Rotation and positioning skills are fundamental in badminton doubles. To hone these abilities, the most effective method for honing these abilities is practicing and playing games with your partner.
Typically, your back player should smash or play quick drops at the front to end rallies and set up attack shots; however, this may not always be feasible.
Front Court
At the start of a rally, attackers often benefit from taking front court positions during opening rallies. This enables them to intercept and attack the shuttlecock from higher points more easily while also preventing their opponent from simply blocking it back across court. To make this shot work successfully, both partners need to coordinate well together; we will discuss how best they should respond to different kinds of shots and improve rotational strategies for effective doubles play in this video.
Front/Back vs. Sides is the most prevalent doubles rotation strategy. This scenario-based tactic works best when both partners have practiced extensively together and know each other’s strengths and weaknesses well enough to use this tactic successfully. Ideally, both players should cover half their side of the court as well as half of the opposing team’s court; however, due to nature of doubles and differing skill levels this may not always be achievable.
As soon as you are in front court position, your goal should be to react instantly on any shot that lands towards the center of the court. This forces opponents to make a choice: either attempt a block shot, or launch straight shots from different positions on court.
An effective pair of doubles must not only attack from front court but should also have the skill set required for quick drop shots and clears. This may prove challenging as back players must cover all parts of the front court while reading shuttlecock trajectory accurately.
As soon as a rally reaches the backcourt phase, defensive side by side positioning is optimal. This type of secure defensive position gives your opponents little room to make any shots that might endanger the rally. Though difficult at first glance, mastering defensive side by side positioning requires experience and good communication with your partner to achieve optimal results.
This defensive position is especially effective at stopping an opponent from hitting long cross-court smashes, since attackers positioned at front court would find it challenging to cover the distance needed for such shots. By playing defensively in this manner, you’ll significantly limit their ability to net kill during initial phases of rallies.
Back Court
Badminton doubles requires players to assume an offside defensive stance in order to cover all four corners of the court with ease, and provide quick reactions against any well-placed smashes. To do so successfully requires constant communication and cooperation between partners.
At this position, one player stands in front of the court while the other stands behind it and plays. When in this position, one player stands in front and one plays behind. In this situation, the person playing behind can intercept any shots that go towards the rear court while still performing powerful attacking shots such as smashes and drop shots. On the other hand, those standing at the front should cover replies that come towards either midcourt or net and be ready to attack either by killing off an opponent or inducing a lift by hitting powerful attacking shots that provoke lifts by either attacking with kill shots or attacking shots which provoke further lifts by either player positioned behind.
Although rotational positioning can be a useful strategy in many circumstances, executing it properly may take some practice if you’re new to it. That is why spending time training and playing with different partners is key so that you become used to its use both attacking and defending.
Note that when serving in badminton doubles, always aim for your partner’s service court diagonal from you; in other words, if you stand on the right service court, the serve should land in their left service court.
Doubles requires both team members to take turns serving after every point is won by one side; this can be challenging but essential to your team’s success.
Official badminton courts measure 17 feet by 44 feet and are divided into singles and doubles areas by parallel lines running along each wall and shorter perpendicular ones which define service courts where players must stand during a game. Due to their appearance resembling tram rails, these parallel lines and diagonal ones have come to be known as the “Tram Lines.”
Middle Court
As part of your defence, your position may change depending on your opponent’s style of play. For instance, if they regularly smash across the back of your court and hit back-court net shots that require net shot defence to stop, your position could shift closer to middle court for maximum effectiveness; conversely if they make net shots to their back corner more frequently then moving slightly more forward may help cover this area of their court more adequately.
Position yourself into what’s known as a “side-by-side” defensive formation to intercept any shots on your side of the court and kill any shuttlecock quickly before your opponents regain any momentum after initial attack. This allows for easy tracking and allows you to intercept shots more effectively before killing it quickly in order to keep momentum intact throughout a match.
Many players make the mistake of standing too far back when playing doubles, leaving themselves vulnerable to counterattacks from their opponent. It is therefore essential that both partners are aware of each other’s movements and positions during a rally and communicate effectively during its course.
Remember when attacking, that it is wiser not to attempt a cross-court smash as this will likely prove difficult for both your partner and opponent’s defence to cover, while being blocked easily. Instead, focus on attacking from behind court by hitting short drops or net shots instead.
Badminton doubles rotational positioning is a core part of badminton strategy and should be practiced regularly across different situations, from open rallies with an instructor or partner through to two versus two matches.
As part of your training to enhance your positioning, practice a variety of defensive and offensive routines to develop natural rhythm when playing and make learning the positions much simpler. Aim for regular partner practice sessions so that both of you become used to playing together as well as knowing how to react in various situations during game play.
Back Tramline
Badminton players must always keep both feet on the ground when serving and receiving. This is because shuttlecock strikes must remain below a set height (usually waist level or just above their shorts) in order to comply with game regulations and avoid breaking any of its rules and regulations. In general terms, players should stand along the back tramline position so as to play effective defensive badminton.
Defensive play in doubles differs significantly from its singles counterpart. Instead of taking an individual approach to defense, players must coordinate as a team to cover all areas of the court and remain within reach for high lift shots which are the hallmark of doubles play. It takes practice and good communication between partners for this approach to be successful, moving in tandem to cover each others blind spots as you cover yours as needed – the best way is moving backwards and forwards as needed in response to blind spot coverage from your partner allowing low ground play allowing high lift shots that dominate doubles play – both common features in doubles doubles games!
The back tramline in doubles games is the zone between the outer side lines and centre line – or front service box in doubles – where shuttlecocks must land when served to an opponent and is considered part of a rally; this differs from singles games which use inner tramlines for their back service boxes.
The inner tramline is the next set of lines extending inward from the outer sidelines and forms narrow alleys or “tramlines” along both sides of the court, commonly referred to as doubles side tramlines. Shuttles must land within this zone for consideration during rallies; for singles games this means crossing either outer tramlines/double sidelines and landing over net; anything which does not meet this criterion is considered ineligible for consideration.