by Alistair Prades
ARC Badminton Coach
Mixed badminton is the discipline where a man and a woman play together, while Level doubles involves playing with a partner of the same gender (men's/women's), and of course singles where you play alone!
The court positioning for Mixed differs from that of Level doubles, but there are also similarities between the two. This article aims to explain the logic behind this positioning, and why it is not always black and white - particularly at club level.
In any doubles game, basic court positioning comes down to whether you are attacking or defending. When attacking, you want to be in a 'front and back' position, while when defending you want to be in a 'sides' position. When attacking, the rear player often builds the rally using drops and smashes, while the net player is looking to finish the rally off (it can be hard to finish a rally when no one is at the net!). When in this position, however, the sides of the court are very exposed, and defending would be almost impossible. This is why we move to the sides position when defending, to cover the court more effectively. Moving between these positions is what we call 'rotating'.
In Mixed, the woman will generally take the front court position when attacking, while the man would take the rear court. It is still necessary to move into the sides position when defending in order to cover the court.
The main reason for this is due to the physiological differences between men and women. In simple terms, men are typically larger which equates to more power and court coverage. The rear court player has to cover a larger section than the front (fore) court player, so the extra reach and power is helpful. Women are often smaller which can be very advantageous when taking the net (interceptions at around net-height are much easier to take overhead if you are shorter, for example). These strengths and weaknesses are also reinforced by the specialised training women and men undertake (at more advanced levels) to become masters of the front/rear court respectively.
Where we must take a step back, is that these tactics and generalisations are used in highly competitive settings, where both pairs are very close in standard and the men and women are at the same relative level. Here at ARC, there is a wide variety of abilities among all of our players, and the generalisations above do not necessarily ring true. For example, some of the female players are considerably stronger and faster than some of the male players, and some men are quick at the net. In this situation, it would make sense for the man to take the front more often, as the woman can cover the larger rear court section more effectively.
What we never want to see is any player being stuck at the front, almost to be kept out of the way. While this is not very fair (and not a nice feeling for that player) it is also not a very smart tactic. It is almost impossible to defend when at the net, as even if the shuttle comes right to you, you often don't have enough time to react to the shot. It is also important to remember that the net player has an extremely important job - sometimes it is crucial for the stronger player to take the net in order to finish off the rally.
So, when playing your doubles games at ARC, firstly ask your partner if they would prefer to play in a Mixed or Level doubles formation - if your partner is weaker than you, but also hates playing at the net, you probably won't play as well in a Mixed formation. If you do choose to play in a Mixed formation, consider who is the stronger player able to cover the rear court more effectively. But remember, you should never be stuck in one position - this is the quickest way to expose yourself to an attack from the opponents!
Our goal at ARC is for every player to feel welcome and valued, regardless of their ability and gender. We also want to encourage all of our players to improve their skills - this is very hard to do if you never get the opportunity to practice your weaker areas! If you see someone instructing their partner to go to the net and stay there, or unilaterally deciding to stay in one position, please politely explain this is not how Mixed badminton - or any badminton - is supposed to be played!