Badminton Training Tips - Racket Hand Backcourt Footwork

Have you ever struggled to return a shot if the shuttle was hit toward the backcourt area? Most of the time, it is tiring, if not difficult, to return a shot targeted at the backcourt, especially if you are positioned near the net, or if the shuttle moves at a high speed. It can be frustrating if this happens to you, and sometimes it will leave you feeling helpless and discouraged, thinking: "how can I return such a shot?"

One of the ways to return a shot to the backcourt is to get into position quickly. For a right handed player receiving a shot to the right backcourt area, the first step is to turn the body in such a way that the torso faces toward the right side of the court and to make a small step with the right foot so that the right leg is positioned toward the area where the shuttle is anticipated to land. After this initial step, the left foot crosses the back/front of the right foot and the whole body begins to move toward the anticipated landing area.

Then, the right foot takes one more step. At this point, depending on where the shuttle is, the player can already hit the shuttle, or, make a smash or jump smash. If the player chooses to already hit the shuttle, the toe should be pointed away from the center of the court (which is the returning position) to enable the player to return quickly. If the player will follow a smashing process instead, the right foot should end up in front of the body pointing toward the center with the left foot behind and slightly stretched, again to enable the player to return quickly.

One of the most important parts of this process is the very first turn. If you do this part correctly, it will be easier for the rest of the process to follow. Also remember that while the process is described as a series of steps, the entire movement should be smooth and continuous.

This type of footwork can be modified to fit the situation. One alternative will be to jump early with the left foot, instead of taking one more step with the right foot. Jumping and hitting the shuttle high is preferred since with this stroke you can make an attacking move, like a smash or a drop. Keep in mind that it is always better to hit the shuttle high, and that the main point of good footwork is to get to the shuttle as quickly as possible to do this.

Playing badminton frequently and practicing footwork and strokes regularly are essential to improving your badminton game. Visit Badminton Training Tips for more information and videos on how to improve your badminton game.

Badminton Footwork - Is It Really Important?

There are basically 3 main factors to successfully playing Badminton.

First, you have to move to get to the shuttle, so your Badminton footwork has to be good. 

Secondly, you have to be able to hit the shuttle, and thirdly, it has to be hit to where you want it to go.

Basically if you can't get to where the shuttle is/will be, then all the training and drills on shot selection, practice and tactics are utterly useless!.

Fast Badminton footwork is crucial and so is the right starting position. To be able to move from a static position, your knees must be slightly bent and your weight on the balls of your feet so that your heels are barely in contact with the ground. For a right handed player, your feet should be in a '10 to 4' clock position, '20 to 2' for you lefties.

Your feet should be placed apart so they are 'outside' your shoulders. To check this, assume your normal stance and have a quick look down. Check this, I'll bet your stance is not quite wide enough.

With only a small upper body movement you should be able to 'fall' in any direction. Any movement around the court is dictated by your ability to move your feet, so both readiness and balance are crucial.

In game play a different more pronounced stance may need to be used depending on the state of play. For example if you expect to receive a smash you'll need a wide (and squat) stance in order to reach or 'dig out' the smash return.

In short and long play your Badminton footwork will change and you'll need a narrower and longer front to back starting stance because the necessary movement will generally be in those directions.

The next time you take to the court... look down, have a look at your feet and give some thought to what is or is not going on with them, you'll find that improving your Badminton footwork really does make a difference to your game if you give some thought and attention

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When playing singles, you need to be able to cover all parts of the court. This means you must stand in a roughly central base position.

This is obvious when you consider the alternatives:

• You stand at the front. Now you can’t reach shots to the back.
• You stand at the back. Now you can’t reach shots to the front.
• You stand on the left. Now you can’t reach shots to the right.
• You stand on the right. Now you can’t reach shots to the left.

A competent opponent will usually be able to place the shuttlecock in any part of the court. If you are too far away from the centre, then you create a huge gap. Your opponent will place the shuttlecock into that gap, and you won’t be able to reach it.

The exact position of your base will vary considerably, depending on what’s happening in the rally.

Your base can be affected by several factors:

• What shot you just played
• How much time you have for recovery
• The strengths and weaknesses of both players

If you played a net shot, your base will remain somewhat towards the front of the court. The tighter your net shot, the closer you will stand to the front. If you play a very tight net shot, then you can commit to the net, knowing that your opponent’s lifts must travel very high (this gives you time to move back).

If you played a clear towards your right side, then you will bias your base a small step to the right, covering the straight angles. Straight shots take less time (they travel a shorter distance), so you need to react to them faster.

Here are some guidelines to help you match your base position to the shot you just played:

• If you played a shot to one side of the court, bias your base to the same side.
• If you played a clear, lift, or (fast) drop shot, bias your base towards the back.
• If you played a net shot, bias your base towards the front.

There isn’t much choice about base position when you play a smash: you hardly have any recovery time!

Some players, who have been taught that they should always recover to the centre, may be puzzled by my advice about clears, lifts, and drop shots. Surely they should recover to the exact centre, so they are equidistant from the net and the back line?

No. That is a hopelessly simplistic positional idea. Recovering to the exact centre is usually too far forward.

At the net, you have the full reach of your racket to play net shots and lifts. But in the rearcourt, this is not true: you do not want to be reaching behind you to play clears, smashes, and drops!

If you always recover to the exact centre, then your opponent will win easily by playing lifts and clears. You just won’t be able to get back in time.

ften you will not have time to reach the best possible base position. As your opponent starts to hit the shot, you must begin your split drop. This effectively creates your base position.

This situation commonly occurs after you play a cross-court drop shot. Your ideal base would be towards the same side of the court as you placed the shuttlecock; but in reality, you don’t often have time to get there. Your base position will probably be slightly on the other side.

Many players, instead of using the split drop, keep on moving towards their ideal base. This is a fatal mistake, because your opponent now has the option to win the rally immediately by placing the shuttlecock away from your direction of movement. Because you are moving, you are not ready to change direction; and consequently you cannot reach the shuttlecock.

Remember, the base can be adjusted to account for individual strengths and weaknesses.

The simplest and most common example is this: you bias your base slightly to the backhand side, because you want to play round-the-head forehands instead of backhands. This tactic is used by players of all standards, right up to world-class.

That’s an example of covering your weakness: your overhead backhands are weaker than your forehands, so you adjust your base position slightly to help cover the backhand rear corner.

You can also adjust your base position to cover your opponent’s strengths. If you know your opponent relies heavily on his cross-court drop shots, and his other shots are less effective, then you can adjust your base slightly forwards and towards the cross-court.

You can apply exactly the same tactic if your opponent is predictable in certain situations. Even if all his shots are equally strong, he may choose to play one favourite shot again and again (a tactical weakness). If you spot this pattern, exploit it by moving your base farther towards the expected shot. This is known as anticipating your opponent. The more predictable he is, the more you can gamble. This is an example of adjusting your base to exploit your opponent’s tactical weakness.

The reverse logic applies too. If you are especially good at reaching one part of the court, you can move your base slightly away from this area to help cover others (adjusting your base to account for your technical strength). Similarly, if your opponent is weak at a particular shot, you can move your base slightly away from that shot (adjusting your base to exploit the opponent’s technical weakness).

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Movement Pressure

By forcing your opponent to move quickly about the court, you create situations where he will reach the shuttlecock late and have difficulty playing an effective shot. Once he plays a weak shot, you have the choice between pushing him even farther out of position, or attempting to win the rally immediately.

Here is a simple example of creating movement pressure:

1. You play a clear. Your opponent is forced to move into the rearcourt.
2. Your opponent plays a drop shot.
3. You play a net shot. Your opponent is forced to move into the forecourt.

By this simple sequence of shots, you forced your opponent to move into the rearcourt, and then back to the forecourt. This puts some pressure on his movement ability.