Abstract
In this work, we develop and calibrate a model to represent the trajectory of a badminton shuttlecock and use it to investigate the influence of serve height in view of a new serve rule instated by the Badminton World Federation. The new rule means that all players must launch the shuttlecock below a height of 1.15 m, as opposed to the old rule whereby the required launch height was under the rib cage of the server. The model is based on a forward dynamics model of ballistic trajectory with drag, and it is calibrated with experimental data. The experiments also served to determine the actual influence of the new rule on the shuttlecock launch position. The model is used in a Monte Carlo simulation to determine the statistical influence of the new serve rules on the player’s ability to perform good serves; i.e., serves with little opportunity for the receiver to attack. We conclude that, for the female player in question, serving below a height of 1.15 m makes it marginally more difficult to perform excellent serves. We also conclude that there might be alternative launch positions that would be less likely to produce the best serves but could be exploited as a tactical option.
Highlights
In badminton, each rally begins with a serve
Eight trajectory recordings were coherent enough for calibration; five recorded launch positions were available for the old serve and nine for the new serve
The mean of the old launch height of the shuttlecock cork tracked from the motion capture data was 1.18 m, with a range of 1.17 m to 1.20 m
Summary
Each rally begins with a serve. The server’s feet are placed inside the service box, at a minimum distance of 1.98 m to the net, and the shuttlecock must land inside the diagonally opposite service box on the receiver’s side after clearing the net height of 1.55 m. The server’s feet are placed at the corner of the service box close to the middle of the court and close to the net, and the target of the serve is often the near corner of the receiver’s service box; i.e., the shortest possible flight trajectory. The server will typically perform the serve with the arms extended in front of the body to approach the launch position to the net and further minimize the length of the flight trajectory. The classical rules of the serve constrain the position of the racket head at impact with the shuttlecock to be below the lower rib of the player. This means that taller players are able to launch the shuttlecock from a higher position than players of smaller statures
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