Explained: BWF’s 36-tournament World Tour and the new prize money slabs
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Monday announced a major overhaul of the sport’s global calendar from 2027, unveiling an expanded World Tour, increased prize money and new competition formats aimed at boosting badminton’s international footprint.
The reforms follow the extension of BWF’s long-term deal through to 2034 with broadcast and commercial partner Infront, announced last year.
Under the new framework, the number of TV-produced matches will more than double from 1,410 to around 3,000 across all BWF tournaments.
At the heart of the changes is a revamped BWF World Tour featuring 36 tournaments organised into a six-tier structure: the World Tour Finals, five Super 1000 events, five Super 750, nine Super 500, eight Super 300 and eight Super 100 tournaments. Super 100 events will be integrated into the main tour for the first time.
The five Super 1000 tournaments, to be staged across Asia and Europe, will introduce a new format in singles, with 48 players competing in a group stage followed by knockouts. Doubles events will feature 32-pair knockout draws. Each Super 1000 tournament will run for 11 days across two weekends.
The BWF said the total annual prize pool on the World Tour will rise to approximately USD 26.9 million. Prize money will be set at USD 2 million for Super 1000 tournaments, USD 1.1 million for Super 750, USD 560,000 for Super 500, USD 290,000 for Super 300 and USD 140,000 for Super 100.
From 2027, the World Championships will also introduce a group stage followed by knockouts, ensuring every player competes in at least two matches. The Sudirman Cup Finals and Thomas & Uber Cup Finals will expand to include more teams, increasing participation.
Hosts for the revamped World Tour from 2027 to 2030 have been confirmed, while the venue for the World Tour Finals will be announced later.
Published on Feb 09, 2026