5 Best Badminton Racket for Beginners in 2021 – Reviews and Buying Guide

The best badminton racket for beginners don’t come in a one-size-fits-all category.

What moves seamlessly in your friend’s hand might not do the same in yours. You need to find a racket that complements your game.

That is precisely what this article is going to recommend.

• Best badminton rackets for intermediate players
• Best badminton grip
• Best badminton shoes

We have come up with the top 5 best badminton rackets that range from astronomically expensive to budget-price. All the models have grip sizes, weight, and balance that experts recommend for beginners. You can therefore easily select a model that fits the bill for you.

Let’s take a look at 5 of the best badminton rackets for beginners today.

Best Badminton Racket for Beginners: Our Picks

Senston N80 – Best Overall Performance

• Material: Graphite, Carbon Fiber
• Grip size: G4
• Weight: 5U
• Prestring tension: 24LBS – 26LBS

The Senston N80 racket offers many outstanding features. Foremost among them is its material of construction. Both the frame and the shaft of this model are made of carbon that not only makes them lightweight. The sturdiness of carbon also reduces the risk of frame deformation.

Its weight (5U) and grip size (G4) make this racket a must-have for beginners. The 5U weight is such that it won’t put much strain on untrained shoulders of novices, whereas the G4 grip size is the experts’ recommendation for players who are still learning the ropes of badminton.

Equally worthy of our praise is its high-tech frame design. The Isometric square shape that Senston has employed for this racket has provided it with a larger sweet spot and an enhanced hit rate. This has increased the effective hitting range of this model.

To further sweeten the deal, this model boasts a unique pyramid frame rim. It takes into account air mechanics to minimize the resistance the racket experiences during a swing. This is what allows this model to help you return incoming shots with more speed.

Final Verdict

Apart from being available at a competitive price, the Senston N80 badminton racket is easy to carry and boasts a stable and robust frame. It also has a relatively large sweet spot and boasts a beginner-friendly grip size. What more can you ask for!

Dynamic Shuttle Sports Ares Red-68 – Best Overall Performance

• Material: Graphite, Carbon Fiber
• Grip size: G5
• Weight: 5U
• Prestring tension: 24LBS – 26LBS

Most beginner rackets that you see on the market are hopelessly lightweight. A small minority is too heavy to be easy to maneuver in untrained hands. Only a few have the ability to strike a delicate balance between being too lightweight and too bulky. This racket is one of those few.

Dynamic Shuttle has pre-strung this model at low 24lbs tension. It has also employed graphite-carbon fibers in its construction. These fibers have the unique ability of not letting their low weight come in the way of their sturdiness. That is to say that they are strong despite their meager weight.

Its manufacturer recommends that you use this model as a counter-attack to hard hitters. We too back this claim. The speed of this racket is such that it will help you catch your opponents off-guard by letting you return their smashes in record time.

On top of everything else, you get three extras in this model’s package. They include a premium racket cover and two free over-grips. Also on offer is a special discount for students who cannot afford this model’s full asking price.

Final Verdict

Three features of the Dynamic Shuttle Sports Ares Red-68 Badminton Racket make it an exciting option for beginners. They include its lightweight construction, the extras it provides in its package at no extra cost and a special discount for students.

CARLTON Kinesis – Best for attacking

• Material: Carbon Fiber
• Grip size: G4
• Weight: 3U
• Balance: Even Balance

Even-balanced badminton rackets like the Carlton Kinesis offer all-around playability. They also offer a middle-ground between head-light and head heavy rackets. Such models do the same by giving you enough control and maneuverability at the front and suitable power from the back.

There is another reason that makes it (almost) compulsory for beginners to choose this racket. It is suitable for all types of shots and comes equally handy whether you play singles or doubles regularly. Also on offer are micro grommets that keep the strings rigidly in place.

Carlton has engineered this model with a 90-degree twist at its 2, 5, 7, and 10 o’clock positions. This technical arrangement does well to reduce the aerodynamic drag the model experiences during shots. Hence the reason why it provides an improved head speed and is easy to maneuver.

Final Verdict

Are you looking for a badminton racket that could provide the best of all worlds? Can’t afford to blow a hole in your pocket to pay its asking price? If your answer to both these questions is in the affirmative, check out the Carlton Kinesis Badminton Racket.

YONEX Nanoray 10F – Best for defensive

• Material: Graphite, Carbon Fiber
• Grip size: G4
• Weight: 4U
• Prestring tension: 20LBS – 24LBS

Multiple features of the Nanoray 10F make it hard to ignore. Start with its material of construction. The combination of Nanomesh and Carbon nanotube has seen this model’s repulsion power dwarf that of its competitors. It has also improved the racket’s impact strength.

The ISOMETRIC frame of this model performs two seemingly contradictory tasks. It enhances the space between horizontal strings (to increase the racket’s sweet spot) while also keeping the vertical strings at a similar length (to maintain its shape).

Next comes the AERO frame. Its air-friendly design decreases the air resistance that this racket encounters during swings. This, in turn, allows you to realize your dream of a quicker swing. And that too without putting extra strain on your arms or shoulders.

Final Verdict

Whether you’re a beginner still learning the ropes of badminton or an expert looking to take your game to the next level, you can count on the Yonex Nanoray 10F to help you achieve your objective.

YONEX Nanoray Light 18i – Best for all-around

• Material: Graphite, Carbon Fiber
• Grip size: G4
• Weight: 5U
• String tension: 30LBS

The Nanoray Light 18i is another racket that was designed while keeping beginners in mind. It boasts a G4 grip size that you can increase by adding more layers to the handle. The 5U weight of this model, meanwhile, isn’t expandable but is still equally easy to handle for novices.

Yonex has inserted the combo of Nanomesh and Carbon nanotube into this racket’s frame. It’s a decision that has done wonders to increase this racket performance. As it has significantly enhanced its impact strength, toughness and repulsion power.

What is more, by combining a resin with carbon nanotube, Yonex has managed to create a head-light racket with a mesh-like construction. Probably that’s the reason why its previous users praise this model for its faster handling and sharper drive shots.

Final Verdict

Provided you came in search of a lightweight racket that would come equally handy in both singles and doubles’ play, the Nanoray Light 18i won’t disappoint you. It has both the speed and the control that you usually don’t get in models available in this price range.

Buyer’s Guide

You need to consider at least seven factors to land the best badminton racket for your needs. They include the racket’s weight, its grip size, shaft flex, balance, brand, and your budget. Let’s discuss all of them in more detail to shed more light on their importance.

Weight

Some of you might be aware that a racket’s weight is often indicated as ‘U’. The greater the number, the lighter the weight of the racket. It goes from 1U (95-99g) to 8U (59g and below).

• 1U：95g – 99g
• 2U：90g – 94g
• 3U：85g – 89g
• 4U：80g – 84g
• 5U：75g – 79g

The ideal racket weight for beginners is somewhere between 3U (85-89g) and 5U (75-79g).

Rackets that weigh between 3U and 5U allow for quick smashes and recovery. They also allow the person with the shuttle to deliver quick serves and adjust to different rebounds easily. These lightweight rackets also put less pressure on the shoulders, thereby reducing the chance of an injury.

Grip Size

Rackets’ grip sizes are denoted as ‘G’ and range between G2 (4’’) and G6 (3.25’’). Unlike that of the racket’s weight, their grip size is a matter of personal preference. That is to say that most people choose grip sizes based on their likes and dislikes. But beginners shouldn’t go that route.

Those of you who are just learning the ropes of badminton would do well to go for grip sizes between G4 and G6. That’s because while you can always increase the grip size by adding more layers, it’s not that easy to decrease the thickness of a wooden handle.

String Tension

All rackets that you see on the market have a sweet spot. That is the area on their string bed which imparts the most power to your shots. The size of that area has an inverse relationship with the spring tension – the lower the spring tension, the bigger the size of the sweet spot.

Hence the reason why we recommend amateurs to choose a racket with a low spring tension (between 22 and 24lbs). It will make sure that even if they mis-hit the shuttle (which they most likely will do), it lands on the sweet spot and not on the wrong part of the string bed.

Shaft Flex

Here is another factor that you need to consider when shopping for a badminton racket. The shaft flexibility of a racket can be divided into three categories – flexible, semi-stiff, and stiff – and it has a huge effect on the player’s game. Here’s how.

Rackets that have stiffer shafts do well in the hands of players who have more advanced techniques. Those that are more flexible, on the contrary, work well for beginners who are just learning the ropes of the game and don’t have polished skills.

Balance

The balance of a racket indicates where its weight mainly falls into. You can gauge the type of balance your racket boasts by either poking your finger below its head or going through its instruction manual. We recommend the latter route because it will give you a clearer picture.

Manufacturers divide a racket’s balance into three categories: even-balance, head-light balance and head-heavy balance. Even-balanced rackets are mostly the preferred choice of beginners as they are easier to handle and provide a more predictable response on the shot.

Brands

Although there are numerous brands out there selling badminton rackets, our favorites include Willson, Yonex and Victory). All three have been in this business for decades and are trusted by thousands of players around the world. But these aren’t the only reason why they get our nod.

All three of them are known for offering quality products at a competitive price. Their products provide the best value for your money and won’t blow a hole in your pocket. They also offer generous warranty periods on their models to make sure that you’ve got literally nothing to lose.

Budget

Most beginners opt for one of two routes when purchasing their first badminton racket. They either go for an astronomically-priced model that is going to last for years or they go for a dirt-cheap racket that would justify its lower asking price by breaking down very soon.

This article has explored another option. All the products you see recommended above fall in what most consumers call the ‘budget-price’ range. They offer high-end features and fulfil the criteria we have described in this buying guide but won’t cost you to rob a bank.

Final Verdict

The best badminton rackets for beginners don’t just enhance the game of their users. They also reduce the risk of injury by putting less strain on shoulders. Such rackets weigh less heavily on the pocket as well and last longer than their ordinary counterparts.

All the models that you saw above boost these properties. But there is one model that stands out: Senston N80. It provides an expanded sweet spot, boosts massive structural strength, and adds more repulsion power to your shots.

Aside from that, this badminton racket combines carbon nanotube with a resin to deliver fasting handling. It provides all these features while keeping its price in an affordable range. Not sure that there’s anything more that you can ask for from a beginner’s racket!