BWF Super Series

Official logo for Super Series Premier events

Official logo for Super Series events

The BWF Super Series, launched on December 14, 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). A season of Super Series features twelve tournaments around the world, including five of them classified as Super Series Premier. Since 2011, the Super Series includes two levels of tournament, Super Series Premier and Super Series. Super Series Premier tournament offers higher ranking point and higher minimum total prize money. Top eight players/pairs in each discipline in Super Series standings are invited to the Super Series Finals held at the year end.

Features

2013 French Super Series.

Prize money

A Super Series tournament offers minimum total prize money of USD$200,000; a Super Series Premier tournament offers minimum total prize money of USD$350,000; Super Series Masters Finals offers minimum total prize money of USD$500,000. From 2014 onwards, a Super Series Premier tournament offers minimum total prize money of USD$500,000, with minimum increment USD$50,000 each year until 2017. Super Series tournaments offer minimum total prize money of USD$250,000, with increment of USD$25,000 each year through 2017.

The Super Series will offer the prize money regardless of the round from which a player is ousted, unless they go out in the qualification round. Starting 2008 season, the women's winners will receive the equal prize money amount as men's winners. The prize money is distributed via the following formula:

$Total\ prize\ money\ \times {\frac {Percentage}{100}}$

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%	1.4%	1.4%	1.4%
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

Main article: BWF World Ranking

The Super Series Premier and Super Series tournaments offer ranking points to players based on the round a player/pair reaches. The Super Series Premier tournaments offer higher ranking points, second only to BWF tournaments (BWF World Championships and Summer Olympics). Points will be used for World Ranking and also Super Series standing to decide the top eight players/pairs play in the Super Series Masters Finals.

Nationality separation

Starting in 2007, players from the same nation are not separated in the main draw of the tournaments. All but the top two seeds will not be divided into two draws as they were before. The top Chinese player Lin Dan has criticized the rule change. 2010 onwards saw rules altered with nationality separation in the first round.

Entries

Entries must be made five weeks before the start of the tournament. Only 32 players/pairs will play in the main round. Among the 32 players/pairs, only eight players/pair will be seeded in each event. Each event will have 28 highest-ranked players/pairs in World Ranking and four qualifiers.

Prior to September 2008, 32 players/pairs can participate in qualifying rounds. Since then, only up to 16 players/pairs can participate in qualifying rounds, where four highest-ranked players/pairs in World Ranking will be seeded. This change is to avoid a big strain between the qualifiers and the main events.

Each Super Series tournament will be held in six days, with the main round in five days.

Player commitment regulations

Starting in 2011, top ten players/pairs of each discipline in the World Ranking will be required to play in all Super Series Premier tournaments and a minimum of four Super Series tournaments occurring in the full calendar year. Players who qualify for Super Series Masters Finals are obliged to play. A fine and above the normal withdrawal fees 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, retired or suspended players are not subject to these regulations.

Umpires

In 2007 season, each tournaments can present local umpires. However, after the outcry of several players during the tournaments, starting 2008, each Super Series tournaments must present eight international certificated and accredited 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.

Tournaments

Countries already have Super Series tournament

  Super Series Premier

  Super Series

  Defunct

In every three years, the BWF Council will review the countries that host a Super Series Premier and Super Series tournament.

In history, 14 tournaments in 13 countries hosted at least a season of the series. China was the sole country to host the series twice in a season from the year of 2007–2013. Starting in 2014 season, Australia hosted a Super Series tournament. BWF announced a new tournament level above the Superseries Premier in March 2017 together with the new hosts for 2018-2021 cycle.

Tournament	Season
	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
All England Open	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Australia Open								●	●	●	●
China Masters	●	●	●	●	●	●	●					●	●	●	●
China Open	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Denmark Open	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
French Open	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Hong Kong Open	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
India Open					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Indonesia Masters												●	●	●	●
Indonesia Open	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Japan Open	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Korea Open	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Malaysia Masters												●	●	●	●
Malaysia Open	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Singapore Open	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Swiss Open	●	●	●	●
Thailand Open												●	●	●	●

● Super Series

● Super Series Premier

● New Level 2 Tournament (Official name to be confirmed)

BWF Super Series Finals

Main article: BWF Super Series Masters Finals

At the end of the Super Series circuit, top eight players/pairs in the Super Series 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 Super Series Masters Finals. It will offer minimum total prize money of USD$500,000.

If two or more players are tie in ranking, the selection of players will based on the following criteria:

• The players who participated in the most Super Series tournaments;
• The players who collected the most points in Super Series tournaments starting July 1.

External links

• Official website