Sports Equipment

• Rackets

There are many different types of materials used in the manufacturing of badminton rackets. There are many different materials ranging from carbon fiber composite (graphite reinforced plastic) to solid steel. Carbon fiber has an excellent strength to weight ratio, is stiff, and gives excellent energy transfer. Before carbon fiber rackets were made of light metals such as aluminum. Earlier rackets were made out of wood but are no longer manufactured because of the weight. The badminton racket is made to be very light. The rackets should weigh between 79 and 91 grams. The design of the rackets are limited to the rules of badminton. The oval head shape is still available but the new isometric head shape is now available.

• Strings

Babminton strings are high performance strings that range between 0.65 to 0.73 millimeters thickness. The tension on the strings is normally between 18 to 36 lbs. Recreational players like to string at a lower tension. It is often said that higher tension improves control where lower tension provides more power. This is not true. The higher tension causes the shuttle to slip off the racket which makes it harder to control and hit the shot accurately. The best way to select the right tension is to experiment.

•  Shuttlecocks

Shuttlecocks or shuttles is a high projectile with an open shape: the cone is formed from 16 overlapping goose feathers embeded into a rounded cork base. the cork is covered with thin leather or synthetic material. Shuttles with plastic or nylon skirts are normally uesed by recreational players not only because of the cost but also because the feather type break more easily. The nylon shuttle corks are made of a hard sponge instead of cork. Shuttles also come in different types, shuttles with a green stripe(slow speed), blue (medium speed), and red ( fast speed).  In colder wheather a slower one is used and in hotter a faster one is used.

• Shoes

Badminton shoes are lightweight and made of a high grip- non marking material. The shoes have very little laderial support. A high level of laderial support are used for activities where laderial movement is not expected. High laderial support will not be able to support the foot in badminton and could cause collapse at the point where the supports fail because the ankles are not ready for the sudden side movement which could cause sprained ankles and other injuries. For this reason a person should choose badminton shoes rather than general training shoes or running shoes. Badminton shoes have a very slim sole, lowering the centre of gravity, therefore causing less injuries. A person should also learn the proper footwork with the knee and foot in alignment on all lunges.

Serve:

Players must keep one foot behind the back line when serving. The serve is made underhand. The server must hit the pickleball in the air on the serve.  The ball may not be bounced and then hit.  The service is made diagonally cross court and must clear the non-volley zone.  Only one serve attempt is allowed, except if the ball touches the net on the serve and lands in the proper service court. Then the serve may be taken over. The serve changes courts after each successful point. On the first serve,the serving team is allowed only one fault before giving up the ball to the opponents.  Thereafter both members of each team will serve and fault before it is turned over to the opposing team.  When receiving team wins the serve, the player in the right hand court will always starts the play.

Volley:

To volley a ball means to hit it in the air without first letting it bounce. All volleying must be done with player’s feet clearly behind the non-volley zone.   It is a fault if the player steps on or over the non-volley zone line.

Double Bounce Rule:

Each team must play its first shot off the bounce. That is, the receiving team must let the serve bounce, and then serving team must let the return of the serve bounce before playing it.  After the 2 bounces have occurred, the ball can be either volleyed or played off the bounce.

Fault:

Hitting the ball out of bounds (a ball landing on a line if considered in bounds),  ball does not clear net, stepping into non-volley zone while playing the ball on a volley. Volleying the ball before it has bounce once on each side of the net.

Scoring:

The serving player/team can only score the point.  A player who is serving shall continue until a fault is made.  The game is played to 11 points with a 2 point margin.

NON-VOLLEY ZONE

Double play:

Player in right hand court (1) serves diagonally across court to receiver 3 in opposite right hand court.  The ball must clear the non-volley zone and land in the right hand court.  The receiver (3) must let the ball bounce before returning the serve.  Serving team must also let the return bounce before playing it. After the both bounces have occurred, the ball may then be either volleyed or played off the bounce until a fault is made. If the fault is made by the receiving team a point is scored by the serving team.  When the serving team wins a point, its players will switch courts and the same player will continue to serve. When the serving team makes it’s first fault, players will stay in the same court and the second partner will then serve.  When they make their second fault they will stay in the same courts and turn the ball over to the other team.  Players switch courts only after scoring.  

 The Court

The game is played on a court that is the same size as a badminton court (20 feet wide by 44 feet long). The net is set at 36 inches high on the edges and 34 inches in the middle.

Terminology

Baseline— The line at the back of the pickleball court (22 feet from the net).

Centerline— The line bisecting the service courts that extends from the non-volley zone line to the baseline.

Crosscourt— The opponent’s court diagonally opposite yours.

Dink— A soft, low shot, initiated from within or just behind the non-volley zone, that lands in the opponent’s non-volley zone.

Double Bounce Rule— After a serve, each team must play their first shot off the bounce, after which the ball can be played off the bounce or volleyed.

Fault— An infringement of the rules that ends the rally.

Foot Fault— Failure to keep at least one foot behind the baseline and touching the ground at the moment the middle contacts the ball during a serve, or stepping on or into the non-volley zone while volleying a ball.

Let Serve— A serve that touches the top of the net and lands in the proper service court (it is replayed without penalty).

Non-Volley Zone— A seven-foot area adjacent to the net within which you may not volley the ball. The non-volley zone usually includes all lines around it.

Poach— In doubles, to cross over into your partner’s area to play a ball.

Rally— Hitting the ball back and forth between opponents.

Serve (Service)— An underhand lob or drive stroke used to put a ball into play at the beginning of a point.

Server Number— When playing doubles, either “1” or “2,” depending on whether you are the first or second server for your side. This number is appended to the score when it is called.

Sideline— The line at the side of the court.

Volley— To hit the ball before it bounces.
Written in part with Wikipedia: