Badminton Controls and Tips

Badminton is a two-player sport in Nintendo Switch Sports in which teams must rally the shuttlecock and drop it to the opponent's side. Read on to learn Badminton's controls and mechanics, including tips on how to win!

How to Play Badminton

Badminton General Information

Badminton Overview
Difficulty	★★★
Objective	Win the match by scoring five points. Points are earned by sending the Shuttlecock over to the opponent's side of the court. The player who first reaches five points will win the match.
Number of Players	Local Multiplayer: 2 (1v1) Online Multiplayer: 2 (1v1) Random Matchmaking: 2 (1v1)

All Badminton Bonus Multipliers

You can earn point bonuses after badminton matches depending on your performance during the game. Aim to maintain long rallies with your opponent and try to get a score with smashes!

You can also earn bonus points if you manage to reach a deuce with your opponent.

Deuces Require a Two Point Lead to Win

A game of Badminton requires five points to win, making it possible for players to tie before they can get the required points to win. In such instances, a Deuce is introduced, which requires players to maintain a two point lead over their opponent in order to win.

Ties at Six Points Create a Match Point

If a match ties up at the six point mark for either player, the game automatically falls into a Match Point. This means that whoever scores the seventh and final point will win the match.

Recover after Falling on the Ground

While playing badminton, you might occasionally fall to ground after missing the right timing on your swing. When this happens, you will need to wait for your Sportsmate to get up before continuing to play. The recovery time of your Sportsmate may take a while.

How to Win in Badminton

How to Win in Badminton
Control the Game Don't Swing Randomly Hit Consecutive Smashes Correct the Position of the Racket

Control the Game

If you can control the match to your favor at the start, you will lose to no one in Badminton. Make your opponent run from left and right, and wait for the right moment to come to go for the kill.

You can control the game easily by accurately aiming for your opponent's open areas and doing a variety of moves, specifically Smashes and Drop Shots. It will make your movement more unpredictable for your opponent if you consecutively try different actions!

Don't Swing Randomly

Randomly hitting the shuttlecock will result in a weak return or attack. Badly mistiming your swing will also let you fall on the ground and leave you open for Smashes and Drop Shots. Make sure to wait for it to get at the perfect range before swinging the controller and aiming for a shot.

Hit Consecutive Smashes

Smashing the shuttlecock consecutively will make it hard for your opponent to return the ball. You can even combine different type of shots to mess up their timing and end up lobbing the shuttlecock, giving you a chance to do a Super Smash.

Swing once the Shuttlecock is in its Apex

To do a smash, wait for the ball to be in a height of twice the character. You will know you hit a smash if the color of shot becomes orange.

Smashing too close to the net can send shuttlecock outside

There can be rare occurrences where your smash shot can send the shuttlecock outside of the court, resulting to your opponent getting the point instead of you even if you were at an advantageous position.

This can happen if you hit a smash shot while your player is too close to the net.

As smashes are powerful shots, pay attention to the positioning of your character before you launch your attack. If you are too close to the net, it can be safer to attack with a weaker shot.

Correct the Position of the Racket

Having an intense match between other players may sometimes offset your racket. If your aim doesn't feel quite right, quickly look for the best position and press the X Button for the right Joy-Con or the Up Button for the left Joy-Con.

Badminton Controls

Actions	How to Execute
Serve	Move the Joycon to your waist and swing it upwards Start the rally by serving the ball to the other side. You just need to swing the JoyCon gently in an upward motion to do it.
Swing Left/Right	Move the JoyCon to your left or right side and swing it to the opposite direction Swing from your right to the left to perform a backhand, and swing from your left to the right to do a forehand. Hit the shuttlecock depending on its location and trajectory to get it to the other side more effectively.
Smash	Move the Joycon to your head and swing it downwards Smash is the number one offense move in badminton. Wait for a slow, high ball and smash it to the ground for a chance to score. Smashing it at the right moment will make the shuttlecock go faster and harder to return.
Drop Shot	Move the JoyCon to your head and swing it downwards while pressing the ZR/ZL button Drop Shot is one of the advanced moves in badminton. You can use it to fake a smash and drop the shuttlecock near the net. Do the swinging action for smash but press the ZR/ZL button to change it to a Drop Shot.

Badminton Online Play

Play 1-on-1 Match

You will be matched with a player in the world when you choose to Play Globally. Or you can invite one of your online friends to play with you in the Play With Friends mode.

Two players can join the match using the same device

Although you can invite one more player to join you in the match using the same Nintendo Switch, only one can play against the opponent found. It may indicate that they might add in a doubles game mode aside from the singles match.

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