Badminton versus Tennis - similarities and differences

Having played tennis for the past couple years, I have experienced a situation in which one of my friends has suggested that we play badminton since he assumed that I played a racket sport so it wouldn’t be much different. We went to play and as soon as I picked up the racket, he started laughing. He explained to me that my grip was completely wrong, but I was unaware of this because I was using my typical forehand grip for tennis. Once I adjusted that, we began to play and I realized that my reflexes were not very quick because there were times when I was not expecting the shuttlecock to move so fast. Once again, I had to adjust to this, as it was another aspect of the sport that differed from tennis. Towards the end of our playing, I felt rather sore in areas of my body that are not as common for tennis. After coming to this understanding, it occurred to me that the reason for my soreness was because in badminton, the muscles and joints that were utilized were somewhat different than that of tennis. In badminton, the wrist is used to a great extent, and I even recognized that many of the better badminton players have very strong wrists.. While the wrist is also used while playing tennis, it is not quite utilized to the same extent as in badminton. One similarity I found, however, is that in both sports, having a strong base and strong legs is very important because many shots are hit with bent legs, and it is very uncommon to be standing straight up during the point. With this similarity, many exercises that are beneficial when training specifically for tennis can also be applied to badminton.

With the current situation in the world today, many of the gyms, public courts, and training facilities are closed, so for some, it is difficult to find locations to workout and try to increase strength. While not particularly pertaining to exercises that build leg strength, a very important part of becoming a better athlete is actively trying to sustain a healthy diet. A healthy diet is especially vital in tennis and badminton because matches have no time limit, so having enough gas in the tank when the score is 5-5 in the final set, or 19-18 after two long and physically taxing sets is a necessity. Over time, it becomes much easier to endure the fatigue that is presented when there is not Coke or McDonalds’ fries sitting in your stomach. On the contrary, however, it is not terrible to enjoy some fast food or sweets once in a while, but too much will definitely restrict or even worsen your performance in a match. To make sure this doesn’t happen, in addition the a good diet, here are some great leg workouts:

One great exercise that is beneficial when trying to be lighter on your feet is jumping rope. The exercise of Jump Rope is a very useful exercise because it does not need to be done for a very long time, as even doing it for 20 to 30 minutes everyday will display great results. One of the key facts to remember when it comes to racket sports versus contact sports such as basketball or football is that pertaining to tennis or badminton, it is not important to focus on muscle size, but rather muscle strength. This means that racket sports do not focus as much on “how much weight can be pushed”, but instead “how fast can your own weight be moved.” Due to this, exercise pertaining to tennis and badminton have more to do with agility than weight lifting. 

Another exercise that is useful for all sports is simply running. This could be as simple as running on the treadmill or going outside for a run. This helps build endurance and similarly to the healthy diet, it is important to have endurance during a rather lengthy match. While still involving running, another great exercise is treadmill sprints. These sprints should be done 8 to 10 times at a speed that is above a jogging pace, and the sprints are for one minute, with a one minute break after each sprint. This workout is important to build raw speed, as it helps get from one end of the court to the other in less time. 

Also, to build strength in quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors, and calves, a great and effective exercise is a series of different squats. There is always the simple and original squat. While doing this, it is important to try and ensure that you are going as far down as possible, 90 degrees being ideal. This is to ensure that you are getting the entire workout and truly “feeling the burn.” Next, there are jump squats. These are slightly more difficult than normal squats because the squat must also give you the force to elevate and jump after the squat. This exercise still works the same muscles and is very helpful while playing racket sports. Even tougher than jump squats are split squats. This exercise is the continuous motion of going into a lunge on one leg and then immediately switching to the other leg by jumping. The split squats are slightly more difficult because rather than counting a certain amount, the exercise should be done for one minute before taking a break. This will help with strength and also endurance because of the burn while completing the exercise. All of these leg exercises are consistent between tes and badminton, and overall, they will ensure a new level of ability and athleticism on the court.