Benefits from the Half Court Singles Game

Playing half court singles can bring lots of benefits for a badminton player. You can have fun while improving your game.

Half court singles game improves a player's basic skills and footwork and increases one's endurance level as the rallies are generally longer. Let's go through in detail the benefits and reasons involved.

Gain a better and faster footwork by playing the half court singles. This is because the area of the court in this game is much smaller than the full court singles game. From a smaller court, you can concentrate more on the basic footwork. The footwork needed is the back to front and front to back movement.

A front back footwork is considered as one of the most basic footwork in badminton. It will definitely improve your follow-up aspect after a smash. When you are already comfortable in your footwork in this game, you can easily learn the more advanced footwork that is required in the real full court game.

Half court singles game can also improve your consistency because only the simple shots are needed in the smaller court. The simple shots are easier to produce but at the same time it is also important to every badminton player as it forms the foundation to play bigger and harder shots.

You just have to hit all the shots straight including the lob, drop, smash and the net shots. Unforced errors can definitely be reduced in the half court singles game because players just need to master their basic shots.

So now you're hitting more accurate and consistent shots, and your footwork is better. A strange thing is about to happen. Your stamina is going to increase. Rallies in half-court singles tend to be longer. Both players usually hit the so-called "high percentage" shots. For example, shots that are more likely to stay in and keep the rally going.

This translates into longer rallies, particularly of the front-back varieties. Lots of clears followed by drop shots, net play, and then more clears to hang in there to win the game. It is unlikely to become bored or tired because it's fun and competitive. Instead, your focus level, stamina and endurance would improve.

The benefit of better footwork, improved accuracy, and increased stamina is that when you smash, these factors help you to maximize the effectiveness of your shots. By getting your feet and body into the correct position, and by hitting a clean, crisp stroke that you know will be more accurate, your smashes tend to become stronger and more effective. Also, in order to conserve energy, you will learn how to use smashes sparingly, usually only when the opportunity arises (a weak clear by your opponent, or you see they are slightly out of position, etc.).

Because of the smaller court, you would be able to anticipate and return your opponent's smashes. Since all smashes in half-court singles are straight and direct, you will be able to concentrate on pure defense rather than diving all around to retrieve them. And, if you're going to win the rallies, you'll soon find yourself retrieving those smashes.

You have 3 options - either clear the shuttle deeply, drop it, or drive it back straight at the smasher. I favor the latter, because someone who has just smashed has some forward momentum that can be used against him to elicit a weak return. So, if you want to improve your game and have fun in the process, play half-court singles.