Badminton at the elite level is one of the fastest racquet sports requiring quick reflexes, fast footwork, agility, speed and superb conditioning. Competition usually involves two (singles) or sometimes four (doubles) opponents playing over a relatively small court area (6.7m x 5.2 / 6.1m per half, respectively). A match is played as best of three sets up to 21 points, requiring a two point advantage in each set.

The intermittent nature of the sport including short bursts of energy expenditure relies heavily on the anaerobic energy system (rallies usually lasting 2-10 seconds). Some matches can involve over an hour of play and tournament style competition often requires multiple matches to be played on any given day, whereby aerobic energy becomes equally important.

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