Most weeks of the year, somewhere in the world, there is a professional badminton tournament with prize money and ranking points on the line. The majority belong to the BWF World Tour, the Badminton World Federation’s elite circuit. Once you understand how the tour is organised, it becomes much easier to judge which results really matter, why top players skip some events, and how the season builds towards its finale in December.
This guide explains the tiers, the ranking points, the prize-money structure in general terms and the season-ending World Tour Finals. Exact dates and venues change every year, so for the current calendar always check the official BWF World Tour calendar.
What Is the BWF World Tour?
The World Tour started in 2018, replacing the previous BWF Superseries and Grand Prix circuits. It is sponsored by HSBC, so you will often see it called the HSBC BWF World Tour.
The tour is a series of individual tournaments, each with all five events: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. Every tournament has a level, and the level decides how many ranking points and how much prize money are available.
Three of the sport’s biggest events are not part of the World Tour, even though they award ranking points: the Olympic Games, the BWF World Championships, and the team championships (Thomas Cup, Uber Cup and Sudirman Cup). Our guide to the main badminton tournaments every fan should follow explains how those fit around the tour.
The Six Levels of the World Tour
The tour is organised into six levels, from the elite Finals down to entry-level events:
| Level | Name | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | World Tour Finals | Season-ending event for the top eight players or pairs in each discipline. |
| 2 | Super 1000 | The biggest tour events: currently the All England Open, Indonesia Open, China Open and Malaysia Open, joined by the Denmark Open from 2027. |
| 3 | Super 750 | Major events such as the Japan Open, Denmark Open, French Open and India Open. |
| 4 | Super 500 | Strong fields; top players often enter selectively. |
| 5 | Super 300 | Mixed fields of established players and those climbing the rankings. |
| 6 | Super 100 | Entry-level tour events, important for young players and smaller nations. |
Below the World Tour sit the continental circuit events (International Challenge, International Series and Future Series), where most professional careers begin.
A new cycle starts in 2027. For 2027–2030 the BWF has confirmed a 36-tournament tour with the same six levels: the Finals, five Super 1000, five Super 750, nine Super 500, eight Super 300 and eight Super 100 events. The Denmark Open moves up from Super 750 to Super 1000.
The name of each level is a label, not a prize amount. A Super 500 does not offer exactly US$500,000; the numbers simply show the order of importance.
Ranking Points: How Results Turn Into Rankings
Every tournament awards world ranking points according to its level and how far a player goes. Under the points table in use since April 2024, a champion earns:
- World Championships and Olympics: 14,500 points (the highest of any event)
- World Tour Finals: 14,000 points
- Super 1000: 12,000 points, rising to 12,700 or 13,500 at events that add at least US$250,000 or US$500,000 to the minimum prize fund
- Super 750: 11,000 points
- Super 500: 9,200 points
- Super 300: 7,000 points
- Super 100: 5,500 points
From 2018 until that change, World Championships and Olympic champions received 13,000 points and World Tour Finals and Super 1000 winners 12,000. The BWF raised the top-tier points from week 17 of 2024; points from Super 750 downwards did not change.
Runners-up, semi-finalists and earlier-round losers receive smaller amounts on a sliding scale. A player’s world ranking is based on their best ten results over the previous 52 weeks, so a big title stays on the record for a year and then drops off. For a full walk-through, see our guide to the BWF ranking system and how players earn points.
Why the best-ten rule matters
Because only ten results count, playing more tournaments does not automatically raise your ranking. A player who wins two Super 1000 titles can be ranked above someone who plays every week and keeps losing in the quarter-finals. It also explains why top players defend titles carefully: if they skip an event they won the year before, those points disappear from their total.
Prize Money in General Terms
Each tournament has a total prize fund, which is shared across the five events using fixed percentages set by the BWF. Prize money for men’s and women’s events is the same.
- Super 1000 and the Finals: prize funds well above US$1 million, the richest events in the sport.
- Super 750 and Super 500: several hundred thousand dollars up to around a million.
- Super 300 and Super 100: much smaller funds, typically in the low hundreds of thousands or less.
The BWF reviews minimum prize funds for each level over time, and individual tournaments can offer more than the minimum. From 2027 the minimums rise to US$2 million for a Super 1000 (up from US$1.45 million in 2026), US$1.1 million for a Super 750, US$560,000 for a Super 500, US$290,000 for a Super 300 and US$140,000 for a Super 100. Doubles prize money is paid per pair, so each player receives half.
Prize money is only part of a player’s income. Top players also earn from racket and clothing sponsors, national federations and, in some countries, government rewards for major medals.
Player Commitments and Scheduling
To make sure the biggest events have the best fields, the BWF has commitment rules that require the highest-ranked players to enter a minimum number of Super 1000, Super 750 and Super 500 tournaments each year. Players who miss required events without a valid reason, such as a certified injury, can be fined.
This creates real scheduling decisions:
- Top players build their year around the Super 1000 and 750 events, the World Championships and, every four years, the Olympics.
- Players returning from injury often enter Super 300 events to rebuild match sharpness.
- Young players and those from smaller nations rely on Super 100 and continental events to earn the ranking needed to get into bigger draws.
Many of the rising stars in world badminton first came to attention by winning Super 100 and Super 300 titles.
The World Tour Finals
The season ends in December with the World Tour Finals. Qualification is based on a separate “Race to Finals” ranking that counts only World Tour results from that season.
- The top eight players or pairs in each discipline qualify, with a maximum of two per country.
- They are split into two groups of four and play a round-robin.
- The top two from each group reach the semi-finals, followed by the final.
Because every qualifier is a top-eight player, there are no easy matches. The group format also means a player can lose once and still win the title.
How to Follow the World Tour
- Official sources: the BWF World Tour website and app publish the calendar, draws, live scores and results.
- Video: the BWF’s official channels stream or show highlights of many matches; availability varies by country, and local broadcasters hold rights in some regions.
- Rankings: world rankings are updated weekly, usually on Tuesdays, on the BWF website.
- Know the level: when you see a headline about a title, check the tier. A Super 1000 win is a very different achievement from a Super 100 win.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tournaments are on the BWF World Tour?
Usually around thirty or more per season, plus the Finals. The exact number and mix of levels change from year to year, so check the official calendar.
Which are the most important World Tour events?
The Super 1000 tournaments (four until 2026, five from 2027), with the All England Open, first held in 1899, carrying the most history.
Are the World Championships part of the World Tour?
No. They are a separate BWF event, and together with the Olympics they carry the highest ranking points of any tournament. Our guide to Olympic badminton rules and format explains how the Olympic tournament differs.
