The score selects the court; the sequence selects the player.

This is the current BWF international baseline

This page applies BWF Statutes Section 4.1, Laws of Badminton, Version 5.0 (2), in force 26 April 2025, especially Laws 7, 8 and 10–12. It covers ordinary singles and doubles; the same service-order laws apply to men's, women's and mixed doubles.

It does not make Para badminton court modifications, handicap matches, school adaptations or national competition formats universal. An event that announces an authorised alternative scoring system or its own regulation must be read under that named ruleset.

Best of three games to 21

BWF Laws 7.1–7.3 say a match consists of the best of three games unless otherwise arranged. Each game is first to 21 points, subject to the extended-game rules at 20-all and 29-all. On score, winning two games wins the match; a third is played only if each side has won one.

The side winning a rally adds one point. It wins the rally when the opponent commits a fault or when the shuttle ceases to be in play because it touches the court surface inside the opponent's court. This is rally-point scoring: the receiver can score as well as the server.

Before the first game, the Law 6 toss gives its winner the choice either to serve or receive first, or to start at a chosen end; the toss loser takes the remaining choice. The opening service is from the right because the serving side's score is 0.

Win by two, but only up to 30

• At 20-all: the first side to establish a two-point lead wins the game.
• At 21–20: the game continues because the lead is only one.
• At 22–20: the side leading by two wins.
• At 29-all: there is no further win-by-two requirement; the side scoring point 30 wins 30–29.

Under Law 7.6, the side that wins a game serves first in the next game. In doubles, Law 11.6 then allows either player of that winning side to serve first and either player of the losing side to receive first; the previous game's four-player sequence does not carry over.

Even is right; odd is left

For both singles and doubles, look only at the serving side's current score. At 0, 2, 4, or another even score, service is delivered from the right service court. At 1, 3, 5, or another odd score, it is delivered from the left.

The receiver is in the diagonally opposite service court. The receiving side's score does not choose the serving court. Lines form part of the area they define under Law 1.3, but during service the server and receiver must stand inside their courts without touching the boundary lines under Law 9.1.3.

The rally winner becomes or remains server

In singles, if the server wins the rally, the server scores and serves again from the alternate service court because the score has changed parity (Law 10.3.1). If the receiver wins, the receiver scores, becomes the new server and serves from the court matching that player's new score (Law 10.3.2).

Worked case under BWF Version 5.0 (2): A serves from the right at 4–3 and loses the rally. B's score becomes 4, so B serves next from the right. A's previous court is irrelevant; the decisive fact is the new server's even score.

Narrow and long for service

Standard singles uses the inner sidelines and the full back boundary line. The serve must travel diagonally into that long, narrow service court. During the rally, the same inner singles sidelines and back boundary define the playable court.

Because all BWF court lines form part of the area they define, a shuttle touching the relevant singles boundary is in.

Only a serving pair that scores changes tracked courts

If the serving side wins the rally, it scores; the same server serves again from the alternate service court under Law 11.3.1. For service-order tracking, the serving partners have exchanged their respective right–left courts. The receiving pair's tracked courts do not change.

If the receiving side wins, it scores and becomes the serving side under Law 11.3.2. Neither pair exchanges its tracked courts because of that rally. The fixed sequence and the new serving side's score determine which partner serves.

Rotation does not assign four standing boxes

Laws 11.1.3–11.1.6 track each player's right-or-left service-court relationship so the correct server and receiver can be identified. Only the server and receiver must actually occupy the diagonally opposite service courts for delivery.

Law 9.5 permits their partners to stand anywhere on their own sides provided they do not unsight the opposing server or receiver. After the service is returned, Law 11.2 allows either partner to hit from any position on that side. “Changing service courts” is therefore an order-tracking rule, not a compulsory formation for the rally.

Four players cycle through the right to serve

BWF Law 11.4 passes the right to serve from the initial server, to the partner of the initial receiver, to the partner of the initial server, to the initial receiver, and then back to the initial server. No player may serve or receive out of turn or receive two consecutive services in the same game, apart from a correction under Law 12 or a misconduct fault under Law 16.

This fixed sequence and the even/odd rule work together. Players do not need to memorise a separate rotation after every rally if they retain their side positions correctly.

Reconstruct four serves from the opening score

1. Start: at 0–0, A1 serves from A's right court to B1, the initial receiver.
2. A wins: at 1–0, A1 serves again from A's left to B2. A's tracked courts change; B's do not.
3. B wins: at 1–1, B gains service without changing tracked courts. B2—the initial receiver's partner—is due under Law 11.4 and serves from B's left.
4. B wins again: at 2–1, B2 remains server and moves to B's right. B's tracked courts now change; A's do not.

The result follows score parity plus the Law 11 sequence. It is not a rule requiring all four players to shuffle after every point.

Wide and short for service, wide and long in the rally

In standard doubles, the serve uses the outer doubles sidelines but the long service line for doubles, which sits inside the back boundary. Once the serve is legally returned, the full doubles court extends to the outer sidelines and back boundary line.

A serve landing between the doubles long service line and the back boundary is therefore out even though the same landing would be in during the rally.

Partners cannot intercept the serve

The player diagonally opposite the server is the receiver. Under BWF Law 13.2.3, it is a fault if the served shuttle is hit by the receiver's partner.

The serving side wins that rally and point, and the same server serves again from the alternate court. After a legal return of service, either player on a side may hit the shuttle, followed by either player on the opposing side, until the shuttle ceases to be in play. There is no requirement for partners to alternate their team's racket contacts.

Correct the positions; keep the score

Law 12 defines a service-court error as serving or receiving out of turn or serving or receiving from the wrong service court. If it is discovered during a rally, correction waits until the shuttle is not in play. The existing score stands.

Worked case under BWF Version 5.0 (2): at 6–5, the wrong doubles partner receives and the rally finishes before anyone notices. Award the rally normally, keep the resulting score, then restore the correct server, receiver and courts before the next service. Law 12.2 does not erase completed points or order a replay merely because the order was wrong.

Not every stoppage advances the sequence

A let does not count as a rally result. Under Law 14.3, the player who served last serves again, so there is no point, no parity change and no ordinary change in service order.

A misconduct fault can add a point without the usual rally pattern, which is why Law 11.5 expressly preserves misconduct consequences under Law 16. In an officiated match, use the umpire's announced score and corrected order rather than trying to force the event into a rotation mnemonic.

The deciding game changes ends at 11

Under the current 21-point baseline, players change ends after the first game, after the second if a third is required, and in the third game when a side first reaches 11. If an end change is missed, it is made when the shuttle is not in play and the existing score stands. Changing physical ends does not reset the score or service order.

Under BWF Law 16, standard matches allow an interval not exceeding 60 seconds when the leading score reaches 11 in each game, and not exceeding 120 seconds between games. The focused guide to intervals, change of ends, and continuous play explains the timing, officiating calls, delay rules, and penalties.

A published event can use a different target score

BWF Statutes Section 4.1.4, Alternative Laws of Badminton, permits prior arrangement for one game to 21, best of three games to 15, or best of five games to 11. The alternative text states which scoring, change-of-ends and interval provisions replace the baseline; the remaining Laws continue to apply.

For the 3×15 alternative, a game is first to 15, win by two from 14-all, capped so the 21st point wins at 20-all. The deciding-game end change and the 60-second interval occur when the leading score reaches 8. Score parity still selects the service court and Laws 10–12 still control service order.

3×15 is approved, but the effective date and event still matter

BWF's membership approved 3×15 scoring on 25 April 2026 for an international implementation date of 4 January 2027. Therefore, a 2026 match is not automatically played to 15 merely because the future system has been approved.

Early use can be valid when a governing body or event says so. For example, the official prospectus for the Badminton Asia U17 & U15 Junior Championships 2026 specifies a 3×15 rally-point system. That competition rule controls that event; it does not change every BWF match in 2026. Check the prospectus before applying either the 21-point baseline or a shorter format.

Set the next service in six checks

1. Confirm the event format. Current 3×21 baseline, announced 3×15 alternative, or another authorised format?
2. Identify the serving side. After an ordinary rally, the rally winner serves; after a let, the last server serves again.
3. Read that side's score. Zero or even means right; odd means left.
4. For singles, use the rally winner. That player is the next server.
5. For doubles, use the retained Law 11.4 sequence. A serving-side win keeps the same server and changes its tracked courts; a receiving-side win changes service without exchanging tracked courts.
6. Check for an error or special ruling. Correct a wrong court/order when the shuttle is not in play and retain the existing score.

Five shortcuts that break the sequence

• Using the receiving side's score to choose the server's court.
• Swapping the receiving pair after it wins a rally.
• Assuming the player who returned the last serve must serve next in doubles.
• Serving from the back boundary in doubles instead of respecting the doubles long service line.
• Resetting the score after discovering a wrong server or wrong court.

Governing-body sources and effective versions

• Badminton World Federation, BWF Statutes Section 4.1 — Laws of Badminton, Version 5.0 (2), in force 26 April 2025 — Laws 1.3, 7–12, 13.2.3, 14.3 and 16.
• Badminton World Federation, BWF Statutes Section 4.1.4 — Alternative Laws of Badminton, current posted text checked 13 August 2026 — authorised 1×21, 3×15 and 5×11 formats and their scoring, interval and change-of-ends variations; the posted document does not state a separate effective date.
• Badminton Association of Japan — notice of BWF approval of the 3×15 scoring system, 26 April 2026 — records the planned BWF implementation date of 4 January 2027 and links to the BWF announcement.
• Badminton Asia — U17 & U15 Junior Championships 2026 prospectus, “Format of Play” and “Scoring Format” — named 2026 competition use of 3×15 rally-point scoring.

Checked on 13 August 2026 against the current BWF Laws, the BWF alternative-law provisions and later implementation material. Version 5.0 (2) controls the current BWF international baseline described here; the approved 3×15 system is scheduled for 4 January 2027. Competition, national, Para badminton and handicap provisions may supplement or replace the stated scoring format only within their announced scope.