In the Olympic badminton tournament, there are five events: 

• Women's singles
• Men's singles
• Women's doubles
• Men's doubles
• Mixed doubles

Both individual and team competition matches use a best-of-three format. One loss in Olympic tournament format will result in elimination from the tournament, save for in the semifinals when the two losers will advance to the bronze-medal final.

A game is won when a player reaches 21 points with a two-point advantage. In the event of a 20-20 tie, the players keep playing until one gets a two-point advantage. In the event of a 29-29 tie, the winner of the next point wins the match.

172 badminton players from across the globe will qualify for the Olympics (86 women and 86 men).

The shuttlecock, also known as the birdie, can only be hit once in succession. Should a player hit a shuttlecock more than once in a row, they lose the point. 

A point is won on every serve and occurs when an opponent fails to return the shuttlecock over the net or hits it out of the designated court area. A player may lose a point if they touch the net with their own person or enter their opponent's side of the court by going underneath the net.

A let shall occur if a server serves before the receiver is ready, if the umpire determines that play is disrupted, if the line judge and umpire are unable to reach a decision or if the shuttle is stuck in the net after being hit over the net.

Breaks are given when the leading scorer reaches 11 points (60-second break) and when a game is completed (two-minute break). Sides are switched after each game and during the third game once 11 points is reached for the first time by one side.

In singles, the service side is determined by the server's score. If the server's score is odd, they will serve from the left side of the court. If it is even or zero, they will serve from the right.

In doubles, the partners will only switch sides if they are the ones serving and they have just won a point. Otherwise, they will remain on their own side. Doubles service will be determined by who is in the proper service area given the service score and whether it is even or odd.

The side winning a game will begin serving the next game.

There will be one referee in charge of the entire tournament.

There will be one umpire in charge of a singular match and will report to the referee.

There will be one service judge per match calling all service faults.

There will be a line judge assigned to each line in play. Their judgment will be final unless the umpire overrules them.

A violation of the playing rules, either in serving, receiving, or during play. Common faults include: 

• If a shuttlecock is hit above the waist on a serve
• If during a serve, a server or receiver touches the service lines
• If the shuttlecock is hit twice in succession
• If a player touches the net
• If a player invades the opponent's side of the net
• If in play, the shuttlecock:
  • lands outside the boundaries of the court (i.e. not on or within the boundary lines);
  • passes through or under the net;
  • fails to pass over the net