A racket crossing the vertical plane of the net is not automatically a fault. The decisive questions are where the first contact with the shuttle occurred, whether the crossing was part of the same stroke, whether the player touched the net, and whether the opponent was obstructed or distracted.
Answering only “the racket crossed” skips the distinctions that BWF Law 13.4 requires.
Law 13.4.2 makes it a fault to invade the opponent's court over the net with the racket or person. Its express exception allows the striker's racket to follow the shuttle over the net in the course of a stroke only after the initial point of contact was on the striker's side.
A player therefore cannot reach across and strike the shuttle before it crosses the plane, even if the player's feet and body remain on their own court. The location of the racket-shuttle contact, not the player's standing position, decides this part of the ruling.
After legal initial contact, the racket may continue across the vertical plane as part of the same stroke. This commonly happens when a player kills a shuttle close to the tape. The law does not require an abrupt stop at the plane of the net.
The exception is limited to the racket following the shuttle in the course of the stroke. It does not authorise a player to reach across early, leave the racket in the opponent's space to block a reply, touch the net, or interfere with the opponent's legal action.
While the shuttle is in play, Law 13.4.1 makes it a fault for a player to touch the net or its supports with the racket, person, or clothing. A stroke can satisfy the initial-contact rule and still lose the rally because the racket, sleeve, hair, or body then touches the net before play ends.
Timing is important. Under Law 15, the shuttle is no longer in play once it hits the court, a fault or let occurs, or it strikes the net or post and begins falling toward the striker's side. A later touch cannot create a new live-rally fault, though misconduct rules may still apply to unsafe or improper behaviour.
Law 13.4.3 is narrower than the over-net contact rule. A player commits a fault by invading the opponent's court under the net with a racket or person so that the opponent is obstructed or distracted.
A shoe or racket briefly crossing the imaginary boundary under the net is therefore not described as an automatic fault in this clause. The official must decide whether the movement actually obstructed or distracted the opponent. Dangerous encroachment will usually make that conclusion straightforward.
Law 13.4.4 separately prohibits obstructing an opponent—that is, preventing the opponent from making a legal stroke in which the shuttle is followed over the net. A defender cannot hold a racket across the opponent's swing path merely because the shuttle is close to the tape.
The opponent remains entitled to make a legal stroke from their side and to complete its permitted follow-through. The official should distinguish a genuine blocked swing from two rackets simply approaching the same shuttle on their respective sides.
This explainer applies Badminton World Federation Laws of Badminton in force 26 April 2025, Version 5.0 (2), especially Laws 13.4 and 15. Competition regulations and Para badminton provisions may add procedures, but the governing ruleset for the match should always be confirmed.