There will be 172 badminton players in Sydney, including 29 men's and 29 women's singles players who qualify by right and 19 pairs each for men's, women's and mixed doubles. Players may compete in more than one event, which can boost the singles tally.

Matches are decided on the best of three games. The toss of a coin decides which player will chose to serve and which end of the court each player will start at. A player can only score when serving. A game is won in doubles and men's singles when the first player or team reaches 15, or in women's singles by the first player to reach 11. If the score is tied at 13 for men or 9 for women, the first player to reach that score can choose to "set" the game to 5, meaning that play would go on until the first player reaches 18, rather than 15. If the score is tied at 14 for men or 10 for women then the "setting" can be to 3, for a total score of 17 instead of 15.

The basic aim of the player is to hit the shuttlecock with a racket across the net and into the half of the opposing player in a manner that makes it impossible for a rival to return play. The court, a rectangle 13.4 metres long by 5.18 metres for singles and extended on each side by strips 42cm wide, is divided into two equal courts by the net, which must stand 1.55 metres high at the posts and 1.524 metres (5ft) at the centre. A service line runs 1.98 metres from the net in a parallel line at both ends of the court. Beyond the service line, the court is divided by a centre line running perpendicular to the net. A long service line marks the back line of the court, except in doubles, when the long service line sits 83cm inside the long service line for singles.

The rackets of old were made of wood and velum. These days, frames are made of metals such as graphite and carbon fibre, for strength and lightness, with strings made of gut and synthetic materials. The racket can be up to 68cm long, and the head must be 23cm wide and up to 29cm long.

The shuttle has a rounded leather-covered cork base with 16 goose feathers attached. The feathers from a left wing are preferred because they are considered to be stronger. All feathers must be equal in length and shuttles must be between 6.4cm and 7cm long, and weigh between 4.74g and 5.5g. A player may ask the umpire to replace a damaged shuttlecock during play.

At the serve, the shuttle must be hit from below the server's waist and the racket head must be below the height of the server's hand. Both feet must stay on the ground. The shuttle must then fall within the service court of the opponent. The opponent, or receiver, must stand in the corner of the court diagonally opposite to the server.

After the serve, players proceed to hit the shuttle back and forth over the net, only one hit allowed per player at a time, until it either goes out of play or lands on the floor of an opponent's court. Play can be lost if a player commits a fault, including touching the net during play, hitting the shuttle before it crosses into the hitter's side of the court, and being hit by a shuttle.