Can You Change Hands In Badminton? (3 Benefits Of Doing So)

Badminton is a great sport with many benefits and 99% of the time, players have both forehand and backhand. But what if you were to change hands? Changing hands in racket sports including badminton is a very rare occurrence which is why I suspect you wondered about this article.

In this post, you will learn whether you can change hands in badminton and what would the benefits be. I’ll also explain more rules considering rackets and hands that one might do in badminton. Before moving on, can you change hands in badminton?

You can switch hands in badminton because there are no rules against it. Changing hands is an unorthodox occurrence in badminton but it has been seen done. There are benefits in changing hands such as two forehands, improved stance, and the element of surprise. However, it is very difficult to learn.

That being said, I personally haven’t seen a serious change of hands in a badminton game so it is quite rare. However, it has been done and there are various benefits to it so let’s learn about them next.

Related: Can You Change Hands In Tennis?

Benefits of Changing Your Racket Hand In Badminton?

There are 3 main benefits to changing the hand in badminton and I’ll start with my favorite.

1. Two Forehands

Forehand is the better side to strike with 99% of people and that’s true with me as well. Striking from the forehand is just better because you can add more power to the strike and aim the shuttlecock more accurately.

If you are powerful from both hands, changing the racket could be wise if you have the time because that would give you a second forehand which would be extremely powerful.

However, most people aren’t naturally strong from both left and right hands, so this would bring difficulties.

2. Better Stance

Again, if you were to change hands, you would gain a second forehand and the stance from your forehand side is always more secure and sturdy. If your stance is better, it will really show in your strikes with more speed and accuracy. It’s also easier to strike from a better balanced second forehand side than it is from the backhand side.

3. Element of Suprise

Last but not least, the element of surprise. Imagine the face of your opponent when you switch the racket on your other hand instead of striking the shuttlecock with your backhand. If my opponent would do that, I would drop a jaw and probably lose that point for sure.

Read also: 10 Badminton Skills You Need To Dominate On The Court

Disadvantages of Changing Your Racket Hand In badminton?

There sure are great advantages to changing the racket hand in badminton but believe me, there are cons as well.

1. Huge Learning Curve

The biggest con on hand switch is the massive learning curve required for that. If you want to use your racket nearly as well with your non-dominant hand as you do with your dominant one, you need hundreds of hours of practice if not more. Given that you aren’t both-handed which on its own is a very rare but useful skill.

In addition to the huge learning curve which would be like starting over but only worse, the time invested for this would be time off from training on your dominant hand. You need to weigh the benefits to the cons and make a decision whether training your second hand is beneficial.

Me and most people included, that would not be beneficial because the skill gap is so wide between hands. However, if you feel confident and aren’t training for the Olympics, then by all means train your other hand and surprise your opponent.

2. Timing May Be Risky

Given that badminton is the world’s fastest sport, and the shuttlecock has been recorded to travel at the speed of 426km/h (265mph), changing your racket on the other hand is very risky business, and needs to be timed right.

Imagine if you would lose points in a match because you failed to transfer your racket in time. That would be embarrassing especially in competitive games, which is why many people aren’t doing it. It’s too risky.

However, if you would learn this skill and to time well, changing hands in badminton could be something very special.

I have an article about changing hands in tennis that I highly encourage you to check out. Switching your racket hand in tennis is a bit different and I’ll reveal that it is much safer than in badminton.

Can You Hit a Shuttlecock With Your Hand?

As switching the racket to another hand is legal, you might wonder whether hitting a shuttlecock with your hand would be too?

In short, the badminton rules state that one can only use a racket to hit the shuttlecock. Any other object or body part including your hand is considered illegal. Thus, hitting a shuttlecock with your hand is not permitted.

Think about hitting a shuttlecock with your hand… That would not be as efficient as using a racket meant for it would. Accidents do happen when you might seem to hit the shuttlecock with your hand and that is alright, but you wouldn’t benefit from hitting it with your hand so don’t worry about it.

Can You Use Two Rackets In Badminton?

Did you know that tennis players often have more than one racket? In fact, the pro-level tennis athletes have close to ten if not more rackets on their tournaments. That raises the question, can you use two rackets in badminton?

The laws of badminton have no rule against using two rackets. In fact, many badminton players quickly change rackets between points or even during one if they wish to take advantage of the new rackets features. Also, carrying another racket is recommended in case of one breaking.