Badminton Net Play 1

Badminton Net Play is an important area that requires more finesse than power. A flick of a wrist could send your opponent scrambling back.

A sudden change in angle of the racket face could send your opponent falling desperately to the ground.

For me, winning a point from these types of badminton shots are more satisfying than a point won from smashing. The feeling of being able to play delicate shots and deceive your opponent is really pleasing. It is like winning a battle effortlessly.

There are 3 types of net play.

Net Shots

These shots are played from around the net area back to your opponent’s net area. It can be played both on the forehand and backhand sides. The objective is to force your opponent to hit a weak lift or hit shots that could not clear the net. These shots can be played straight or cross court.

Execute the net shot well and you will have a tumbling shuttle falling into your opponent’s court. It is a difficult shot to return by any standards.

Here are some pointers for playing a net shot.

* Adopt the forehand grip for forehand shots or the backhand grip for backhand shots.
* Must keep the racket up in front of your body.
* Lunge forward aggressively with your racket leg.
* Extend the racket arm and keep the racket high to ensure the shuttle is hit as early as possible.
* The racket face shall be parallel to the floor and let the shuttle bounce off the racket face.
* Your lunge movement and the parallel racket face will cause the shuttle to tumble over the net.
* You can try to move the racket head slightly outwards to increase the tumbling effect.
* Push back to your base position using both legs while ensuring your racket is still up in front of your body.

There are times when you could only reach the shuttle when it has fallen close to the ground and near the net. A successful net shot from this difficult situation is called a Hairpin Net Shot. It is so named because the flight path of the shuttle resembles an inverted hairpin.

The techniques for hitting the hairpin net shot are about the same as a normal net shot. But because it is hit near to the ground, you need to slice or lift your racket a bit. Although it is a rather difficult shot to play, you will learn it with practice.