Racket sports are having a moment. If it’s not padel and pickleball becoming main-stays on social media, it’s racketball and tennis clocking up the likes. But, according to the latest stats, badminton is still one of the most popular racket sports, with an estimated 763,000 people participating in the game in England in 2023.
Maybe the Paris 2024 Olympics reignited your love for badminton, or perhaps you’ve been playing for years but your current racket is in need of an upgrade. To help take your swings, drop shots and drives to new heights, we’ve compiled a list of the best badminton rackets in 2024.
As is the case with most sporting equipment, you’re spoilt for choice. When it comes to badminton rackets, there are quite literally hundreds to choose from. This is great news for badminton fans because there’s an option for everyone. But it does make things hard when you don’t know where to begin.
So, how do you choose a badminton racket?
- Consider your ability. Are you a beginner, intermediate or pro?
- Next up, determine your playing style. Do you have an attacking style or a defensive one? And will you be playing in singles or doubles?
- Thirdly, factor in the flexibility of the racket, weight, balance and grip.
Beginners may find flexible shafts more comfortable to use because less force is required. Those new to the sport may also wish to start with a lighter racket. But just know, the weight of the badminton racket will make all the difference between your power and reaction speed. If your racket is too heavy, this could result in a slower reaction time. But if it’s too light, you might not be able to get enough power behind your swing.
That said, single players may wish to opt for a heavier racket, because it will provide more power. Lighter rackets may best suit doubles players because they will help you focus on speed.
How do I know the right weight?
Racket weights are given weight grades, generally ranging from 1U to 8U. The lower the number, the heavier the racket will be. The higher the number, the lighter a racket will be. Generally speaking, most badminton rackets weigh around 80-90g (so in the 3U to 4U bracket).
How can you tell if a badminton racket is good?
According to a spokesperson from Badminton England, what’s right for one player may not necessarily be the top-rated option for another. So only by trying out a range of models will you know what’s best for you.
“It’s very much the individual’s preference and ideally you’d need to try a few models out to see what feels best,” the expert says. “If this is not possible, read badminton forums on the latest rackets. This will have more in-depth detail from top-end to beginner. Most players will sometimes start with a mid-point price range, which would be around £60-£80. High end is around £160-£200 and the low range is £10-£30.”
To help you find the best badminton racket for you, we’ve included a range of options all varying in weight, style and price, with options starting from £10 and heading up to £200. So keep scrolling to find your perfect match.
Best badminton rackets at a glance:
- Best for budget: Hy-Pro 2 Person Badminton Set- £10, Argos
- Best for lightweight: YONEX Nanoray 10F Hi-Flex Pre-Strung Badminton Racquet- £36, Amazon
- Best for heaviest: Wilson Recon 80 OX Badminton Racket - £39.99, Amazon
- Best for powerful shots: Carlton Kinesis X1 Badminton Racket - £49.99, Sports Direct
- Best for beginners: Perfly Adult Badminton Racket BR 500 White - £24.99, Decathlon
- Best for all-rounder: Babolat X-Feel Origin Badminton Racket - £79.99, Decathlon
- Best for intermediates: Victor DriveX 1L A Badminton Racket - £82.99, Amazon
- Best for attacking style: Babolat Satelite Origin Power Badminton Racket -£69.99, Amazon
- Best for professionals: Yonex Astrox 99 Pro Cherry Sunburst Badminton Racket -£300, Amazon
- Best for juniors: Babolat Speedlighter Junior Badminton Racket - Black / Green - £15.20, Badminton HQ
Babolat Badminton Racket X-Feel Origin - Black/Red
- Weight: 85g
- Racket flexibility: Flexible
- Balance point: Even balance
Made for versatile players in mind, there’s not a lot this Babolat Badminton Racket X-Feel Origin can’t do. Interested in unlocking some power behind your racket? Want to hit shots with precision? Or perhaps you need to have speed on your side for shots you can kill by the net? With an even-balanced design and a medium flexible shaft, this Babolat ticks all the boxes (and more).
It’s easy to use, versatile and at 85g, it packs a decent weight. So to put it simply: if you’re hoping to win your matches by mixing up your playing style mid-game, this is the racket to help you do it.
Buy now £79.99, Decathlon
Hy-Pro 2 Person Badminton Set
Best for: budget
- Weight: 55g
- Racket flexibility: Flexible
- Balance point: Head light
While the Hy-Pro 2 Person Badminton Set won’t be right for professional badminton players or club-level pros, this set comes with two rackets and is best suited for those on a budget, beginners or those looking for a super lightweight racket. Along with a handy carry bag, which makes taking your equipment from A to B easy, this nifty set comes with two shuttlecocks.
Both steel rackets have a standard 25cm head, weigh a mere 55g each and are head light, meaning the weight is in the lower end of the racket towards the handle. This makes it a great match for juniors or anyone with less natural strength. Finished off with a one-year manufacturer's guarantee and priced at £10, you can’t go wrong.
Buy now £10.00, Argos
YONEX Nanoray 10F Hi-Flex Pre-Strung Badminton Racquet
Best for: lightweight
- Weight: 77g
- Racket flexibility: Stiff
- Balance point: Head light
Coming with a 5U weight grade (77g, if we’re being specific), the high-tension and super lightweight YONEX Nanoray offers up plenty of arm power so you can hit speedy shots with a fair amount of force and control. We’d say speed is at the forefront of this design - and for a number of reasons. Firstly, the racket is made from carbon graphite — a material that is known for being strong and lightweight.
Secondly, the shaft itself is stable, stronger and size-wise, much thinner, than just your average badminton racket design. This enables you to get more power and speed in just one swing. So if you’re looking to kill shots around the net in no time, head this way.
Buy now £36.00, Amazon
Wilson Recon 80 OX Badminton Racket
Best for: heaviest
- Weight: 100g
- Racket flexibility: Stiff
- Balance point: Head light
The Wilson Recon 80 OX Power Series Badminton Racket gives those looking to take their badminton game up a notch all the tools needed to do so thanks to this heavier-than-average racket. Priced at just under £40, this 100g option will enable you to muster up shedloads of power behind your hits.
Advanced players will also benefit from the stiff shaft that will help you hit hard and with laser precision. So whether you want to smash, clear or drive, you can whip shots comfortably once armed with the Wilson Recon 80 OX. And, once you’ve finished your match, you can pop your racket back in the handy padded bag it comes with. Who said you had to pay a fortune for a quality piece of kit?
Buy now £39.99, Amazon
Carlton Kinesis X1 Badminton Racket
Best for: powerful shots
- Weight: 86g
- Racket flexibility: Stiff
- Balance point: Even balance
Heard of Carlton? If you’ve been searching high and low for badminton rackets, you’re bound to have come across the British-bred and born sports equipment company that has been running since 1946. The legendary brand was the first to use grommets in metal badminton rackets (the additional plastic parts used to protect strings). It was also the brand that gave us the world’s first synthetic shuttlecock, along with the first one-piece graphite racket…the list goes on!
When it comes to the Carlton Kinesis X1, this stiff, even-balanced racket lives up to the brand’s truly iconic past. For starters, it’s kitted out with what the brand describes as a ‘high repulsion shaft’. In more easy-to-understand terms, this means you can produce powerful shots, like smashes and clears, more successfully. While its stiffness means you can deliver precision with every swing. We are sold.
Buy now £49.99, Sports Direct
Perfly Adult Badminton Racket BR 500 White
Best for: beginners
- Weight: 90g
- Racket flexibility: Stiff
- Balance point: Medium flexible
Launching in 2017, Perfly is a relatively new badminton racket brand that is crafted by badminton enthusiasts, for badminton enthusiasts. But the main pull? Its low-cost prices. At the heart of this brand is accessibility.
What does this mean? Well, for the price of under £25, you can get a 100 per cent graphite racket that’s kitted out with some brilliant features - from the isometric head which gives you a larger sweet spot to its heavier-than-usual 90g weight, which puts the ‘power’ in powerful. Unlike other options in this guide, you won’t get a carry case included, but for the price, you can’t really ask for much more.
Buy now £24.99, Decathlon
Victor DriveX 1L A Badminton Racket
Best for: intermediates
- Weight: 84g
- Racket flexibility: Flexible
- Balance point: Even balance
Victor is another brilliant badminton brand that’s well-known and trusted. Founded in 1968, the Taiwanese company is the official brand partner of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Badminton Asia (BA). It burst onto the sports scene with its shuttlecock manufacturing (remember the birdie, with 16 feathers?) and it has made a name for itself with its advanced badminton rackets that tick the perfect balance between control and power.
The Victor DriveX 1L A Badminton Racket is a brilliant example of that. Constructed from graphite and resin, the racket is kitted out with a flexible shaft and is the lightest racket in the brand’s DriveX series. Using aerodynamics technology, expect less friction in between swings, second-to-none stability and a super smooth hit.
Buy now £82.99, RacketWorld
Babolat Satelite Origin Power Badminton Racket - Blue
Best for: attacking style
- Weight: 86g
- Racket flexibility: Medium flex
- Balance point: Head heavy
If pushes, drives and drop shots sound like your kind of style of play, the Babolat Satelite Origin Power Badminton Racket is worth a look. Not only is this baby blue racket easy on the eye, its heavy head makes it ideal for those with an attacking style as the extra weight will help you deliver hard-hitting shots that aren’t easy for opponents to reach.
But there’s more! The shorter 662mm length means this option will be just as ace for midcourt as it will net play. So whether you’re playing in doubles or singles, you can be on the front foot for every point.
Buy now £69.99, Amazon
Yonex Astrox 99 Pro Cherry Sunburst Badminton Racket
Best for: professionals
- Weight: 87g
- Racket flexibility: Extremely stiff
- Balance point: Head heavy
With the likes of Olympic gold medalists Viktor Axelsen and Zheng Si Wei favouring Yonex, the Japanese sports equipment manufacturing company, no guide to the best badminton rackets would be complete without a bat from the brand.
In our humble opinion, the extremely stiff, head-heavy Yonex Astrox 99 Pro Cherry Sunburst Badminton Racket is the best option for budding professionals as it has precise power at the forefront of its design. It’s a re-design of the previous Astrox 99 and this newer edition comes with a tungsten-infused nylon bumper for souped-up power along with NAMD — Yonex's top-tier graphite material — in the racket head and shaft.
Buy now £300.00, Amazon
Babolat Speedlighter Junior Badminton Racket - Black / Green
Best for: juniors
- Weight: 87g
- Racket flexibility: Medium flex
- Balance point: Even balance
After a child-friendly racket for your budding badminton fan? The aesthetically pleasing Babolat Speedlighter Junior Badminton Racket is just the thing. Generally speaking, junior rackets need to be smaller (this one’s 662mm) and lighter compared to adult rackets to make them comfy and easy to use for small hands.
Crafted from aluminium, which makes this racket lightweight and easy to move, younger players will be able to level up their badminton practice on the court as they improve their swing, drop shot and reaction times. Another big tick from us? It has a medium flex shaft, so it’ll generate more power in the head.
Buy now £15.20, Badminton HQ
Verdict
The Babolat Badminton Racket X-Feel Origin can do it all. The mid-priced point racket has an even balance and a medium flexible shaft. So it’ll work just as well for clears as it will for smashes.
