Learn a short backhand serve
A partner exercise to start a rally calmly and notice where your serve lands.
Give yourself one clear task
Choose this session if you can already hold the racket comfortably and make a few gentle contacts. Today, aim to send a short serve towards a generous landing area, rather than trying to catch your partner out.
Use a clear court and agree when to stop. Keep spare shuttles away from your feet. Nobody collects them while someone is serving. Take a break whenever you need one.
Find a compact action
Use a relaxed thumb grip, with the racket in front. Hold the shuttle by its feathers or skirt near the strings, with the cork towards the racket. Use a small push through the cork, then bring the racket back up ready for a reply. Aim to cross near net height and land towards the front of the opposite service box.
Keep these service habits
Face the diagonally opposite service box. In a match, the server and receiver keep part of each foot still on the floor, clear of the lines. Wait until your partner is ready. Release without spin; hit the cork first, with the whole shuttle below 1.15 metres. Once the forward action starts, keep it moving.
Practise, observe, swap
- Choose the landing area. Point out a generous area just beyond the short service line in the correct diagonal box. Use the court markings; leave the floor clear. Your partner watches from a safe position on the receiving side and lets the shuttle land.
- Try five serves. After each one, say where it went: net, short of the service line, chosen area, or elsewhere. Agree what to record if a shuttle touches the net and still crosses. This is observation, not a match score.
- Swap and compare. Stop before collecting, then swap roles. On your next set of five, change only one thing and see whether your landings become easier to repeat.
If you keep missing the cork, stop and check where you hold the shuttle. If the landings are scattered, make the target more generous before making it smaller. Ask your partner for one useful observation, not a list of corrections.
Finish by naming the adjustment you want to try again next time. These are practice cues, not a complete service-law guide; check the rules used by your organiser before a match.
General practice advice: play within your limits and stop if something hurts.