Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" and "doubles". Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor activity in a yard or on a beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it within the other team's half of the court.
A shuttlecock is a high-drag projectile used in the sport of badminton. It has an open conical shape formed by feathers or plastic embedded into a rounded cork base. The shuttlecock's shape makes it extremely aerodynamically stable. Regardless of initial orientation, it will turn to fly cork first, and remain in the cork-first orientation.
A racket, or racquet, is a sports implement used for striking a ball or shuttlecock in games such as squash, tennis, racquetball, badminton and padel. In the strictest sense a racket consists of a handled frame with an open hoop across which a network of strings is stretched tightly. Some rackets may have a solid or perforated hitting surface instead of a network of strings. Such rackets may be called a paddle or bat. Collectively, these games are known as racket sports.
Yonex Co., Ltd. is a Japanese sports equipment manufacturing company. Yonex produces equipment and apparel for tennis, badminton, golf, and running.
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. The company has been a subsidiary of Finnish multinational company Amer Sports since 1989, and is, in turn, now under the Chinese company Anta Sports since 2019. Wilson makes equipment for many sports, among them baseball, badminton, American football, basketball, fastpitch softball, golf, racquetball, soccer, squash, tennis, pickleball and volleyball.
Slazenger is a British sports equipment brand owned by the Frasers Group. The company was established as a sporting goods shop in 1881 by Ralph and Albert Slazenger on London's Cannon Street. Slazenger was acquired by Dunlop Rubber in 1959. Dunlop was acquired by BTR in 1985. Sports Direct acquired the business in 2004.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. is a global tire and rubber company based in Japan. It is part of the Sumitomo Group. The company makes a wide range of rubber based products, including automobile tires, golf balls and tennis balls. Sumitomo brands include Dunlop Tyres, Falken Tire and Ohtsu Tire.
Volley, formerly known as Dunlop Volley is an Australian brand of athletic shoes manufactured by Brand Collective. Formerly, it was produced by Dunlop Sport (Australia), a sports equipment subsidiary of Pacific Brands, which separated the Volley brand into its Brand Collective which was sold to private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners in November 2014.
Head Sport GmbH is an American-Austrian manufacturing company headquartered in Kennelbach. It owns the American tennis racket brand Head. Head GmbH is a group that includes several previously independent companies, including the original "Head Ski Company" ; Tyrolia, an Austrian ski-equipment manufacturer; and Mares, an Italian manufacturer of diving equipment.
Frasers Group plc is a British retail, sport and intellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chain House of Fraser. The company is best known for trading predominantly under the Sports Direct brand which operates both physical outlets and online. Other retailers owned by the company include Jack Wills, GAME, Flannels, USC, Lillywhites and Evans Cycles. The company owns numerous intellectual property, including the brands Everlast, Lonsdale, Slazenger and No Fear. The group also expanded into operating fitness clubs, launching the Everlast Fitness Club chain in 2020.
Dunlop Slazenger was a sports equipment manufacturing company formed by now-defunct BTR plc by consolidating the various sports brands acquired as part their take-over of Dunlop Holdings in 1985.
Dunlop Sport is a British sports equipment manufacturing company established in 1910 that focuses on racquet sports, more specifically tennis, squash, padel and badminton. Products by Dunlop Sport include rackets, strings, balls, shuttlecocks, and bags. Sportswear and clothing line includes t-shirts, shorts, skirts, jackets, pants, socks, caps, sneakers, and wristbands.
Grays International is an English sports equipment manufacturing company based in Robertsbridge, East Sussex. The company was founded in 1855 by rackets champion H. J. Gray, producing equipment for cricket, field hockey, netball, rugby union and tennis, through its brands and subsidiaries.
Dunlop Sport (Australia) was the local subsidiary of the international sports equipment company Dunlop Sport. Focused on the tennis and golf markets, Dunlop Australia products included tennis and squash racquets, tennis balls, squash balls, golf clubs and golf balls.
Dunlop Ltd. was a British multinational company involved in the manufacture of various natural rubber goods. Its business was founded in 1889 by Harvey du Cros and he involved John Boyd Dunlop who had re-invented and developed the first pneumatic tyre. It was one of the first multinationals, and under du Cros and, after him, under Eric Geddes, grew to be one of the largest British industrial companies. J B Dunlop had dropped any ties to it well before his name was used for any part of the business. The business and manufactory was founded in Upper Stephens Street in Dublin. A plaque marks the site, which is now part of the head office of the Irish multinational departments store brand, Dunnes Stores.
Srixon is a sports equipment brand owned by SRI Sports Limited, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd., also owner of Dunlop Sport. Srixon focuses on golf, with its balls holding the largest number of patents worldwide, and having previously supplied other leading manufacturers such as Dunlop Slazenger. They also produce a full range of golf clubs and accessories.
Gosen Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company that produces synthetic strings for the fishing, manufacturing and racquet sport industries.
Donnay Sports is a sports equipment brand currently owned by Frasers Group. The company was founded in 1910 by Emile Donnay and was based in Couvin, Belgium. Donnay manufactured wooden tennis rackets from 1934, and by the 1970s was the largest manufacturer of tennis rackets in the world. However, the company failed to adapt to the new market for graphite rackets, and entered administration in 1988. After a succession of owners, the brand was eventually sold to Sports Direct International, who continue to license the use of the brand worldwide.
ProKennex is a Taiwanese manufacturer of racquet sports equipment for tennis, squash, badminton, racquetball, and pickleball. The company enjoyed wide global distribution in the 1980s, when manufacturing in Taiwan was booming due to domestic economic conditions. Parent company Kunnan Enterprise Ltd. has faced financial difficulties since the mid 1990s, leading to a contraction of the ProKennex name globally. Today, the company focuses on a niche set of consumers interested in technology advancements in racquet sports. The company focuses on this aspect of its products by promoting itself as a "science and design company", rather than a standard racket manufacturer.
The Alexander Patent Racket Company was an Australian sports equipment manufacturer based in Launceston, Tasmania, which operated between 1925 and 1961.
