Badminton Rackets Buying Guide
The key question to ask firstly is what style of player are you, or what type of player do you want to become?
- Power Attacking
- All Round
- Fast Reactions to Rallies
- Control and Touch, by moving players around the court to create space
As a general guide for your playing style below is the kind of racket you'll want to look at purchasing:
Playing Style |
Racket Balance |
Racket Flexibility |
Racket Weight |
Power Attacking |
Head Heavy |
Stiff |
85g – 89g (3U) |
All Round |
Balanced |
Medium |
80g – 84g (4U) |
Speed & Fast Reactions |
Head Light |
Medium |
79g or below (5U and up) |
Control & Touch |
Head Light |
Hi Flex |
79g or below (5U and up) |
In simple terms is means this:
Player with Explosive Backswing Hitting = Stiffer Shaft needed as it'll unload faster for more power.
Player with Slower Backswing Hitting = More Flexible Shaft needed so that it'll unload fully at impact.
If you're still unsure what to choose for yourself, we'd recommend going for a medium flex badminton racket to minimise the chances of choosing incorrectly what's right for you.
Weight:
Weight can make a real difference to reaction speeds, and power behind the hit of a shuttle. Too light a racket and it won't go far or powerful enough. However too heavy a racket and you'll find you'll be reacting too slow in fast flat rallies, where reaction speed is everything.:
Most rackets are weighted around 3U (85-89g) or 4U (80-84g), this is because it's a good weight balance for players to hit hard and also be able to react fast too.:
Typically singles players will use heavier rackets 3U (85-89g), this provides the player with more stability and accuracy, with a little more weight for power behind it, without compromising on racket speed too much, as quick racket head speed isn't needed as much in the singles game:
Doubles players however will usually want lighter rackets, the most popular weight for this being 4U (80-84g), this is because the Badminton Racket will offer more speed and quicker reactions in around the net and for defence against smashes.:
Racket Strings Used & Tension:
Again like the grip, this is customisable on any racket. However do look out for racket tension ranges on the product as this could potentially limit your ability to have the racket strung at a desired tension.:
For a full breakdown on strings and tensions, see our buying guide specifically on this.:
To put it simply however, if you're unsure what to choose when buying a racket you like, either go for the “Original Strings” option or “Stringers Professional Decision” for which we'll choose the string that best suits getting the maximum performance out of the racket for you.:
Full Badminton Racket Buying Guide:
UK Mainland Delivery
FREE if over £75 or £4.95
Standard 2-4 days delivery.
Express (Mon-Fri) 1-2 working days £5.95
Order by 1PM Monday-Friday for Next Working Day UK delivery.
Outside of the UK Mainland?
Don’t worry, we can deliver there too!
Northern Ireland - 2-3 Day Delivery - £9.95
Scottish Highlands - 2 Day Delivery - £19.95
*Order by {{hourPM}} for same day dispatch!
Full Badminton Delivery Buying Guide
International Delivery
Unfortunately, due to Brexit, we will no longer be shipping outside of UK Mainland.
Price Match Promise
It's this simple - Find it cheaper anywhere else in the UK & we'll match it! Subject to conditions (see below).
So how does it work?
- Fill in the form on the right with all the relevant details requested. Alternatively you can call our team on 02380 002388.
- We'll email you or call you after we review the price match request.
* By requesting the price request you have checked it meets the requirements below
The boring conditions bit:
- Make sure the item being sold elsewhere is new and include a direct link to it.
- Unfortunately we're unable to match prices for websites based outside of Mainland UK, unauthorised brand stockists, or 3rd party sites such as Amazon or eBay.
- The item must be in stock and actively being sold.
- At our own discretion we can refuse to offer the price match. Where this is the case we will offer you a full refund, this is rare, but there are exceptions. We will offer to refund the order in full if this happens.
- The product is identical to ours in brand, colour, size and model number.
- We cannot provide retrospective price matching after you have already purchased from us in the past, as we cannot verify if on the date of original purchase the price of the alternative retailer you may ask us to price match with.
- Strings and Shuttlecocks excluded.
- Yonex products are excluded from this offer.