12 Badminton Doubles Serve Tips for a Better Low Serve

Serving is one of the most important things when it comes to doubles, and badminton in general. However, it can also be one of the most difficult and frustrating things when it does not work. When the pressure is high, it gets even harder, but the distance does not change. How can you overcome this difficulty and improve your serve? Here are 12 tips on how to serve better in doubles.

Tip 1: Have your racket horizontal

Try to keep your racket as horizontal as possible, within the rules of course. By keeping your racket head almost at the same level to your grip, the movement you will make will be forward and towards the net. If you make the common mistake of putting your racket head way further down, you will inevitably make a movement with the shuttle that is from down, to up. Therefore, the shuttle will also move way more in a parabolic line than a straight line towards the top of the tape. Having your racket facing down is harder to perform accurately and also the shuttle takes a longer path and therefore the opponent has more time to react. Keep your racket almost horizontal but slightly facing down. 

In the (current) BWF rules with service height, there is no requirement to point downwards, as long as you are below 1.15m. In the older (and often more local) rules, you have to have your racket head lower than your grip. Keep this in mind when choosing how to serve.

Tip 2: As high as allowed

Make your serve as high as allowed by the rules so you have a more flat trajectory towards the net. The higher you serve the less distance the shuttle has to move upwards to go over the net. Shorter path = less reaction time for your opponent and less difficulty for you.

Tip 3: Racket close to the net

Same as the previous tip, try to have your arms stretched the furthest forward you can, while feeling comfortable still. This way you close the distance to the net and shorten the distance the shuttle has to go. And once again, the less reaction time for your opponent and the less distance for you to cover for the perfect serve.

Tip 4: Feet close to the net

A lot of players for some reason stand not at the service line but a little bit further back in doubles. If you look at all the professionals, they stand the closest they can get when serving. This is because, you guessed it, shorter distance = less reaction time for your opponent and easier to make high quality serve. You are not allowed to touch the line with your feet, but you can stand as close as you can get.

Tip 5: Aim at the net

For me personally, this is the key for learning a great service. A lot of players aim at a place in the court, which is far away, and your brain is making this whole calculation in your head about how to get the shuttle from your racket to that spot. In high-pressure situations, this calculation might break down. Therefore it might make it easier for you to aim just above the tape (at the net). Therefore you can almost make a straight line from your racket to this spot above the net. You only have to practice with how much speed is needed to serve at this spot to make it into the court. But once you have that, it is only a very small distance you need to cover when serving and it feels under control, even at 29 all.

Tip 6: The “Right” foot front

Have the “right” foot in front. This does not always mean your right foot, but the foot that is your dominant foot. For right handed players their right foot, and left handed players their left foot. So on the same side of where you are holding your racket. On both sides of the court when serving. This causes consistency by doing it on each side the same. And also having your dominant foot in front leaves more space for your racket to swing if needed. Another option is feet side by side, which also is acceptable. But for consistency I would not recommend switching it around for each side.

Tip 7: Hit high in the racket

Hit the shuttle on the highest point possible on the racket (when holding it horizontally of course like the previous tip). This gives you some extra height and having a consistent place to hit it is important. Make sure you do not hit the frame and you have a proper tension in your racket.

Tip 8: Move only forward

Have your racket move in the direction you want the shuttle to go in, so in the case of a serve that would be forwards. Do not make sidewards movement of the racket and pray it will go straight. Move your racket only intentionally on where you want it to go.

Tip 9: Move the least amount possible

Try to move the least amount of parts of your body when serving. Less parts = more consistency, also under pressure. Have your arms straight, wrist locked in straight position, and do (most) from grip power. Please keep in mind you do not have to tense to make this work. So be little bit loose, but still only move a small part of your body.

Tip 10: Loose / tight grip

As mentioned, use your grip strength to serve. This can only be done if your hand is loose before serving, and you grip it at the serve. You only have to control this part of your body when serving, so that is where the practice is for.

Tip 11: Think about the task

To avoid mistakes at the most important moments, it helps to think about the task of the serve and not about the importance of the serve. Do not think: I need to get this one over. But think in terms of: I will place the shuttle there right above the tape. Or: I have control over my grip, that is all that is needed.

Tip 12: Practice makes perfect

There is no excuse for having a bad serve. To practice you do not need sparring, you do not need many shuttles, you don’t even need a net in my opinion. Just focus on the tips above and become better at serving in general. But to perfect it, a net might be quite handy.

Where to serve and where to go

To know where to serve on court and what to do after, is a whole other part of the game. If you are interested, stick around! I will make a tutorial on this in the future.

To summarize:

There are many different tips to have a better serve, and there are many different ways to do the serve. But they all come down to the following. Make the least amount of body parts move. Do it from a consistent position every time. Make the distance as short as possible.

If you can do that and practice, you can already get very far in having a good serve.