Badminton — BWF Laws 13.3.4 and 15
A shuttle touching a player or clothing is a fault.
A player cannot return, stop, or catch an in-play shuttle with the body or anything being worn. The result does not depend on intention, and a shuttle that appears to be flying out is still live until an event in Law 15 ends play.
Quick ruling: if an in-play shuttle touches any part of a player or the player's clothing, that player's side commits a fault. The opposing side wins the rally. This remains true when the touch is accidental, happens outside the court lines, or occurs while the shuttle is clearly heading out.
Decision path
Check whether contact happened before play ended
- Was the shuttle still in play when the alleged touch occurred?
- Did it touch the racket only, or did it touch the player's person or dress?
- If it was travelling out, had it actually touched the court surface or something outside the court?
- In doubles, which player or partner did it touch?
- Does the Para badminton rule treating a wheelchair or crutch as part of the player apply?
The decisive fact is the first contact that ends the rally. Where the shuttle seemed likely to go next does not replace what actually happened first.
Core rule
Person or dress means a fault
BWF Law 13.3.4 makes it a fault if an in-play shuttle touches the person or dress of a player. In practical terms, that covers the player's body and worn clothing: for example, a hand, arm, leg, hair, shirt, shorts, skirt, sock, or shoe.
There is no requirement that the player deliberately play the shuttle. A smash that clips a defender's sleeve, a mishit that strikes the hitter's own leg, and a player catching a shuttle before it lands all produce the same player-contact fault.
Airborne and heading out
“It was going out” does not prevent the fault
A shuttle does not become out merely by crossing the vertical plane of a boundary line. Under Law 13.3.1, the out fault occurs when the shuttle lands outside the court boundaries. Until a rally-ending event occurs, an airborne shuttle remains in play.
If a player standing behind the back line catches the shuttle, lets it strike a shoulder, or blocks it with a foot before it lands, Law 13.3.4 decides the rally first. The player should move clear and allow the shuttle to touch the surface if the intended claim is that it is out.
After the landing
A later touch cannot change a completed rally
Law 15 says the shuttle is no longer in play when it hits the court surface, when it strikes the net or post and starts falling toward the surface on the striker's side, or when a fault or let has occurred. Contact after that point does not create a new player-contact fault.
For example, an out shuttle may bounce from the floor into a player's shoe without changing the out decision. Likewise, a shuttle that lands in and then strikes clothing has already ended the rally by touching the court.
Racket versus hand
The racket hand is still part of the player
The player-contact rule does not exempt the hand simply because it is holding the racket. If the shuttle touches a finger, knuckle, or hand rather than only the racket, it has touched the player's person and the result is a fault.
Racket contact is judged under the separate stroke rules. A shuttle hitting only the racket is not automatically a person-or-clothing fault, although a catch or sling, successive hits, partner contacts, or a shuttle that does not travel toward the opponent's court can create another fault. See the guide to double hits and continuous strokes.
Doubles and service
A touch by either partner is charged to the side
In doubles, the fault applies when the shuttle touches either player or either player's clothing. A partner cannot stand in the flight path to stop an opponent's shot or catch a shuttle that appears to be leaving the doubles court.
The service laws also contain a specific clause for one doubles situation: under Law 13.2.3, it is a fault if the served shuttle is hit by the receiver's partner. If an in-play serve instead touches a player's person or dress, the general Law 13.3.4 player-contact rule applies. Badminton does not replay the serve merely because the contact was accidental.
Para badminton
A wheelchair or crutch counts as part of the player
BWF Law 13.3.4.1 expressly provides that, in Para badminton, a wheelchair or crutch is considered part of the player's person. An in-play shuttle touching that equipment therefore produces the same fault as contact with the player's body or clothing.
This provision removes any need to ask whether the shuttle struck the athlete or the mobility equipment first. Other class-specific court and service variations do not reverse this stated contact rule.
Officials
The Umpire decides whether a touch occurred
Under BWF Law 17.6.1, the Umpire enforces the Laws and calls a fault when one occurs. Whether the shuttle actually brushed a sleeve, hand, or hair is a factual decision based on the observed flight and contact; the rule consequence follows once that fact is found.
Law 17.5 makes an official's decision final on facts within that official's responsibility. A disputed interpretation must be raised before the next service, and only an unresolved question of law is referred to the Referee. The BWF Instant Review System is a line-call system, not a general challenge procedure for alleged body or clothing contact.
Worked calls
Apply the first rally-ending event
- Fault: a smash clips the receiver's shirt and then travels over the back line.
- Fault: a player catches an airborne shuttle while standing a metre behind the court because it was plainly heading out.
- Fault: a defensive shot contacts the racket and then the same player's fingers while the shuttle remains in play.
- Fault: in doubles, the served shuttle is intercepted by the receiver's partner.
- Out, with no later contact fault: the shuttle lands beyond the line and then bounces into a player's shoe.
- Para badminton fault: an in-play shuttle strikes a player's wheelchair or crutch.
Common misunderstandings
What the BWF rule does not allow
- “Accidental contact should be a let.” Law 13.3.4 defines a fault and does not depend on intent.
- “The hand holding the racket counts as the racket.” The hand remains part of the player's person.
- “A player may catch an obviously out shuttle.” The shuttle must first land out or otherwise cease to be in play.
- “Standing outside the lines prevents a body-contact fault.” The player's location does not remove the in-play contact.
- “Clothing contact counts only if it changes the shuttle's path.” The law requires a touch, not a visible deflection.
Official references
Source material