Badminton wrist action is extremely important in producing powerful shots! Good wrist movement maximizes power and improves control over the direction of the shuttle.

Many people say that ‘badminton is all about the wrist’. This statement is only half true. True power from any badminton shot comes from a combination of your wrist action and your swing.

By wrist action I mean flicking your wrist with a ‘fast snapping motion’ to create extra power in your badminton shots.

Apart from having good wrist action, perform your badminton strokes CORRECTLY in order to generate the maximum power in any type of shots.

The following are pointers to strong badminton wrist action.

First, grip your racket correctly. Make sure you know how to use the forehand grip for forehand strokes and backhand grip for backhand strokes.

Hold your racket correctly in order to maximise your wrist action.

With the correct gripping technique, your fingers are positioned in such a way that it’ll greatly assist. Your wrist in generating a strong flick or snapping motion.

Forehand Grip: Use your index finger to push your racket forward and at the same time, flick your wrist forward towards the shuttle.

Backhand Grip: Same as the forehand grip, except that you use your THUMB to push the racket forward.

It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you do not grip your racket too tightly.

Let’s do a quick activity now. Take an object (something light) and hold it with your dominant hand.

Hold the object very tightly. Then flick your wrist.

After that, hold the same object loosely and then flick your wrist.

Which one (holding tightly or loosely) enables you to flick your wrist faster? Clearly, the answer will be when you hold it loosely.

Therefore, it is important not hold your racket too tightly or else you’ll not be able to maximise your wrist action.

When performing any type of badminton shots that requires a lot of power (eg. smashing), DO NOT grip your racket too tightly! You’ll realise that the power of your wrist can actually be very STRONG.

When your racket is about to make contact with the shuttle, flick your wrist with a quick snapping motion. When you do this, the power from your wrist movement will also be transferred into your shot.

Maximise your wrist movement. Perform a full flick of your wrist instead of merely moving your wrist by a bit.

Do you want to get more POWER? Practice with badminton training rackets.

I find it very useful because it trains players to improve their wrist action to generate the snapping motion of your wrist.

The badminton backhand overhead stroke depends on strong wrist action to generate the power.

Important Advice

The KEY to strong badminton wrist action is to not hold your racket too tightly.

In order to make sure you’re not holding your racket too tightly, make sure that your muscles are RELAXED and not tensed at all times.

When you have good wrist action, you’re then able to use higher string tension for your racket. With higher string tension, you can enjoy the benefits of hitting more powerful shots and more accurately!