Shuttlecock velocity decay after smash and slice shots in badminton

Fuente: arXiv
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Autor principal: Collet, Eric
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Collet, Eric
author_facet Collet, Eric
contents This paper reports on the decay in shuttlecock velocity after smash and slice shots performed by elite and international players, based on the analysis of videos captured on a badminton court with high-speed cameras. The trajectories of feather shuttlecocks show an exponential decay in velocity and an exponential increase in time-of-flight with distance, in accordance with the equation of motion of a shuttlecock subjected to high drag. The initial speed, which can exceed 500 km/h, is reduced by half every 3.35 m, depending on the physical parameters of the shuttlecock characterized by a speed index. The videos show that plastic shuttlecocks, which are more resistant than feather shuttlecocks, deform at high speeds. The resulting decay of their drag coefficient with increasing speed makes them unsuitable for high-level play. The study also shows that the spin induced by the slice shots of left-handed players or the reverse slice shots of right-handed players slows the shuttlecock down.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_01412
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Shuttlecock velocity decay after smash and slice shots in badminton
Collet, Eric
Fluid Dynamics
Applied Physics
Popular Physics
This paper reports on the decay in shuttlecock velocity after smash and slice shots performed by elite and international players, based on the analysis of videos captured on a badminton court with high-speed cameras. The trajectories of feather shuttlecocks show an exponential decay in velocity and an exponential increase in time-of-flight with distance, in accordance with the equation of motion of a shuttlecock subjected to high drag. The initial speed, which can exceed 500 km/h, is reduced by half every 3.35 m, depending on the physical parameters of the shuttlecock characterized by a speed index. The videos show that plastic shuttlecocks, which are more resistant than feather shuttlecocks, deform at high speeds. The resulting decay of their drag coefficient with increasing speed makes them unsuitable for high-level play. The study also shows that the spin induced by the slice shots of left-handed players or the reverse slice shots of right-handed players slows the shuttlecock down.
title Shuttlecock velocity decay after smash and slice shots in badminton
topic Fluid Dynamics
Applied Physics
Popular Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.01412