Is the Spin Serve Illegal? Badminton's Banned Serve

Last updated: July 2026 · Written by the team at Badminton House

If you saw the finger-flick spin serve online and wondered whether you can use it in doubles, the practical answer is no. Under BWF Law 9.1.5, the server must release the shuttle without adding spin and the racket must first hit the base of the shuttle. So in match play, do not pinch the cork and flick it before contact; build your serve around a clean release, base-first contact, and placement pressure instead. This guide explains why the spin serve went from a 2023 experiment to a permanent law change after the 2025 BWF AGM.

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What Was the Spin Serve?

The spin serve that sparked the 2023 debate was not simply a sliced serve after racket contact. It was an experimental serving action where the server added spin to the shuttle before striking it. Reports described the server holding the shuttlecock cork between the thumb and middle finger, using a middle-finger flick or carrom-style motion to rotate it, then sending it across the net with the racket. The result was a shuttle that could wobble and arrive awkwardly for the receiver.

The serve drew major attention after Danish doubles player Marcus Rindshoj used it in the second round of the Polish Open 2023 in March. Rindshoj and Rasmus Espersen lost that match to Andy Jun Liang Kwek and Loh Kean Hean, 19-21, 17-21, but the serve itself became the talking point as players around the world noticed how difficult the pre-spun shuttle was to read.

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Why BWF Banned the Spin Serve

In May 2023, BWF moved quickly because the finger-spun serve was no longer just a practice-court trick. The BWF Council approved an experimental variation to the Laws of Badminton, effective immediately and running until 29 May 2023, so officials could stop the serve before it shaped major matches.

The change targeted Law 9.1.5. Under the interim wording, the server had to release the shuttle without adding spin, and the server’s racket had to initially hit the base of the shuttle. If a player failed to follow that variation, the umpire was to call a fault.

The urgency was competitive fairness. BWF had received feedback that the spin serve could negatively affect the game, and it wanted to avoid tournaments such as the Sudirman Cup Finals 2023 and Malaysia Masters 2023 becoming live testing grounds for a serve that could disrupt the competitions.

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Spin Serve Rule Timeline: 2023 to 2025

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The Sidek Serve: Badminton’s Earlier Banned Serve

The spin serve was not the first service technique to force badminton’s rule-makers to draw a line. BWF itself pointed to the earlier “Sidek serve” as a similar precedent: a 1982 serve associated with Malaysia’s Sidek brothers and attributed in accounts to Misbun Sidek.

Instead of striking the shuttle cleanly through the cork, the Sidek serve sliced across the feathers. That contact made the shuttle behave erratically, with a trajectory that was hard for receivers to read. The concern was not simply that the serve was clever; it was that the serve’s contact action raised legality issues.

On 1 July 1982, the International Badminton Federation deemed the Sidek serve illegal over double-contact concerns, because the action was considered to brush the feathers and base together. The lasting result was the international-tournament serving principle players still recognize today: on serve, hit the base of the shuttle.

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What Players Should Remember Now

For players, the takeaway is simple: do not add spin while releasing the shuttle for service. Under updated Law 9.1.5, that action is no longer a legal serving variation; if the serve does not meet the law, it is faulted.

That does not change the normal aim of a good serve. You can still build pressure with height, placement, pace change, preparation, and consistency — just keep the shuttle release clean and let the racket contact decide the serve, not spin added before impact.

For a wider refresher on service faults, rallies, scoring, and match format, see our badminton rules and scoring guide.

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Which Serve Should You Choose?

Rules like the spin serve ban matter because they change what actually works on court, not just what appears in the law book. We play badminton ourselves, so if you are unsure about serve legality, shuttle choice, or match setup, contact us and we’ll help you think it through clearly.