The 2026 BWF World Championships are set to bring the biggest names in badminton to New Delhi from August 17 to 23. The tournament will mark the 30th edition of the prestigious event and will return to India for the first time since 2009. However, despite being one of the most important tournaments on the badminton calendar, the World Championships do not offer prize money to the winners or runners-up.
Why is there no prize money at the BWF World Championships?
According to Olympics.com, the BWF World Championships do not carry prize money. The tournament is classified by the Badminton World Federation as a Grade 1 Major Event, placing it alongside major competitions such as the Olympic Games, Thomas Cup and Uber Cup. The absence of prize money is linked to the nature of the competition, where players represent their countries and compete for the prestigious World Championship title, medals and national honour.Instead of financial rewards, the tournament offers one of the biggest incentives on the badminton calendar, ranking points. The World Championships award 14,500 ranking points to the winner, the highest allocation available from a badminton tournament alongside the Olympic Games.These points can have a major impact on a player’s ranking and qualification pathway for future competitions, including major BWF World Tour events and the Olympic Games. Players can earn prize money through other major competitions, including the Grade 2 HSBC BWF World Tour and the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals.
BWF World Championships 2026 schedule
The tournament will feature competitions across five categories, men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
- August 17: First round
- August 18: First and second rounds
- August 19: Second round
- August 20: Round of 16
- August 21: Quarter-finals
- August 22: Semi-finals
- August 23: Finals
Who won the 2025 BWF World Championships?
The previous edition, held in Paris in 2025, saw several established stars claim the world titles.
| Category | Champions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s Singles | Shi Yuqi | Kunlavut Vitidsarn |
| Women’s Singles | Akane Yamaguchi | Chen Yufei |
| Men’s Doubles | Kim Won-ho & Seo Seung-jae | Liu Yi & Chen Boyang |
| Women’s Doubles | Liu Shengshu & Tan Ning | Pearly Tan & Thinaah Muralitharan |
| Mixed Doubles | Chen Tang Jie & Toh Ee Wei | Jiang Zhenbang & Wei Yaxin |
