The same unusual result—suspended on top of the net or caught in the net after crossing—has different consequences depending on whether it happens during the service or after the service has been returned.
The first question separates a service fault under Law 13.2 from a rally let under Law 14.2.
BWF Law 13.2.1 makes it a fault if, during service, the shuttle is caught on the net and remains suspended on top. Law 13.2.2 also makes it a fault if the served shuttle passes over the net and is then caught in it.
There is no replay or second serve. The receiving side wins the rally and scores a point under rally scoring. This outcome applies even if the service action itself met all the other requirements of Law 9.
After the service is returned, Law 14.2.3 declares a let when the shuttle is caught on the net and remains suspended on top, or when it passes over the net and is caught in the net.
Under Law 14.3, play since the last service does not count and the player who last served serves again. The score does not change. This is a replay of the rally, not a point for the player whose shot became trapped.
The let provision does not begin merely because the served shuttle crossed the net. The receiving side must have returned the service. A shuttle that becomes trapped as part of the original service remains within the service-fault clauses.
Once the receiver legally returns the service, later qualifying net entanglement is treated under the let clause. When reconstructing a disputed rally, identify the last completed racket contacts rather than judging from the final image of the shuttle alone.
A shuttle that clips the tape, crosses the net, and continues toward the opponent's court remains in normal play. The Laws do not create a let for an ordinary net cord. If the shuttle later lands inside the relevant boundaries, it can win the rally.
Likewise, a legal serve that touches the net and continues into the correct service court is not replayed merely because of that touch. The special clauses require the shuttle to remain suspended on top or, after passing over, to be caught in the net.
Law 15.1 says the shuttle is not in play when it strikes the net or post and starts to fall toward the surface on the striker's side. That description is different from remaining suspended on top or being caught after passing over.
If a rally shot fails to pass over the net, Law 13.3.2 makes it a fault. Players should not convert every shuttle that lodges briefly, slides, or falls back into the specific Law 14.2.3 let.
The text of Law 14.2.3 expressly excludes Wheelchair Badminton from its caught-net let. For that discipline, the stated caught-on-top or caught-in-net rally events are faults rather than lets.
This is why the applicable discipline and competition rules must be confirmed before applying a standard-play answer. Para badminton can modify court, service, and rally provisions by sport class.
This explainer applies Badminton World Federation Laws of Badminton in force 26 April 2025, Version 5.0 (2), especially Laws 13.2, 13.3, 14.2.3, 14.3, and 15. The Wheelchair Badminton exception is stated in Law 14.2.3.