Rotation In Badminton – Advantages and Understanding

Featured Image: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin

Rotation in badminton is the movement of both players in a partnership around the court in such a way that they are able to maintain the attack. In a previous article, I spoke about attacking rotation in general and how it occurs. In this article, I will mention the advantages of rotation in badminton and some situations in which you might struggle to rotate and how to overcome it.

Advantages of Rotation In Badminton

1. Maintain the attack. At the crux of attacking rotation is maintaining the offence. This fits in with the overall attacking strategy. The rear player attacks and moves forward. Meanwhile, the frontcourt player moves into the rear court allowing the new front and back position to take advantage of continuous attacking play.

2. Court Coverage. By rotating you are naturally covering the court for any likely replies from the opponent. This will depend on the timing of rotation as mentioned above.

3. Move back into the strongest formation. Sometimes opponents have created a situation which has put you at a disadvantage by pulling you out of your favoured formation. Being able to rotate back to your strongest formation will allow you to use your individual skills to their advantage.

4. Allow rear court player to “rest.” I use the term rest loosely. Attacking from the rear court is very tiring, particularly if the opponent has a very strong defence. If they can work their way forward they are afforded a little rest from smashing and their partner can continue the rear court attack.

Understanding Of Rotation Within In The Partnership

In order to build a good foundation in the partnership, there needs to be an agreement initially of when the right time to rotate is.

Developing an understanding with your partner:

1. Communication. It is important for the rear court player to communicate when they are coming in because the frontcourt player cannot see behind them. As you build an understanding, you will recognise situations in which both players should rotate to maintain the attack and the act of rotation will become more natural.
2. Play Strategically. By this I mean play conventional attacking doubles. The rear court player should be playing straight and to the middle to create chances to rotate. If the rear court player doesn’t play this way, it creates doubt in the frontcourt player because the attack becomes unpredictable.
3. Play Together More Often. Perhaps an obvious point, but it might be hard to do this often. During club nights the club as a whole must be considered so you might not get the time you want with each other. If you can book courts in your own time and keep your pairing against others, you will be able to develop your chemistry much faster.

When It Is Difficult To Rotate.

If you come up against a particularly strong defensive pair they will be able to continue to lift the shuttle to the back of the court consistently, keeping the rear court player in the same position. This makes it difficult to rotate.

This is a situation which might occur in mixed doubles. The female is kept away from the net in order to exploit her lack of power relative to her partner.

Here are some suggestions on how to combat this situation.

1. Be patient. Do not try and force your way through with power. Obviously, that isn’t working or you would have won the point already. Keep playing the rally until you determine a point you can rotate with your partner. Ultimately the opponent isn’t going to win the point simply by lifting the shuttle unless you make a lot of unforced errors.

2. Vary your attack. If you keep smashing at defensively strong opponents them they will simply continue to lift the shuttle again and again without too much trouble. This will just wear you down. Instead, vary your attacking shots both with angle and pace. Your shot will be less predictable and may force your opponents into a situation in which they allow you to rotate.

3. Create time. This is delaying your opponent in their movement. In order to create time, there is an element of deception.

Playing a deceptive drop shot that delays the opponent will offer you a little time to adjust your position. If your shot is effective the opponent will struggle for the shot, resulting in a weaker reply allowing the rear court player to attack from a more optimal position to facilitate rotation.

Playing an attacking clear can force a returning clear from opponents who were caught out. Use this time to rotate in and allow your partner to swap for the rear court.

Badminton Rotation – Key To Victory

Although the concept of rotation is simple, in practice it’s quite complex. At the heart of it, there needs to be a real understanding between both players in the partnership. The reason so many top players play together for so long is that they have developed this chemistry between them and the rotation for their partnership comes very naturally as a result. It takes time, but it is an absolutely essential aspect to badminton doubles.

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