Badminton rackets and shuttles.

Which Laws are in force

The BWF's own website could not be opened for this site, so the equipment Laws were read from a BWF-issued copy of "BWF Statutes, Section 4.1: Laws of Badminton", in force from 29 May 2023 (version 2.1). That text was compared with worldbadminton.com's reproduction of the Laws the BWF adopted on 25 April 2026, which take effect on 4 January 2027; the equipment wording and figures matched. According to worldbadminton.com, an independent site, the 2025 Laws stay in force until 4 January 2027. That 2025 edition was not read directly, so whether it differs on equipment is not confirmed here. A separate Section 4.1.4, "Alternative Laws of Badminton" (version 2.0), is also dated to take effect on 4 January 2027; only its title was read.

The racket (Law 4)

Law 5 (Equipment Compliance) says the BWF rules on whether any racket, shuttle, equipment or prototype complies, on its own initiative or when a party with a bona fide interest applies: players, technical officials, makers or member associations. No BWF approval programme for rackets or strings was found. Law 5 also says a wheelchair or a crutch may be used in para badminton.

The shuttle (Law 2)

A shuttle may be made of natural or synthetic materials, or both, but whatever it is made of, its flight should be generally similar to that of a natural feathered shuttle with a cork base covered in a thin layer of leather (Law 2.1).

A non-feathered shuttle replaces the feathers with a synthetic skirt or simulated feathers. Its base, measurements and weight follow the feathered shuttle, but a variation of up to 10 percent is acceptable because synthetic materials differ in specific gravity and other properties (Laws 2.3.1 to 2.3.3). Where altitude or climate makes the standard shuttle unsuitable, the member association concerned may approve modified specifications, as long as the general design, speed and flight do not change.

The speed test (Law 3)

Law 3 tests a shuttle's speed with a full underhand stroke that contacts the shuttle over one back boundary line and sends it upward, parallel to the sidelines. A shuttle of correct speed lands not less than 530 mm and not more than 990 mm short of the opposite back boundary line (Law 3 and Diagram B). Makers also sell feather shuttles graded by speed, but the numbering schemes found came only from retailers and did not agree with one another, so none is given here.

Synthetic shuttles at BWF events

• January 2020: the BWF announced (21 January 2020, republished by Badminton Oceania) that synthetic feather shuttlecocks, developed with Yonex's technical cooperation, could be used at BWF international sanctioned tournaments of any level from the start of 2021, after trials at three sanctioned tournaments in 2019. Hosts and approved brands decide where they are used, and the BWF updated its Equipment Approval Scheme criteria to allow minor technical differences from feather shuttles. The BWF said its testing found the synthetic shuttle more durable with very similar flight, and that it could cut shuttle use by up to 25 percent; those are the BWF's claims.
• 8 April 2026: the BWF announced that it had approved two synthetic shuttlecocks, the VICTOR New Carbon Sonic Max (SC-NCS-MAX-12) and the YONEX Crosswind 70, for a trial at BWF Grade 3 and Junior International tournaments, with organisers registering their use in advance with the BWF and their continental confederation. The BWF page was seen only in a search result; IANS and Malay Mail reported the same. Malay Mail linked the trial to raw-material shortages and the rising cost of duck and goose feather shuttles; that is the newspaper's framing, not a BWF rule.
• August 2026: according to a PTI report, the BWF said synthetic shuttles had been trialled at four events between June and August 2026. BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund was reported as saying synthetic products were getting close to elite standards; the BWF set no fixed timeline for elite use, described synthetics as an alternative to feathers rather than a replacement, and said progress depends on trial data and player acceptance.

The BWF Equipment Approval Scheme

These details come from search-result summaries of BWF pages that could not be opened, so they are unconfirmed. The scheme dates to 1988 and lets makers apply to be listed as BWF Approved Equipment against BWF minimum standards. It covers shuttlecocks, flooring, nets, net posts and service-height measuring devices, and listed products may carry the words "Approved by the BWF for International Play". Shuttle testing is described as covering trajectory, flight deviation, tumbling stability, hooking and base surface roughness. The summaries disagree on timing: one BWF page says shuttle testing runs twice a year, in May and November; another gives a one-year certification period; an older page describes a two-year approval period.

Net and posts (Law 1)

The net is fine cord of a dark colour and even thickness, with a 15 to 20 mm mesh, 760 mm deep and at least 6.1 m wide, its top edged with 75 mm white tape doubled over a cord or cable, with no gaps between the net ends and the posts. Posts stand 1.55 m high on the doubles sidelines for both singles and doubles. The net is 1.524 m high at the centre of the court and 1.55 m over the doubles sidelines.