, for singles.
Low serve: just over the tape, landing near the short service line. Standard in doubles.
Flick serve: starts like a low serve, then a quick push sends the shuttle over the receiver’s head toward the back of the service court. It punishes receivers who rush the net.
Drive serve: flat and fast, aimed at the receiver’s body or a corner. Used occasionally as a surprise.

In singles, the target depth is the back boundary line; in doubles, the long service line is 0.76 m inside the back boundary, so a doubles flick has less room to land.

Serving Tactics

Vary the target: serve to the centre line (the “T”), the outside corner and the body.
Vary the timing: take a different amount of time to settle before each serve, within the rules.
Watch the receiver: if they lean forward aggressively, a flick is effective; if they stand back, a tight low serve works well.
Plan the third shot: know where you expect the return and be ready, especially at the net. The net play guide covers the front-court shots that often follow a low serve.

In doubles, the server’s partner position also matters. How pairs line up for serve and return is explained in the guide to doubles positioning and communication, and how serving differs across formats is summarised in singles vs doubles: key differences.

Practice Routine for a Reliable Serve

Bucket serving: serve 50 to 100 shuttles per session, split between low and high serves. Serving needs no partner, so it is the easiest skill to practise alone.
Target practice: place a target (a towel or tape box) just behind the short service line for low serves and near the back line for high serves. Count successful serves out of 20.
Height check: string a cord about 15 to 20 cm above the net tape and practise low serves that pass between the tape and the cord.
Pressure serving: play serve-and-return games where the receiver attacks any loose serve.
Video review: film your serve from the side to check contact height and whether your swing pauses. The article on technology in badminton training describes other ways to analyse technique.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I serve forehand in doubles?

Yes, it is legal, but most doubles players use the backhand low serve because it is more compact and harder to attack.

What is the 1.15 m service rule?

Under Law 9.1.6 of the Laws of Badminton, the whole shuttle must be below 1.15 m from the court surface when the server hits it. It has applied in BWF competition since 2018. Some school and local events still use the older waist-height rule, so check with the organiser.