The Badminton World Federation -BWF- has confirmed the BWF World Tour calendar for 2027 and 2028, with a global circuit of 35 tournaments from Super 1000 to Super 100 level, plus the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals. The publication of the calendar is more than a list of dates: it marks another adjustment to the international circuit before the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The change confirms the evolution of the World Tour since its launch in 2018, when the circuit began with 26 main tournaments on the road to the Finals. For the 2023-2026 cycle, BWF had already expanded the structure to 31 events, with four Super 1000 tournaments, six Super 750 events, nine Super 500 events and eleven Super 300 tournaments. The new calendar continues that expansion, but introduces a different balance: five Super 1000 events, five Super 750 events, nine Super 500 events, eight Super 300 events and eight Super 100 tournaments, with the possibility of adding more events in that last category.
More Super 1000 events and a new tournament model
The main change is at the top of the circuit. The Super 1000 tournaments increase to five and will adopt an expanded 11-day format across two weekends. In singles, the events will feature a 48-player draw with a group stage followed by knockout rounds; in doubles, they will retain a 32-pair knockout draw. BWF has also announced that all 1,095 matches from these Super 1000 tournaments will be broadcast globally.
The new structure also changes the geographical distribution of the biggest events. Europe will have two Super 1000 tournaments from 2027: the All England Open and the Denmark Open, which moves up from Super 750. The change gives the continent more weight at the highest level of the World Tour, within a circuit in which Asia will continue to host many of the major events, but with a slightly more balanced top tier.
Players, recovery and television
BWF president Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul placed the players at the centre of the change. “Our players are at the heart of everything we do. As global ambassadors and icons of our sport, they deserve an environment that allows them to perform at their best, recover properly, and connect meaningfully with fans around the world,” she said. The federation presents the extended windows as a measure to improve playing conditions and provide more recovery time between matches.
The other reading of the calendar is audiovisual. BWF describes a circuit of unprecedented scale, with more televised matches in more markets. That direction had already been set out in the new competition structure announced for the post-2026 cycle, with increased television production across World Tour events and greater international visibility for matches that had previously remained outside the main courts. The new calendar turns that strategy into a concrete plan for the two seasons before LA28.
The 3×15 system and venue changes
All tournaments in the 2027-2028 calendar will be played under the new 3×15 scoring system, effective from 4 January 2027. BWF frames it as part of its long-term strategy to modernise competition formats and improve the international presentation of badminton. The change will affect the entire circuit, from Super 1000 to Super 100, and will arrive just before the start of the Olympic qualification window.
The calendar also brings specific movements. The India Open, a Super 750 tournament, moves to February in 2027 and will return to late January in 2028, after a 2026 edition marked by players’ criticism of the playing conditions in New Delhi. The Syed Modi India International, meanwhile, drops to Super 100 and will be held in Lucknow in late July. In Europe, alongside the rise of the Denmark Open, the German Open moves up from Super 300 to Super 500, while the HYLO Open drops from Super 500 to Super 300.
The Malaysia Open, as a Super 1000 event, will be placed between late January and early February, depending on the season. The Malaysia Masters also changes window and a new Malaysia S100 appears in October, strengthening the country’s presence in the calendar. Indonesia retains a central position in the circuit, with the Indonesia Open as a Super 1000 event, the Indonesia Masters as a Super 500 tournament and two Super 100 events at the end of the year.
The road to LA28
The qualification window for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will open on 3 May 2027 and close on 30 April 2028. That period turns much of the 2027 World Tour and the first part of 2028 into a decisive space for players’ Olympic positioning. BWF therefore places its new calendar at the centre of the road to LA28, with more integrated tournaments, more produced matches and a structure designed to manage the competitive load more effectively.
Several important pieces still have to be added. The dates and host cities for the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2027, the BWF World Championships 2027 and the BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2028 will be confirmed separately. The calendar already published, however, shows the general direction of the cycle: a broader World Tour, with greater broadcast presence, more weight for the Super 1000 tournaments and a competitive adaptation arriving in the run-up to badminton’s next major Olympic test.
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