Doubles service order: who serves, from where, and what to do after a mistake
Even and odd scores, the four-player order of service, and how an error is corrected.
Why a rule is needed
In doubles four players share one court, and only one of them serves at a time. The score tells you which service court to use. To identify the player, you also need the order of service and each partner's service court.
The rule in five lines
From Laws 11 and 12 of the BWF Laws of Badminton, reference edition dated 26 April 2025:
- The serving side serves from the right service court when its score is 0 or even, and from the left when its score is odd.
- The receiver is the opponent standing in the diagonally opposite service court.
- When the serving side wins a rally, it scores, and the same server serves again from the other service court. Partners swap squares only when their side wins a point while serving.
- A receiving side that wins gains a point and takes the serve. Its partners keep their assigned service courts; winning while receiving does not make them swap. The next server follows the order in point 5.
- In a game, the right to serve passes in a fixed circle: the first server, then the partner of the first receiver, then the partner of the first server, then the first receiver, then back to the first server.
A short example
Use four fictional labels: A1/A2 play against B1/B2. A1 serves first to B1. Below, the score always lists A before B; right and left are viewed by each player facing the net.
- 0-0: A1 serves from the right to B1.
- 1-0, after A wins: A1 serves again, now from the left to B2.
- 1-1, after B wins: B2 serves from the left to A1. B's partners have kept their assigned courts.
- 2-1, after A wins: A2 serves from the right to B1.
- 2-2, after B wins: B1 serves from the right to A2.
The changes of server follow A1 → B2 → A2 → B1. A1's second serve is part of the same turn. These assigned courts keep track of the next service; they do not fix your position during the rally. After the return of service, either partner may play the next shot from anywhere on their own side (Law 11.2).
In the next game
Either player of the winning side may serve first in the next game, and either player of the losing side may receive first (Law 11).
Correcting a service court error
A service court error means someone served or received out of turn, or from the wrong service court. It is corrected when the shuttle is not in play, and the existing score stands (Law 12). So play can continue from the correct square, without taking away points.
Mistakes to avoid
- Counting the number of serves instead of looking at the score: the score tells the square.
- Swapping squares after losing a rally: partners swap only after winning a point on serve.
- Treating a service court error as a point to replay: correct the order or the court when the shuttle is out of play, keeping the score.
General practice advice: play within your limits and stop if something hurts.