A new scoring system could be in place for badminton, as the Badminton World Federation has said this week that its chief decision-making body (BWF Council) has endorsed the 3×15 scoring system to replace the current 3×21 system. The decision was taken at the BWF Council’s meeting on November 9, 2024 in Kuala Lumpur. What does this mean for badminton? Here are some answers:
The 3×15 is already defined as part of the ‘Alternative Laws of Badminton’ – in simple terms, a match will consist of the best of three games. The game shall be won by the side that first scores 15 points (instead of the current 21).
What happens at 14-14? We will continue to play on till one side gains a two-point lead first. In the current scoring system, 29-29 becomes the decisive point in a game, which will now change to 20-all. So the side scoring the 21st point will win the game.
Will this rule change be immediate?
There is some time yet. The BWF Council has only approved a plan where the 3×15 will be tested at selected Continental Championships, Grade 3 tournaments, national and international leagues, and national tournaments. The testing period is set to be approximately April to September/October 2025.
Towards the end of the testing period, BWF said it will survey key stakeholders at each tournament as well as an overall survey of all Members, Athletes’ Commissions (players), technical officials, and commercial partners. “BWF Council will make a final decision whether to propose this new system to the BWF Annual General Meeting 2026,” the governing body said.
What are the reasons for this proposed change?
The BWF has listed three main factors. a) more exciting points and a higher probability that each point is more exciting; b) Getting to more exciting points sooner; c) the shorter matches will lead to better scheduling and help sustain fan interest while also helping with player health and longevity.
Wasn’t 15 points the OG system?
Yes, historically, badminton was a 15-point sport, but this proposed change is not a return to the older days. Originally, all disciplines were played to 15, while women’s singles was till 11. But the key aspect in that erstwhile system was that only the serving side could win a point. Every time a side lost serve, there was no change to the scoreboard. So, a game could be decided 15-2, for instance, but that was no guarantee of it being a short game if the serve kept changing hands.
What was the last big experiment?
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There was the whirlwind 7×5 period in 2002, when each match was played as the best of five games and a game was won by the first side to score seven points. It was used at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, but that’s where it stopped. According to BBC, the decision to abort the experiment was taken after a six-hour debate at an International Badminton Federation (IBF was the predecessor to BWF) council meeting where it “was apparent the majority of the members still favoured the old scoring system,” according to the president Korn Dabbaransi.
How long has the current system been in place?
When the 21×3 (setting to 30) system was introduced, it was a significant departure from the older scoring system. Under the “rally point” system, as it is known, each rally accounted for a point, and not just the player or team holding serve. It was introduced at the start of the 2006 season and has been in use since then internationally, but attempts have been made to change this.
So there was a recent attempt to change?
Indeed. As recently as 2021, there was a big push from BWF to change the scoring system to 11 x 5 (best of 5, with 11 points to win a game). That proposal had been put forward by the Indonesian Badminton Association. It turned out to be an incredibly close vote at the 82nd BWF AGM. The 11×5 proposal received 66.31% votes for and 33.69% against, but it was marginally short of the two-thirds majority needed (>66.67%). BWF President Poul-Erik Høyer had said then: “…proposed scoring system change has been part of my vision to make badminton more exciting and to increase the entertainment value for stakeholders.” A total of 282 votes were cast in that AGM.
