Blog/Badminton
BADMINTON - RECORDS AND TRIVIA

Badminton Smash Speed
and Other Wild
Racket Sport Records.

The fastest shot in any racket sport is not a tennis serve. Here is what actually holds the record - and what else stands out.

The short answer

The badminton smash holds the record for fastest shot in any racket sport, officially clocked well over 400 km/h - more than 150 km/h faster than the quickest tennis serve. The shuttlecock's tiny weight and the steep downward angle of a smash make this possible, even though it decelerates almost immediately after.

Most casual players are surprised by this - tennis serves feel like the benchmark for speed, but they are not even close on paper.

Racket sport speed records

Fastest shot of any kind
Badminton smash - officially recorded well over 400 km/h
The shuttlecock's light weight and the steep downward angle of a jump smash combine to produce the highest racket-sport shot speed on record, by a wide margin over any other sport.
Fastest tennis serve
Over 260 km/h at the professional level
Tennis serves are the fastest ball-based shot in racket sports, though still far slower than a badminton smash - a tennis ball is much heavier than a shuttlecock.
Fastest squash shot
Over 270 km/h recorded in competition
Squash balls are struck at extremely high speed in a small enclosed space, which is part of why squash has such a reputation for reaction-time demands.
Fastest deceleration
Badminton shuttlecock
A shuttlecock loses speed faster than any other object used in racket sports because of its cone shape and drag - which is exactly why a 400+ km/h smash is still returnable a split second later.
Shortest reaction window
Table tennis, at close range
Because the table is so short and players often stand close to it, top table tennis players react to shots in a fraction of the time available in any other racket sport.

Why the shuttlecock is such an outlier

A shuttlecock weighs only a few grams, compared to around 57 grams for a tennis ball. Combined with the racket-head speed generated by a jump smash struck almost straight down, this produces an extraordinarily high initial velocity. But the same cone shape and feathered or synthetic skirt that make it so light also create enormous aerodynamic drag - which is why the shuttle sheds most of its speed within the first metre or two of flight, making the smash returnable at all.

No other object used in racket sports behaves quite like this combination of extreme peak speed and extreme deceleration.

You do not need record-breaking speed to enjoy the game

Whether you are smashing at a fraction of tour pace or just enjoying a casual rally, Scorepion tracks the score for badminton, squash, table tennis and three other racket sports automatically from your Apple Watch or Wear OS watch.

5 free matches - no card required

Common questions

What is the fastest badminton smash ever recorded?
Competitive badminton smashes have been officially recorded well over 400 km/h, making it the fastest racket-propelled shot of any racket sport.
Why is the badminton smash faster than a tennis serve?
A shuttlecock weighs a fraction of a tennis ball and is struck from directly above with a whip-like motion, generating far higher initial velocity.
What is the longest recorded rally?
Extremely long professional rallies have been recorded across tennis, padel and table tennis, sometimes running into the hundreds of shots in exhibition play.
Score from your watch
5 free matches - no card required
Download Free