Why Is Badminton Hard? (Secrets Revealed)

When it comes to different sports, some are way harder than others. From over 8000 sports globally, racket sports are well placed on the top of the list in difficulty.

In this article, you will learn why badminton is hard, how hard it is, what is the most difficult part of it, and more! Before moving on to further matters, why is badminton hard?

Badminton is hard because the shuttlecock is the fastest object in all sports. This requires a tremendous amount of speed, flexibility, and quick reaction times. In addition, badminton requires much more physical strength than it looks like, and tactical thinking needs to be done in a matter of seconds.

There are many complex learning curves for badminton, even when people underestimate badminton which makes it quite unpopular in some areas.

Why Is Badminton Hard?

That being said, let’s take a closer look at the aspects that make badminton hard.

1. Skills

First things first, badminton is often perceived as a backyard sport, and as like that, it is not hard. However, when moving up to intermediate, advanced, or even professional levels, the difficulties arise really quickly.

You really don’t know anything other than hitting the shuttlecock when it comes your way in backyard badminton.

However, in serious badminton, you need to know a lot more. For example, stance, serving, strikes, footwork, smashes, drop shots, and the list goes on. These skills are really tough to learn given that the shuttlecocks’ speed is something unlike in other sports.

This takes us to our next aspect, speed.

2. Speed

If you ever hear someone saying that badminton is easy, you can correct them by saying that badminton is the fastest sport in the world, and that’s the truth.

To compare the speed to other fast sports, the hardest tennis serve in history is set at 263km/h (163mph) ( which is really fast. However, the fastest badminton smash is recorded at 417 km/h (259mph), which is considerably more. Add into the occasion that a badminton court is more narrow and short than a tennis court, which requires more reflexes, agility, and alertness from badminton athletes than tennis athletes.

3. Aerobics

The aerobics part of badminton is a tricky thing as well. This is because the shuttlecock is so delicate, lightweight, and easily manipulated object; the slightest angle of the hand and racket can make a big difference.

Meaning that the shuttlecock has many heights, distances, and areas where to go, so the options where to strike are vast. This, of course, makes it difficult to predict where the shuttlecock will go making the speed of the sport even harder.

To compare this to tennis, for example, it has a lot of side-to-side movement and some front-to-back movement.

However, the badminton court is so small and the shuttlecock’s aerobics and speed so high that the potential landing points of the shuttlecocks are many times over of tennis balls. Also, predicting the shuttlecock is way harder, so it makes badminton very difficult.

4. Physical Strenght

When it comes to strength, core strength is the most important thing in badminton. During a badminton match, there is a lot of turning and twisting, which require core strength.

Also, upper body strength such as shoulders, biceps, and triceps. Strenght is also required from legs because of constant movement that requires fast footwork and jumping to get a good position for smashes.

5. Tactics

There are various tactics that one can use in badminton, which is especially important in advanced badminton.

Tactics can include using each inch of the court, deceiving your opponent, anticipating, changing the tempo, and striking the shuttlecock in strategic locations with good accuracy.

Badminton, where these kinds of tactics are being used, drastically varies from the backyard badminton most people are familiar with. And that, my friend, is not easy.

Is Badminton The Hardest Sport?

There are 8000 sports in the world, and according to ESPN, badminton is the world’s 30th hardest sport. This means that badminton is in the world’s 1% of hardest sports.

However, when comparing badminton to other racket sports such as tennis, racquetball, and squash, it isn’t ranked as hard.

Still, badminton is the world’s fastest sport, given that the shuttlecock can travel at the speed of 400 km/h or more, so it’s safe to say that it certainly isn’t easy.

Is Badminton Harder Than Tennis?

Badminton and tennis are both difficult and ranked as the world’s most %1 of sports. However, which one is harder?

In all regards, tennis is harder than badminton. Tennis is far harder to learn as a beginner, and competing at a professional level is also more difficult because there are more skills to master. Also, ESPN has ranked tennis as the world’s 7th hardest sport, whereas badminton is the 30th.

What Is The Most Difficult Skill In Badminton?

Sports have many skills, such as endurance, strength, power, agility, speed, flexibility, nerve, durability, hand-eye coordination, and analytic aptitude. This makes you think, which is the most challenging skill in badminton?

The most difficult skill in badminton by far is agility. The shuttlecock is the fastest object in all sports, and given that the badminton court is relatively small, agility and speed are of the essence. Close second hardest skill is hand-eye coordination which is required for well-timed strikes.