The overhead clear sends the shuttle high and deep from your rearcourt to your opponent's rearcourt. A defensive clear goes higher to buy you time to recover; an attacking clear goes just out of the opponent's reach to push them back. It is a throwing action: the power comes from turning the body and rotating the upper arm and forearm inwards, not from flicking the wrist, and the same preparation is used for the drop and smash. From the side or behind, the app reads your body: the side-on turn, the elbow leading up, how high and how far in front you make contact, and whether you swing with the arm only. It doesn't track the shuttle.
Turn side-on, racket back
Move back so you get behind the shuttle, turning sideways as you go (chassé steps or running steps). You want it to come down above and slightly in front of your racket shoulder.
get there early, not stretching back at the last moment.
Set up sideways: non-racket shoulder toward the net, weight loaded on your rear (racket-side) leg, basic grip held relaxed. Lift both arms so your elbows are about shoulder height, front arm up toward the shuttle, racket up in the overhead ready position.
side-on, both elbows up, loaded on the back leg.
Throw: drive, rotate, pronate
Start from the ground: drive up and forwards off your rear leg and push your rear hip forwards, so the hips and trunk turn toward the net before the arm swings.
the hip leads, the arm is still back.
As the body turns, your racket shoulder and elbow move up and forwards while the upper arm and forearm rotate outwards, so the racket head drops back behind you. Pull the front arm in to control the turn. Keep it one continuous movement with no pause at the back.
elbow leading, racket dropping behind like a throw.
Swing up by rotating the upper arm and forearm inwards (shoulder internal rotation and forearm pronation). This rotation, timed after the hips and trunk, is where racket speed comes from. Don't try to snap the wrist forward.
the forearm turns over, like throwing a ball hard.
Contact at full reach, recover
Reach up and hit the shuttle at a high point above and slightly in front of your racket shoulder, elbow high, racket face angled upward to send it high and deep. Let the grip firm up only at impact.
a tall reach, contact out in front of the shoulder.
Let the racket's momentum keep the arm rotating inwards as it relaxes. After contact your rear leg kicks through past the front leg (the scissor kick) and lands as the new front foot. Then move forward toward the middle of the court, ready for the reply.
hit, kick through, land, go forward.
Feel it
A relaxed, whip-like throw: legs and hips start it, the elbow leads up, and the forearm turns over through the shuttle. It should feel continuous from the backswing into the hit, with the contact high and in front, and your body carried forward onto the racket leg afterwards. If it feels like a hard wrist flick from a square stance, the power is coming from the wrong place.
Fix-its
- You hit 'all arm' from a square stance Turn sideways before you hit, load the rear leg, then push the rear hip forwards so the body turns before the arm swings. Practise the overhead throwing progression below.
- You flick the wrist instead of rotating the forearm Strike a hanging shuttle using forearm rotation only: point the butt of the grip at the shuttle, then reverse the rotation into it. Then try clearing using mainly forearm rotation with as little elbow straightening as you can, and add the elbow and shoulder once it carries.
- You make contact behind your head or too low Move back earlier so the shuttle drops above and slightly in front of your racket shoulder, and reach up to hit it with the elbow high.
- You pause between the backswing and the hit Make it one loop: the racket drops back and comes straight up into the swing with no stop. A quick backswing is enough; it doesn't need to be long.
- Your clears land short or flat A short or low clear can be smashed back at you. Contact higher and further in front with the racket face angled upward, and aim higher when you need time to recover.
Drill
- Overhead throwing progression (bean bag or shuttle, with a partner): kneeling on one knee (racket-side knee down), then standing side-on, then stepping back to drive off the rear leg, then stepping through after the throw, then taking off, rotating and landing.
- Hanging-shuttle forearm rotation: hang a shuttle at a relaxed hitting height, basic grip, racket face on the shuttle, rotate the forearm to point the butt of the grip at it, then reverse and strike. Then add the sideways stance and the rear-hip push.
- Shadow clear with scissor kick: from a split-step, chassé back two steps, swing, kick through, land and move forward to your start position.
- Fed clears in threes: one player throws the shuttle high, one clears it with rotation, one catches on the far side and returns it. Rotate roles after 10 shots.
- Clear rally: start with a high lift, then rally clears as high and long as you can. Partners give feedback on length; to make it harder, touch the short service line between shots. Warm up first and stop if your shoulder hurts.
By position
Singles players: the clear is a core shot. A good-length clear from deep in your rearcourt can get you back into a rally; cross-court clears are riskier because good length is harder and the next shot is harder to cover. Doubles players: doubles is built around attacking from front-and-back, and in men's doubles clearing is relatively rare.
Sources
- BWF — Badminton Coach Education Coaches' Manual Level 1, 2nd ed., Module 7: Forehand Clear (pp. 117–118) and overhead throwing practices; Module 8: rearcourt singles defence, doubles
- BWF — Shuttle Time Schools Badminton Lesson Plans (2017), Lesson 13: Clear with Scissor Jump
- Waddell & Gowitzke — Biomechanical Principles Applied to Badminton Power Strokes, ISBS Proceedings (2000)
- King, Towler, Dillon & McErlain-Naylor — A Correlational Analysis of Shuttlecock Speed Kinematic Determinants in the Badminton Jump Smash, Applied Sciences (2020)
Last checked 2026-10-26.