In badminton, players must hit the shuttlecock back over the net before it touches the ground. A player win points when her opponent cannot return the shuttlecock or when her opponent hits the shuttlecock out of bounds or into the net. In singles badminton, one player must cover the whole court. Because of this challenge, singles badminton requires certain different strategies than doubles badminton.

Create Movement Pressure

The Badminton Bible recommends that singles players focus more on creating movement pressure rather than shot-making pressure. When you create movement pressure, you force your opponent to move into different areas of the court so that she no longer holds the optimal position for covering the court and making offensive shots. Alternate long shots with drop shots, for example, to keep your opponent moving. Force your opponent to travel the longest possible distance by hitting shots to the corners of the court.

Hit Low

Try hit the shuttlecock so that it passes just over the net. Low shots require your opponent to hit a defensive shot, hitting the shuttlecock upwards rather than downwards. When your opponent hits the shuttlecock upwards and high over the net, you will have a better opportunity to attack the shuttlecock and hit it downwards toward the surface of your opponent’s court. Beware of smashing the shuttlecock when your opponent is near the net; he could simply block it back onto your side of the court.

High Serves

Force your opponent to move to the back of the court by serving high and long. Though a high serve can give your opponent the opportunity to attack the shuttlecock in a downwards motion, a high and long serve will require her to surrender the center of the court. From the back of the court, your opponent will not be in as good a position to attack the shuttlecock.

Variety

Vary the placement and speed of your serves and shots. Serve to different parts of the service box and with different amounts of force. Vary the amount of time you take to serve the shuttlecock. Serve and shot variety will keep your opponent guessing, and will make it harder for your opponent to predict your shots.

Recovery

In singles badminton, you will often find yourself running to an extreme end of the court to hit the shuttlecock before it touches the court’s surface. If your opponent pushes you to the edges of the court, recover by hitting a high and long shot that will give you time to return to the center of the court. Be prepared for another attack from your opponent, as any high shot will give your opponent the opportunity to smash the shuttlecock. In many situations, however, the high shot will be your best option.

Singles Strategies

At first glance, badminton appears to be a simple game. Opponents use rackets to hit a shuttlecock, or birdie, back and forth over a center net. However, you can use many different strategies during a badminton match. And strategy is all the more important in singles badminton, where players face off head-to-head without the assistance of teammates.

Tiring

The first and most obvious strategy in singles badminton is simply to tire out your opponent. Without a doubles partner, singles competitors have twice the ground to protect. Covering all four corners of the playing surface can prove an exhausting exercise. Using the entire court and running your opponent from side to side and from the net to the back-line can tire him out and lead to easy winners.

Returning

Keep a close eye on opponents when they're serving. If the server displays a tendency to step backward after service, try to return with short drop shots to the front court. On the other hand, if the server charges the net after service, employ deep lobs to exploit the exposed back-line. Varying the depth, pace and location of returns keeps opponents off balance.

Serving

Smart singles badminton players use service to set up their opponents. Consistently serving high, deep shots into the opposing back court can lull your opposition to sleep. Once you have established the pattern of high serves, firing a low hard serve can catch your opponent by surprise and help you capture a quick point.

Pinning

In singles badminton, use the entire length of the playing surface. Pinning your opponent to the back-line with repeated deep shots effectively stretches the court. Continually pinning the opponent along the back-line opens up the front court for short drop shots. You also can pin opponents into one specific back corner before placing a shot in the opposite front corner.

Defense

You must control the angles in singles badminton. While hitting shots to the corners can produce scoring chances, it also provides your opponent with more advantageous return angles. Hitting a shot into the middle of the court robs your opponent of any beneficial scoring angles. If your opponent seizes control of a rally, dropping shots into the middle of the court can slow the pace down and provide an opportunity to regroup.

Smashing

Reserve overhead smashes for decisive blows. Soften your opponent with effective clears and drops before attempting a forceful smash to win the point. If used too early or too often, smashes lose all significance and only serve to sap needed energy.

Article was quoted from LiveStrong