Scoring system
Each pair now only has one serve each and a point shall be added to a pair’s score whenever they win a rally, not only when they have served.
PDF diagram to show new scoring system here
A match consists of the best of three games; a game is won by the first pair to score 21 points, except if the score reaches 20 points each; in this case, play shall continue until one pair either achieves a two point lead (such as 24-22), or their score reaches 30 (the score shall not extend beyond 30: 30-29 is a winning score).
At the start of a match a coin toss is conducted between the players or pairs. The winners of the coin toss may make one of two choices: they may choose whether to serve or receive first, or they may choose which end of the court they wish to occupy.
After they have made this choice, their opponents shall exercise the remaining choice. In less formal settings, the coin toss is often replaced by hitting a shuttle into the air: whichever side it points to shall serve first.
In subsequent games, the winners of the previous game shall serve first. For the first rally of any doubles game, the serving pair may decide who serves and the receiving pair may decide who receives. The players shall change ends at the start of the second game; if the match proceeds to a third game, the players shall change ends both at the start of the game and when the leading pair’s score reaches 11 points.
In doubles, the players shall remember their service positions from the previous rally; the receivers shall remain in the same service courts. When a receiving pair wins a point and thereby regains the service, they shall not change their service court positions. If their new score is even, then the player in the right service court shall serve; if their new score is odd, then the player in the left service court shall serve. Thereafter, if they continue to win points, the server shall alternate between the service courts, so that he serves to each receiver in turn.
There are several notable consequences of this system. First, rally point scoring ensures that the start of the game is fairer than under the older scoring system; without rally point scoring, serving at the start of the game is a significant advantage. Second, there is no “second server”, unlike under the older scoring system. Third, each time a pair regains the service, the service court laws ensure that the server shall be the player who did not serve last.
The server and receiver must remain within their service courts, so that their feet do not touch the boundary lines, until the server strikes the shuttle. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long as they do not unsight the opposing server or receiver.