How to Choose Badminton Racket For Yourself |Complete Guide

There is a question that makes every badminton player confused, “which badminton racket will be perfect for me?”.  Choosing the right badminton racket for you can magically improve the gameplay while picking the wrong one can worsen the gameplay. Not just Beginners face this issue,  intermediate and advanced players also face this problem while selecting the right racket for themselves.

Today, I have come up with a checklist that everyone must know before buying a badminton racket. I am going to discuss every detail in-depth, and along with that, I will give some tips for choosing a badminton racket for beginner, intermediate, and pro advanced players. As selecting a perfect one for yourself is a hard job, this tutorial will going to help you to find your badminton racket.

Parameters to check before choosing a badminton racket are Weight, String tension, Material, Balancing, Flexibility, Shape of racket, Arm power, Badminton racket brand, Size of the racket, Grip of the racket. Also, choosing a good racket depends on your level of gameplay and the comfort of individuals. Beginners, Intermediate and advanced players have to pick a racket accordingly after looking into these parameters.

Different Sections of a Badminton Racket

Before picking the right racket for yourself, it’s better to understand the various divisions of a badminton racket. Badminton rackets are made of four sections; the upper section is called the stringed section, which is the head part of the racket. The Head part is the only part of the badminton racket that connects with the shuttle directly. The Stringed section is responsible for holding the string and maintaining the string tension. According to Badminton World Federation rules, the stringed area should not exceed 280 millimeters in overall length and 220 millimeters overall wide.

Coming on next part which is called the Throat of the racket. This section connects the header section with the shaft and handle. Sometimes the throat is integrated with the racket header area, wherein some racket stays separated. This section is responsible for the power-hitting, and flexibility of the racket. The throat section is always made of durable materials like carbon fiber, steel, or aluminum as they need to withstand the high intense power shots.

After the throat section, the next part is known as the Shaft section. However, the throat area is partially responsible for flexibility, but the shaft section impacts the flexibility most. There are two types of shaft mostly have seen in rackets one is stiff, and another one is flexible.  This section also has implications for the swing of the racket. Most of the badminton racket manufacturers made has three categories of shaft “flexible” “medium” and “stiff.”

Mostly beginners players are preferred to use low flexibility racket, as it helps to keep the balancing and power hitting. An intermediate player can pick both flexible and medium. And, advanced players are more likely to pick stiff rackets, as it helps the power-hitting. However, It up to personal comfort which one to choose.

Now, talking about the next section is one of my most favorite parts of the racket. Yes, I am talking about the handle section. The handle section is made of materials that have excellent grip properties so that it can provide enough hold to the players. There are different types of grips available on the market that offers incredible hold and stability even when your hands sweat a lot. Below I have discussed this topic in detail.

Now coming to the frame of the racket, which consists of a stringed area, thread, shaft, and handle. The entire body of a badminton racket is known as a frame. According to the rules of badminton, the structure must not exceed the length and width of  680mm and 230mm.

Things to Look Before Choosing the Right Badminton Racket for Yourself

Weight of the Racket

Weight is a factor that most of the players ignore. But, this is one of the most important factors to consider when it comes to choosing a perfect racket for yourself. There is three range of rackets weights available, lightweight, mid-range, and heavy. Lightweight rackets are suitable for those who like speed gameplay, counter-attacking.

Where mid-range weight rackets are the most popular segment of racket and are preferable for attacking gameplay. And, for those who like power-hitting, heavy rackets are the best options of all time. To know more in-depth research on which is good for yourself, you can read this post What is the Ideal Weight for a Good Badminton Racket?

String Tension

When it comes to hitting the shuttle perfectly, the string tension is the most crucial factor to consider. There are direct co-relations with badminton racket string tension with parameters like control, power, durability, stability. The higher string tension has low power, high control, and stability, but is low durable.  Where low string tension rackets have a higher power, low control, and stability, but are highly durable.

Below are the recommended string tensions according to a different level of gameplay.

Beginners: 19-21 lbs
Intermediate: 22-24 lbs
Advanced: 25-30 lbs

So, you can decide the string tension of your racket depending on the level of your gameplay. If you’re a beginner, I recommend using a low-tension string as it is much powerful and durable. However, intermediate and advanced players can try higher string tensions. You can read another post of mine where I have talked about the best badminton racket strings.

Material

The material used for making badminton rackets must be of superior quality, as they need to withstand a lot of power-hitting during the gameplay. There are four types of material mainly used for making badminton rackets Wood, Steel, Carbon fiber, and aluminum. However, wooden badminton rackets are a past thing, as they are not durable and don’t help players for power-hitting; this material is not more in use these days.

Stainless steel is used great durable material and is cost-effective too. Steel-made badminton rackets are most durable, but these material-made rackets are often substantial. However, today, manufacturers used combined materials with steel and magnesium, carbon, or iron to make it lightweight and durable.

Carbon fiber is one of the best choices for all levels of players. After introducing carbon fiber to the badminton racket industry, most of the premium rackets are made of this material. Graphites are lightweight, highly durable, and provide fantastic stability.

Aluminum is another form of material used in many badminton rackets. This material is popular among lightweight rackets lovers. However, this racket is not much durable compared to graphite or stainless steel, but aluminum-made rackets are a lightweight and top pick for beginners.

Balancing Factor

However, most of us overlook the balancing factor while choosing a badminton racket. Knowing the balancing point will help you to understand which racket will be right for you.

The balancing point is located along the shaft section of a badminton racket, where you can balance the racket using your fingers  usually the balancing end of a badminton racket located between 285mm-295mm. However, it diverges depending on badminton rackets.

These three categories of badminton rackets depend on balancing factor head substantial balance, head light balance, and even balance racket. On the head heavy balance racket, the balance of the racket stays towards the head of the racket. Any racket that has a balancing point over 295mm is considered a head-heavy balance. This type of racket is preferable for those who like power hitting and smashing more.

Now, if the balancing point is below 285 then it is considered as a headlight balanced racket. For players who like fast-hitting, and speed on the game, the headlight balance model is a perfect choice for them. However, as this has less weight on the head, the players who like power-hitting may not want to pick this type of racket. So, choose this type of racket if you like speed overpower.

Now let’s talk about even balance badminton rackets. In this category of racket, the balancing point stays between 285mm-295mm. This is an ideal choice for beginners and intermediate players.  This type of racket gives the most stability and is suitable for playing a wide range of different shots.

Racket Brand

A good brand provides all the essential qualities of a racket for better gameplay. There are many brands out in the market, but you have to choose the right one for yourself. The best way to select a racket brand is by looking into its user review. Before selecting any racket brand first look into the brand profile. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced player, not selecting the right brand racket for yourself can break the game.

Previously, I have mentioned the top 5 best badminton racket brands in India, where the prime brands were Yonex, Li Ning, Victor, APACS. These brand manufacture the best quality rackets at a reasonable price.

Also, I would like to say, beware of fake racket brands. There are many counterfeit brands available on the market that sell duplicate versions of original racket branded products. Always buy from trustable online sources like Amazon or brand offline outlets.

Flexibility

Flexibility helps to restore repulsion force during the hitting on the shuttlecock. This happens when we hit the shuttlecock, the racket slightly goes back to restore the energy throughout the swing movement. However, as during the restoration of the power the badminton racket slightly moves backward, this might cause the perfect placement during hitting.

But, in the case of a stiff badminton racket, you will find more stability as there is little or no repulsion during the hitting. When you’re using a stiff racket, the shuttle will immediately bounce back when it comes in contact with the racket string.

Now which one to pick?. If you love power-hitting, smashes, and hitting the shuttle hard, stiff rackets are the right choice for you. But, it becomes hard to place the shots while using a flexible racket. Also, a flexible racket provides lesser control compared to a stiff one. Although as it’s easy to use and doesn’t need much effort to hit, beginners can start with flexibility.

The Shape of the Racket

There are two types of badminton racket shapes available in the market, one is the oval shape, and another one is the isometric shape. In an oval shape racket, you will find the sweet spot somewhere at the center of the racket, whereas isometric shape racket the sweet spot spreads out in a larger area of the racket.

Now, if you like higher hitting and have reasonable control of the game, oval shape rackets are an excellent choice to go with. However, most beginners don’t feel comfortable playing with an oval-shaped racket. As in oval-shaped racket gets the highest power hitting when the shuttle comes in contact with the center sweet spot.

Where in isometric as the sweet spot covers the more significant area, it becomes easier for beginners to hit the perfect desired shots.

So, beginners can start their gameplay with isometric whereas intermediate and advanced players are recommended to go with oval shape rackets. However, it depends on your personal comfort of gameplay. Although, the shape of the racket doesn’t impact the gameplay much.

The grip of the Racket

The more holding comfort a racket provides, the more control and power it gives. Most of the time, due to sweating during gameplay, players find it challenging to hold the racket as it slides out due to sweaty hands. This is where a good grip comes in play. There are mainly three types of grips, under grip, wave grip, and flat grip. 

Underlying grip or also known as under grip is wrapping of the handle with synthetic material to provide better control.

Where wave grips are made of foam to give better comfort for the players, there are five types of badminton racket grip sizes there including G1 to G5.

Badminton Rackets Guide for Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced Players

Still confused? Check out my recommended best badminton rackets in India 2022 with the ultimate buyer’s guide.

Final Words

This is it! I have mentioned all the necessary information that you must know before choosing a badminton racket. I made the last comparison table to make it more understandable for you which one to prefer. I request you to understand your strength and weakness during the gameplay and choose one accordingly. I Hope, this article helped you to find the perfect racket for yourself. If you have any questions in mind, let me know in the comment section below.