Badminton vs. Tennis
Badminton vs. Tennis Sports are considered to be an extremely important part of our lives today, they are essential to our health, entertainment and relaxation. Even though some sports are alike in ways, many people still prefer to choose one over the other. This is because even though there are some similarities between them, they are still completely different when compared properly, like in the case of racquet-based sports. Two racket sports that are played worldwide are badminton and tennis.
Both are co-ed sports and despite their similarities they are poles apart when it comes to the equipment used in them, their rules and their ground settings. Tennis and badminton are easily mistaken by amateurs, but the people who know and play these sports are well aware of their differences. The rackets used in badminton are long, thin, light weighted and have a greater tension in the string so that more power is applied to the light-weight shuttlecock, while in tennis the rackets are short, heavy, wide and have lower tension due to the heavy weight of the ball.
In badminton a shuttlecock, also known as a birdie in North America has an open conical shape that consists of sixteen or so feathers overlapping each other, embedded into a rounded cork base. In tennis instead of a shuttlecock a ball is allowed, which is covered in a fibrous fluffy felt. Also a shuttlecock is much lighter in weight than a tennis ball. The basic rules of these two sports are also very distinct. In tennis, it is allowed if a ball hits the ground once before the player returns it back to his/her opponent, while in badminton if the shuttle comes in contact with the ground, then a point is lost.
Furthermore, the scoring system of tennis is different from badminton’s scoring system. In tennis it only requires 4 points to win a set however, in professional badminton a minimum of 21 points are required to win a normal set. Another difference that separates these sports is the setting in which they are played. Tennis is an outdoor sport so the weather does have an effect on it, but tennis players use their surroundings to their advantage, so a windy environment can be of use in tennis.
On the other hand, in badminton even a little wind can cause a great deal of problem due to the light weight of the birdie, which is why badminton is professionally an indoor sport. Additionally tennis courts are larger (72 feet long and 27 feet wide) compared to badminton’s courts (20 feet wide and 44 feet long). This is because in tennis the ball travels for a longer distance at a faster velocity, so in order for a player to be able to hit the ball clearly, he/she has to stay far from his/her opponent. In contrast badminton courts are much smaller; this is due to the light weight of the birdie.
In conclusion, both badminton and tennis are great sports that are played across the world, and even though they are both played with a racket, they are both challenging in their own way. Badminton requires a lot of stamina and exceptionally fast reflexes, while tennis requires more strength and agility. Despite their similarities they are both different and unique in their own way. This is why both are loved and played by different people. If one was to make a survey for the world to choose a favorite between badminton and tennis, I wonder which one would be favored most.
