Badminton and Tennis are both racket sports played with a net in the middle. Both have origins from England and are played by hitting things back and forth. Moreover, both can be played individually as well as in sets of two. However, there are a lot of differences between these two sports.
In this article, I have enlisted various aspects that differentiate badminton from tennis.
Table of Contents
Duration
Well, matches on average are shorter in badminton than in tennis. While Tennis is a lengthy sport due to a different scoring system, a badminton match takes less amount of time. For instance, in the men’s singles category, the 2019 Wimbledon final lasted for 4 hours and 57 minutes while a Badminton World Championship final took 38 minutes. Well, this is just a vivid comparison but it might give you a basic idea of the difference in timing.
Speed (Tennis Ball-Badminton shuttle)
One might think that tennis courts are bigger and rackets are heavier so therefore, the speed of the ball will also be higher. However, according to Guinness World Records, the fastest shot in tennis is 263km/hr and the fastest shot in badminton is recorded at 426km/hr. This means that badminton is a faster sport than tennis.
Equipment required
There is quite a lot of difference in the equipment used by each sport.
| Difference | Tennis | Badminton |
|---|---|---|
| Rackets | It requires rackets that weight around 250-360gm | Badminton Rackets are normally under 100 gm. |
| Shuttle/ball | It requires a hard-felt ball | Badminton is either played with a feather or a plastic shuttle. |
| Weight of Shuttle/ball | A tennis ball weighs around 56-59.4gm | A badminton shuttle weighs between 4.75-5.50gm |
| Shape | Tennis ball is spherical in shape | Badminton shuttle is conical in shape |
| Court Dimensions | 78 feet long and 36 feet wide | 44 feet long and 20 feet wide |
Scoring System
Badminton and Tennis vary comprehensively in their scoring systems. Honestly, tennis scoring systems are far more complex. Well, a tennis match is composed of points, games, and sets. A set is won by the first side to win 6 games and a game consists of points (15, 30, 40 Ad). If the set is tied at 6 games each, then a tie-break is played to win the set. a match is won by the player/team that wins the maximum of the prescribed sets which is usually 3 for women and 5 for men’s category.
Meanwhile, badminton follows a traditional scoring system in which a match is composed of 3 games of single points up to 11, 15, or 21. Professional matches are played for 21 points and the player who wins maximum games wins the match which is usually played for the best of three games.
Service
Service is a very important aspect of racket sports. Tennis and Badminton are racket sports with extremely different serve patterns. In badminton, serves are allowed to be below the waist and underhand.
Whereas in Tennis, a service can be done overhand as well as underhand. Moreover, in tennis, you get a second opportunity if you fault in the first service which is not applicable for badminton.
Standard shots
In badminton, there are overall 6 shots involved outside the serve.
- Clear
- Drop
- Drive
- Lift
- Smash
- Dribble
Whereas, in Tennis four shots are involved which are-
- Drop
- Forehand/backhand groundstrokes
- Lob
- Volley
Worldwide participation (Badminton vs Tennis)
It may come to you as a surprise that badminton is among the World’s top 10 most participated sports. Notably, it is the second most popular sport in the World according to realbuzz and is played regularly by an estimate of 220 million people around the World predominantly in Asian countries.
Meanwhile, Tennis is the 6th most participated sport in the World with an estimated 60 million people around the world according to a stat by Topend Sports.
Indoor & Outdoor sport
Badminton is an indoor sport that is either played on a cement, synthetic, or wooden surface. However, recently, the BWF has announced another vertical of badminton which is AirBadminton that is designed to be played only outdoors. Click here, to know everything about AirBadminton.
Tennis is typically played outdoors on a clay, synthetic, or grass surface. You can play tennis indoors as well but all major tournaments take place in an outdoor environment.
Court Layout (Badminton vs Tennis)
The court settings are very different in badminton as compared to tennis. Tennis courts measure 78 feet in length and 36 feet in width, on the other hand, badminton courts measure 44 feet in length and 20 feet in width. This means that tennis courts are almost double the size of an average badminton court.
Moreover, the location and size of the nets is also very different in each sport. While the tennis court’s net measures 36 in above the ground, the badminton’s net measures 60 in above the ground.
Earnings (Badminton vs Tennis)
While badminton is at the upper hand in terms of participation, tennis is a more widely followed sport around the world which makes it a higher earning sport than badminton.
Let’s compare the top 5 richest players in each sport to get an idea of the earnings.
According to halfgoal, the net worth of the top 5 richest tennis players are-
- Roger Federer- $450 million
- Novak Djokovic- $220 million
- Rafael Nadal- $200 million
- Serena Williams- $180 million
- Maria Sharapova- $135 million
According to successstory, the top 5 richest badminton players in the World are-
- Lee Chong Wei- $35 million
- Lin Dan- $26 million
- Chen Long- $24 million
- Peter Gade- $18 million
- Taufik Hidayat- $11 million
Like you can see, the difference in the earnings of both these sports is immense due to the difference in following and popularity.
Final Thoughts
Despite both being racket spots, you can now very well identify the major differences in both of them. Now that you know the basics, identify your sport and go ahead and play following the respective rules.