Parts of a Badminton Racquet – 10 to Label on 3 Drawings

All 10 parts on the diagram

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Start here: 6 main parts 6

Handle The part you grip, wrapped in a grip.
Strings Crossed strings, interlaced or bonded, that hit the shuttle.
Head The frame that bounds the stringed area.
Shaft Joins handle and head; stiff or flexible.
Feathers Sixteen feathers fixed in the base, tips on a circle.
Base Rounded on the bottom; usually cork covered in thin leather.

The racket 3

Throat Joins shaft and head, where a racket has one.
Length The whole racket may be at most 680 mm long.
Width The racket may be at most 230 mm wide.

The shuttles 1

Skirt Synthetic material that takes the place of feathers.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-24. (1) Laws of Badminton, Badminton World Federation Statutes Section 4.1, https://usabadminton.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Section-4.1-Laws-of-Badminton.pdf : Law 4, the racket is a frame at most 680 mm long overall and 230 mm wide overall, of a handle (the part gripped), a stringed area (flat, crossed strings interlaced or bonded, at most 280 by 220 mm) that the head bounds, a shaft connecting handle and head, and a throat (if present) connecting shaft and head; Law 2, a feathered shuttle has 16 feathers fixed in a base 25 to 28 mm across and rounded on the bottom, 62 to 70 mm from tip to base, tips on a 58 to 68 mm circle; a synthetic shuttle has a skirt in place of feathers. (2) A sports-education lesson, https://www.sikana.tv/en/sport/badminton/racket-the-different-parts : handle, shaft, throat, strings, head, frame, grip. (3) Wikipedia, Racket (sports equipment), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racket_(sports_equipment) : head, handle known as the grip, throat, strings; Badminton, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badminton : sixteen overlapping feathers in a rounded cork base covered with thin leather; Shuttlecock, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttlecock : feathers or a plastic skirt in a rounded cork base, 16 feathers 62 to 70 mm long. (4) A badminton shop's guide to racket legality, https://badmintonhouse.ca/blogs/news/is-my-badminton-racket-legal : frame no longer than 680 mm or wider than 230 mm, string bed within 280 by 220 mm, head, throat, shaft, handle. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-24. Licence: own work

How it works

A badminton racket is a handle, a thin shaft, a throat and a head that frames the strings. The shuttle it hits has a rounded base, usually cork, with sixteen feathers or a plastic skirt.

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The size rules

A racket may be at most 680 mm long and 230 mm wide. Its stringed area must be flat and no bigger than 280 by 220 mm. The racket drawn is 665 by 220 mm.

Feathers or plastic

A feathered shuttle has 16 feathers fixed in its base, each 62 to 70 mm long, with their tips on a circle. A synthetic shuttle swaps the feathers for a skirt on the same base.

Restringing? Lower string tension gives more power; higher tension gives more control.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a badminton racket?

The handle you hold, wrapped in a grip; the shaft; the throat, where there is one, joining the shaft to the head; and the head, which frames the stringed area of crossed strings.

What is the throat of a badminton racket?

The short piece that joins the shaft to the head, just below the strings. The rules make it optional: without a throat, the shaft joins the head directly.

What are the parts of a shuttlecock?

A rounded base, usually cork covered in thin leather, and 16 feathers fixed in it, their tips on a circle. A plastic shuttle has a skirt in place of the feathers.