Top five oldest badminton tournaments of all-time

Badminton was first introduced in Pune during the British-India period. The modern iteration of the sport originated in England in the 1860s. The formal regulations governing badminton were established in 1887, and subsequently, in 1899, the first badminton tournament, known as the All England Open, was held.

The tournament is regarded as the most esteemed event within the badminton fraternity. The International Badminton Federation, now referred to as the Badminton World Federation, was established in 1934. Badminton was included as an Olympic sport in 1992 and has been featured in the Olympic Games ever since.

In this article, let’s take a look at the top five oldest badminton tournaments of all time.

Malaysia Open

The Malaysia Open is recognized as one of the four BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournaments. This prestigious event has been conducted annually since 1937, although it faced interruptions during World War II (1942–1946), from 1969 to 1982, and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021). In 2007, it was rebranded as the Malaysia Super Series following the introduction of the Super Series concept. Since 2018, the Malaysia Open has been classified among the BWF events as one of the five BWF World Tour Super 750 tournaments, and it was elevated to a Super 1000 tournament in 2023.

No Indian players have yet secured a victory in the tournament. The host nation, Malaysia, has won a total of 117 titles. The most recent Malaysian champion of the home tournament was Lee Chong Wei, who claimed the title in 2018. Since then, no Malaysian has emerged victorious in the tournament.

Denmark Open

The Denmark Open, previously referred to as the Danish Open, is a yearly badminton tournament conducted in Denmark and overseen by Badminton Denmark. This prestigious event was first established in 1936 and has been held annually ever since.

The tournament experienced two interruptions: first during World War II from 1940 to 1945, and again from 1956 to 1965. Since 1966, it has been held consistently. It was included in the BWF Super Series from 2011 to 2017. Since 2018, this tournament has been classified as a Super 750 event on the BWF World Tour.

To date, only three Indian players have secured the Denmark Open title: Prakash Padukone in 1980, Saina Nehwal in 2012, and Srikanth Kidambi in 2017. The host country has achieved a total of 139 titles thus far. In the 2024 edition, Anders Antonsen claimed the most recent title. Notably, the badminton icon Martin Frost dominated the tournament by winning seven consecutive titles from 1981 to 1986.

Singapore Open

The Singapore Open Circuit is one of six BWF World Tour Super 750 tournaments. This event has been conducted annually since 1929, and in 1956, it transitioned into a national championship. The subsequent year, it was established as an open-invitation tournament, continuing annually until 1973. In 1990, the tournament gained international recognition and was designated as part of the Federation Grand Prix Circuit.

From 2018 to 2022 it was designated as one of the seven Super 500 tournaments in the BWF World Tour and 2023 was upgraded to the BWF Super 750 tournament.

Only three Indians have won the Singapore Open; Saina Nehwal in 2010, in 2017, B. Sai Praneeth and PV Sindhu in 2022. The host nation has won 122 titles so far. The women’s doubles pair of Shinta Mulia Sari and Yao Lei were the last to lift the title from the host nation in 2010. Since that time, no players from Singapore have succeeded in winning the title.

French Open

The French Open, the second oldest tournament in the world, holds a lot of prestige in badminton history. It is classified as one of the five Super 750 events on the BWF World Tour. This esteemed tournament has been conducted annually since its inception in 1909, although it experienced a hiatus from 1915 to 1934.

Earlier, this event was not regarded as the premier badminton tournament. However, with the establishment of the Super Series, it has secured a position among the top 10 tournaments globally. In 2018, the French Open was elevated to the status of a Super 750 tournament.

India has won 9.5 titles so far at the French Open. A.C. Bahree won the first title for India with his Malaysian partner in 1956 in men’s doubles. Vimal Kumar (1983, 1984), Partho Ganguli/Vikram Singh (1983), Aparna Popat (1998), Siddharth Jain (2000), Abhinn Shyam Gupta (2001), Srikanth Kidambi (2017). Satwik/Chirag (2022, 2024) are the other winners. The host nation has won 42 titles, with their most recent victory coming way back in 2005.

All England Open

The All England Open, the oldest badminton competition in the world, is a BWF Super 1000 tournament on the BWF World Tour schedule. Established in 1899, the tournament originally featured only doubles matches. The singles category was added in 1900.

It was also considered as the unofficial World Championships till 1977. Since its inception, the All England Open has been suspended twice, both due to the impacts of World Wars I and II. In 2007, it was awarded Super Series status, which was elevated to Super Series Premier status in 2011, and subsequently reclassified as a Super 1000 tournament in 2018.

As of now, only two Indian players have claimed victory in this tournament: Prakash Padukone in 1980 and Pullela Gopichand in 2001. The host nation won a massive 194 titles so far. The most recent title for the host nation was secured by Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms in the mixed doubles event in 2005. George Alan Thomas holds the record for the most titles, having won a total of 21 (4 in men's singles, 9 in men's doubles, and 8 in mixed doubles).

There are other tournaments as well which are old but are not that famous and have a lower status today. These are the Scottish Open, Welsh Open, and Irish Open.

Cover Credits - All England Badminton