Badminton bans ‘unplayable’ spin serve starting at China’s Sudirman Cup Finals amid fears it could ‘kill the game’

World governing body BWF approves interim ban on new move at all tournaments until further consultation at this month’s AGM

Any attempt at using spin serve will now be deemed a fault, as Malaysia badminton boss expresses fears it could ‘kill’ the game.

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Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama prepares to serve against Sergey Sirant during their men’s singles match at the BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain, on December 13, 2021. Photo: AP

Published: 9:52am, 13 May 2023Updated: 2:38pm, 13 May 2023

Badminton’s world governing body (BWF) has approved an interim ban on the new “spin serve” at all of its international tournaments until further consultation at their annual general meeting later this month, it said on Friday.

The amendment to the laws of the sport now states that the server should release the shuttle “without adding spin” as the BWF looks to improve rallies, after the spin serve proved to be tough to return or completely unplayable.

The serve was first tried at the Polish Open in March. The ban will be in place for tournaments such as the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals which begin on Sunday in China and the Malaysia Masters the following week.

“BWF welcomes players creating innovation in our game and experimenting with techniques to create competitive advantage on court,” its president Poul-Erik Hoyer said in a statement.

China celebrate on the podium after winning the 2021 BWF Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, Finland, Photo EPA-EFE

“However, we have received several points of feedback from within the badminton community, including the BWF Athletes’ Commission, expressing that this ‘spin serve’ could have a negative impact on the game.