Badminton and tennis are pretty similar, so it is not a surprise to think that maybe badminton players can play tennis as well. They are both racket sports but they have their differences. I have been playing badminton for many years now and recently I’ve tried playing tennis. Here’s what I have found when playing tennis coming from a badminton background.
Badminton players can play tennis but they will have to adjust and adapt since both games are quite different in their own ways. In order for badminton players to play tennis well, they will have to go through some training. However, good badminton players are likely to pick up and do well in tennis relatively quickly.
Some techniques used in badminton are the same as the ones used in tennis, especially the footwork. This is why badminton players will be able to pick up tennis much quicker than newbies that have never touched a racket sport.
Footwork In Badminton And Tennis
Although there is some similar footwork between badminton and tennis, they are very different for the most part. Badminton requires you to make multiple short bursts of chasse like movements, jumping, and some running. On the other hand, tennis requires mostly running, some chasse movements, and even sliding. Therefore, when a badminton player transitions into tennis, it will take some time for them to adapt.
Common Shots in Badminton And Tennis
Badminton and tennis have a few shots that have the same name and also serve the same purposes. However, the way they hit the same type of shots is very different. Most of the time, badminton shots use more of your wrist while tennis uses more of your forearm.
To hit a badminton shot well, you have to really focus on your wrist movement. You must be able to flick your wrist quickly and accurately while generating enough power from it.
On the other hand, tennis requires more forearm strength and you will have to grip the racket tight to generate power. This will be one of the harder things to adapt when a badminton player starts playing tennis.
Common shots in badminton, other than serve include clear, drop, drive, lift and smash.
Common shots in tennis, other than serve include, drop, forehand/backhand stroke lob and volley.
For more information on what each of these shots do, check out my other article, Badminton Vs Tennis.
Some of the shots in badminton and tennis are performed quite similarly but with different names. Shots such as lift in badminton is a lob in tennis.
Even though some shots are similar, they are hit very differently and with different techniques. Furthermore, if a badminton player was to play tennis, he/she will need to learn some new shots such as forehand/backhand stroke which is the bread and butter to tennis. In badminton, there is no such shot.
Serve In Badminton And Tennis
The serve in badminton and tennis has a huge difference. In badminton, you are only allowed to serve the shuttle from below your waist and racket pointing down but in tennis, you are allowed to throw the ball up in the air and smash it down.
The serve plays a more significant role in tennis than it does in badminton. If you are the one serving in tennis, you are on the upper hand. Serves in tennis can be hard to return, pretty much like a smash in badminton.
On the contrary, serving in badminton does not really give you the upper hand. Most of the time, its a soft-serve near the net but from time to time, you can surprise your opponent by serving differently. This is nowhere near as hard to return when compared to tennis.
When badminton players switch to playing tennis, they will have to learn how to serve from scratch. This can be a challenge because it is so different from what they are used to in badminton.
There are 4 types of serves in tennis and only one of them is similar to how badminton is allowed to serve, which is the underhanded serve in tennis. This is when you serve with the ball in front of the racket while it’s pointing downwards.
However, if you really want to be competitive in tennis, you should not use the underhanded serve. This type of serve is weak and easy to return.
Weight Differences of Equipment
Both badminton and tennis is a racket sport but they are very different in terms of weight. Not only are the weights of the rackets significantly different, but the shuttle and tennis balls are as well.
Rackets
The rackets in tennis tend to weight about 300 grams. Anything less than 285 grams is considered light. This is extremely heavy when compared to badminton rackets where they usually weigh about 80 to 95 grams. That is more than 3 times the difference!
When badminton players hold tennis rackets for the first time, they will definitely not be used to it. They will have to build up the arm and forearm strength needed to hold a tennis racket properly and firmly.
Shuttlecocks & Tennis Balls
Shuttlecocks used in badminton are also much lighter as compared to tennis balls. An average shuttlecock weighs about 4.74 to 5.5 grams and a tennis ball weighs about 56 to 59.4 grams. That is a 10 times difference! With that much of a weight difference, how a tennis ball feels when it hits the racket will be very unfamiliar to badminton players.
Strength And Stamina
For both sports, you will need strength and stamina in order to thrive. But the strength and stamina needed for each sport are slightly different. For instance, badminton will require more wrist strength while tennis requires more arm and forearm strength as I’ve mentioned before.
Some people might think that badminton requires a lot less strength than tennis since the racket and shuttles are so much lighter. I disagree with that. In order to make the shuttle move fast, you have to hit it hard with a considerable amount of strength. You cannot hit a 200 mph smash in badminton with just technique without a decent amount of strength.
When playing badminton, you do not get as much rest overall as compared to tennis. Every time someone serves in tennis, they get 20 seconds to do so while badminton only allows for about 5 seconds. Therefore, each point will get into play much faster in badminton, hence less rest.
The stamina needed when comparing badminton and tennis is like comparing the stamina needed for sprinting and a marathon. Each needs its own type of stamina in order to last the whole game. Badminton needs stamina like sprinting, while tennis like a marathon.
Courts Difference
For badminton, there are really only 2 proper courts people usually play on. Wooden or synthetic PU courts (usually the choice). However, in tennis, there are 3 types of courts that are mainly used.
They are grass clay and hard courts. The hard courts of tennis can be made of asphalt, concrete with acrylic paint on top or synthetic material similar to the synthetic courts of badminton. Playing in different courts are going to give you different experience and gameplay.
It can be hard for badminton players to get used to the different court types that tennis play in since badminton players usually only play on synthetic PU courts.
Conclusion
Badminton players will need time to adapt if they want to play tennis. There are some similarities but also a lot of differences such as the play style, movements, striking techniques, and many more.
It will be quite tough for badminton players to play tennis for the first time since everything is pretty much different other than some footwork techniques. However, they should be getting the hang of tennis relatively quickly compared to total newbies that have never played any racket sport before.
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