ABSTRACT
Upon first impressions, badminton is a highly explosive sport, involving a unique movement technique over a relatively small court area. At various skill levels, Coad and co-workers (1979) and Docherty (1982) have found average rally length to be around five seconds. A rally was typically followed by an average recovery period of five to ten seconds. However, elite players expect rallies to be considerably longer at their level. High class competitive matches can last up to one hour. Given these combined elements of power and endurance, the physiological requirements of badminton may not be obvious and it would be of benefit to those involved in the sport to reach a more complete understanding of these demands.
