The BWF World Tour is a Grade 2 badminton tournament series, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). It is a competition open to the top world ranked players in singles (men's and women's) and doubles (men's, women's and mixed).[1] The competition was announced on 19 March 2017 and came into effect starting from 2018, replacing the BWF Super Series, which was held from 2007 to 2017.[2]
The BWF World Tour are divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, and Super 300 in order (part of the HSBC World Tour). One other category of tournament, the BWF Tour Super 100 level, also offers ranking points.[3]
Features
Prize money
This table shows minimum total prize money for each level of BWF World Tour tournament.[2] The minimum total prize money is decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. All values are in United States dollar.
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Tour Finals | 1,500,000 | 2,500,000 | 3,000,000 | 3,500,000 | |||||
| Super 1000 | 1,000,000 | 1,100,000 | 850,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,250,000 | 1,300,000 | 1,450,000 | ||
| Super 750 | 700,000 | 750,000 | 600,000 | 700,000 | 850,000 | 950,000 | |||
| Super 500 | 350,000 | 400,000 | 320,000 | 350,000 | 420,000 | 475,000 | 500,000 | ||
| Super 300 | 150,000 | 170,000 | 140,000 | 150,000 | 210,000 | 240,000 | 250,000 | ||
| Super 100 | 75,000 | 90,000 | 75,000 | 100,000 | 110,000 | 120,000 | |||
The prize money is distributed via the following formula:[4]
World Tour Finals
| Round | Men's singles | Women's singles | Men's doubles | Women's doubles | Mixed doubles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 8.00% | 8.00% | 8.40% | 8.40% | 8.40% |
| Runner-up | 4.00% | 4.00% | 4.00% | 4.00% | 4.00% |
| Semi-finalist | 2.00% | 2.00% | 2.00% | 2.00% | 2.00% |
| 3rd in Group | 1.10% | 1.10% | 1.30% | 1.30% | 1.30% |
| 4th in Group | 0.60% | 0.60% | 0.70% | 0.70% | 0.70% |
Super 1000 and Super 750
| Round | Men's singles | Women's singles | Men's doubles | Women's doubles | Mixed doubles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 7.00% | 7.00% | 7.40% | 7.40% | 7.40% |
| Runner-up | 3.40% | 3.40% | 3.50% | 3.50% | 3.50% |
| Semi-finalist | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.4% |
| Quarter-finalist | 0.55% | 0.55% | 0.625% | 0.625% | 0.625% |
| Last 16 | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.325% | 0.325% | 0.325% |
| Last 32 | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
Super 500, Super 300, and Super 100
| Round | Men's singles | Women's singles | Men's doubles | Women's doubles | Mixed doubles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 7.9% |
| Runner-up | 3.8% | 3.8% | 3.8% | 3.8% | 3.8% |
| Semi-finalist | 1.45% | 1.45% | 1.40% | 1.40% | 1.40% |
| Quarter-finalist | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.725% | 0.725% | 0.725% |
| Last 16 | 0.35% | 0.35% | 0.375% | 0.375% | 0.375% |
World Ranking points
Entries
| Level | Entries closed[5] | No of players/pairs[1] | Qualifying round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super 1000 | 42 days before tournament date | All disciplines: 32 (32 main) | No |
| Super 750 | |||
| Super 500 | All disciplines: 32 (28 main + 4Q) | Yes (if any) | |
| Super 300 | 35 days before tournament date | ||
| Super 100 | Men's Singles (MS): 48 (40 main + 8Q) Other than MS: 32 (28 main + 4Q) |
Each tournament will be held in six days, with the main round in five days.[1]
Nationality separation
| Level | Nationality separation [1] |
|---|---|
| Level 2 | Players from the same nation are not separated in the main draw |
| Level 3 | |
| Level 4 | |
| Level 5 |
Player commitment regulations
Top fifteen singles players and top ten doubles pairs in the World Ranking will be required to play in all 4 Super 1000, all 6 Super 750, and 2 out of 9 Super 500 tournaments occurring in the full calendar year, making it a total of 12 mandatory tournaments. A fine of US$500000 per event will be imposed upon players/pairs who fail to play. Exemption from penalty will be considered by BWF on receipt of a valid medical certificate or strong evidence that prove players unfit to participate. However, suspended or retired are not subject to these regulations.[6][7]
Umpires
Current regulations state that at least six umpires must be from member associations other than the host member association, at least four BWF and two continental certificated umpires with well spread nationality. All umpires and service judges shall meet the eligibility criteria set for the panel of Technical Officials they belong to.[1]
Tournaments
Every four years, the BWF Council reviews countries hosting BWF World Tour events.
Apart from the BWF World Tour Finals, there are 4 Super 1000, 6 Super 750, 9 Super 500, and 11 Super 300 tournaments in a season.[1] Super 100 tournaments are selected every year with 11 tournaments selected in 2018. From 2019, Scottish Open was relegated to International Challenge. From 2021, Dutch Open became an International Challenge.
World Tour Finals
At the end of the BWF World Tour circuit, top eight players / pairs in the BWF World Tour standing of each discipline, with the maximum of two players/pairs from the same member association, are required to play in a final tournament known as the BWF World Tour Finals.[1] It offers minimum total prize money of US$1,500,000.[2]
If two or more players are tie in ranking, the selection of players will based on the following criteria:[1]
- The players who participate in the most BWF World Tour tournaments;
- The players who collect the most points in BWF World Tour tournaments starting from 1 July that year.
Performance by nations
Tabulated below are the World Tour performances based on countries. Only countries who have won a title are listed:
Updated after 2026 German Open
World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, and Super 300
| No. | Team | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  China
|
25 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 28 | 47 | 53 | 38 | 9 | 239 |
| 2 |  Japan
|
37 | 31 | 6 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 16 | 15 | 151 | |
| 3 |  South Korea
|
11 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 25 | 14 | 31 | 3 | 122 |
| 4 |  Indonesia
|
20 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 104 |
| 5 |  Denmark
|
8 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 9.5 | 66.5 | |
| 6 |  Thailand
|
4 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 66 |
| 7 |  Chinese Taipei
|
12 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 59 | |
| 8 |  Malaysia
|
8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 54 |
| 9 |  India
|
3 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 27 | ||
| 10 |  Hong Kong
|
2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 13 | ||
| 11 |  Spain
|
2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |||
| 11 |  France
|
2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 | |||||
| 13 |  Singapore
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||||
| 14 |  England
|
2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||||||
| 15 |  United States
|
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
| 16 |  Germany
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
| 17 |  Canada
|
1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| 18 |  Bulgaria
|
1 | 1 | ||||||||
 Russia
|
1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 20 |  Netherlands
|
0.5 | 0.5 |
Super 100
| No. | Team | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China
|
8 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 11 | 53 | ||
| 2 | Indonesia
|
6 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 43 | ||
| 3 | Japan
|
9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 38 | ||
| 4 | India
|
5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 26 | ||
| 5 | Chinese Taipei
|
2 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 22 | |||
| 6 | Malaysia
|
2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 16 | ||
| 7 | Thailand
|
2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | ||
| 8 | South Korea
|
2.5 | 8 | 2 | 12.5 | |||||
| 9 | Denmark
|
2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 10 | England
|
7 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |||||
| Bulgaria
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||||
| 12 | France
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||||
| 13 | Singapore
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| 14 | Hong Kong
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Netherlands
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
 Vietnam
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
| 17 |  Australia
|
1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
 Scotland
|
1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| 19 | Russia
|
0.5 | 1 | 1.5 | ||||||
| 20 | Canada
|
1 | 1 | |||||||
| Germany
|
1 | 1 | ||||||||
 Sri Lanka
|
1 | 1 | ||||||||
 Finland
|
1 | 1 |
Title sponsor
- HSBC (2018–2026)
- TotalEnergies (2018–2026) [8][9]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "BWF World Tour Regulations" (PDF). 2018-01-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ a b c Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation.
- ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Distribution of Prize Money (All Levels)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ "Time Lines for Tournaments" (PDF).[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Player Commitment Regulations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-01-08. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ "Getting top 15 players to play in 12 meets a year may prove costly".
- ^ "BWF Launches HSBC Partnership and 'Guangzhou Finals'". Badminton World Federation. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ "BWF and HSBC Extend for a Year". Badminton World Federation. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
