Effect of racket-shuttlecock impact location on shot outcome for badminton smashes by elite players

ABSTRACT

A logarithmic curve fitting methodology for the calculation of badminton racket-shuttlecock impact locations from three-dimensional motion capture data was presented and validated. Median absolute differences between calculated and measured impact locations were 3.6 [IQR: 4.4] and 3.5 [IQR: 3.5] mm mediolaterally and longitudinally on the racket face, respectively. Three-dimensional kinematic data of racket and shuttlecock were recorded for 2386 smashes performed by 65 international badminton players, with racket-shuttlecock impact location assessed against instantaneous post-impact shuttlecock speed and direction. Mediolateral and longitudinal impact locations explained 26.2% (quadratic regression; 95% credible interval: 23.1%, 29.2%; BF₁₀ = 1.3 × 10¹³¹, extreme; p < 0.001) of the variation in participant-specific shuttlecock speed. A meaningful (BF₁₀ = ∞, extreme; p < 0.001) linear relationship was observed between mediolateral impact location and shuttlecock horizontal direction relative to a line normal to the racket face at impact. Impact locations within one standard deviation of the pooled mean impact location predict reductions in post-impact shuttlecock speeds of up to 5.3% of the player’s maximal speed and deviations in the horizontal direction of up to 2.9° relative to a line normal to the racket face. These results highlight the margin for error available to elite badminton players during the smash.

KEYWORDS:

• Racket
• shuttle
• contact
• speed
• direction

Acknowledgments

This project was part-funded by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The authors wish to thank the BWF and Badminton England for their help with participant recruitment.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Badminton World Federation.