How does badminton scoring work, and is it 15 points now?

Badminton uses rally scoring: whichever side wins a rally scores a point, whether or not it served. A game is won by the first side to reach 21 points with a lead of at least 2. If the score reaches 20–20, play goes on until one side is two clear (22–20, 23–21 and so on). At 29–29 the extending stops: the side that scores the 30th point wins, so the longest possible game finishes 30–29. A match is the best of three games. These are the rules in force today; the 3x15 section below covers the change.

The side that wins a game serves first in the next game. Players change ends after the first game, after the second game if a third is needed, and in the third game when a side first reaches 11 points. There is an interval of up to 60 seconds in each game when the leading score reaches 11, and up to 120 seconds between games.

What does a game that goes the distance look like?

Mia and Ravi reach 20–20. Mia scores (21–20) and Ravi levels (21–21). The lead keeps changing hands until 29–29. The next rally is the last one: whoever wins it takes the game 30–29, even though they lead by only one point.

Serve from the right service court when your score is even (0, 2, 4 and so on) and from the left when it is odd (1, 3, 5 and so on). You always serve diagonally across the net, to the service court opposite yours. In singles the score that counts is the server's own. In doubles it is the serving side's score.

In singles, if the server wins the rally they score a point and serve again from the other court. If the receiver wins, they score a point and become the server.

A serve is legal when:

• the server and the receiver stand inside diagonally opposite service courts without touching the lines, and some part of both feet stays in contact with the floor, not moving, until the shuttle is hit;
• the racket first hits the base of the shuttle, and the whole shuttle is below 1.15 metres from the floor at that moment;
• the shuttle is released without spin, and the racket keeps moving forwards from the start of the serve until it hits the shuttle;
• the server does not miss the shuttle, because a swing and a miss is a fault;
• the shuttle travels upwards, over the net, and lands in the receiver's service court, on or inside the lines.

Neither side may delay the serve once both are ready.

In doubles the serving court still follows the score, but the partners only swap courts when their side wins a point while serving. The receiving side never swaps. These rules cover everything:

• Serve from the right court when your side's score is even and from the left when it is odd.
• If your side wins a rally while serving, you score and the same player serves again from the other court. That is the only time partners change sides.
• If the receiving side wins, it scores and becomes the serving side. Nobody swaps. The player standing in the court that matches the new score serves.
• There is no second server. If the serving side loses the rally, the serve passes to the other side straight away.
• The receiver is the opponent standing diagonally opposite the server.

Over a game the right to serve passes from the first server, to the partner of the first receiver, to the partner of the first server, to the first receiver, and then round again. Here is Anna and Ben against Cara and Dan, with Anna serving first (scores are Anna and Ben first):

Serving or receiving from the wrong court, or out of turn, is a service court error. It is corrected when the shuttle is not in play, and the score stands.

One court serves both games, and the lines you use depend on the match. The court is 13.4 m long and 6.1 m wide. Singles uses the inner side lines, which makes the court 5.18 m wide, and doubles uses the outer side lines.

In practice that gives you two serving traps. A singles serve that lands in the strip between the inner and outer side lines is out. A doubles serve that lands in the narrow strip behind the doubles long service line is out too, even though that strip is in play for the rest of the rally.

The net posts stand on the doubles side lines even when you play singles. The top of the net is 1.524 m above the floor in the centre and 1.55 m at the posts.

3x15 means a match of up to three games, each played to 15 points. BWF's members approved it at the 87th BWF Annual General Meeting in April 2026, with the required two-thirds majority. It takes effect on Monday 4 January 2027, the first week of the 2027 calendar, and BWF says it becomes the standard scoring system. The amendments cover both badminton and Para badminton.

BWF confirmed these changes:

• matches remain best of three games;
• each game is played to 15 points instead of 21;
• rally scoring is unchanged;
• at 14–14 a game is decided by a two-point lead;
• there is a cap: at 20–20 the next point wins the game;
• in the deciding third game players change ends when a side first reaches 8 points;
• the 60-second interval in a game comes when the leading score reaches 8 points;
• the 120-second interval between games is unchanged, and the side that wins a game still serves first in the next one.

BWF's reasons include more exciting and competitive badminton, better scheduling and more consistent match durations. Before voting, it tested 3x15 at selected Grade 3 and national tournaments in 2025.

Nothing changes at your club on 4 January 2027 unless your club or league decides it should. BWF says 3x21 is "retained as an alternate scoring option", and that Member Associations, clubs, leagues and domestic competition organisers may choose an approved alternate scoring system for domestic competitions.

BWF's Alternative Laws list what counts as approved. By prior arrangement you may play one game of 21 points, the best of three games of 21 points, or the best of five games of 11 points. The first sections of this guide describe a 3x21 match as the Laws set it out today.

Here is what to do in practice:

• League or tournament play. Ask the organiser, or read the entry regulations, to find out which system applies from January 2027.
• Casual games. Agree the format before the first serve. A 3x21 match and a 3x15 match are both legal, but two players who assume different formats will argue at 14–14.
• A busy club night. If players queue for courts, shorter games mean shorter waits. BWF cites improved scheduling as one of its reasons for the change.

The service rules, court lines and serving courts in this guide stay the same under either system.

Not yet. Badminton is coming soon to Flobit and is not live today, so you can't score badminton matches in the app yet. The sports you can play and score on Flobit now are padel, tennis, table tennis, basketball, volleyball, football, ultimate frisbee and eFootball.

While you wait, Flobit's guides still help you run a badminton night:

• Use the round robin schedule guide to plan who plays whom, and the round robin generator to produce the fixtures for a club night.
• Read how to organize pickup games for ways to rotate players through limited courts and keep everyone playing.
• If you enjoy fast rally games, table tennis is a similar racket sport and is live on Flobit now.

Flobit is free, with no ads and no subscription. See the badminton page for the sport's status.

Is badminton 15 points now?

What is badminton 3x15?

What happens at 20-20 in badminton?

Which side do you serve from in badminton?

When do you change ends in badminton?

How long is the interval in badminton?

Do I have to use 3x15 at my club?

How do badminton doubles partners swap sides?