Race to the Finals 2026
Eight players or pairs per discipline reach the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou (9–13 December). Below: 2026 titles from the tournaments in our results database, the qualification rules, and the points still available.
We record champions, not full draws, so this page counts titles, not ranking points. Our database holds 4 World Tour tournaments of 2026 so far (China Masters to French Open); earlier events are being added. The official Race to the Finals standings, with points for every round, are published by BWF.
2026 titles by discipline 4 tournaments · sorted by titles, then highest level won
All champions →MSMen's singles
| Player / pair | Nation | Titles | Won at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Lanier | France | 1 | Denmark Open S750 |
| Christo Popov | France | 1 | French Open S750 |
| Jason Gunawan | Hong Kong China | 1 | China Masters S750 |
| Anders Antonsen | Denmark | 1 | Arctic Open S500 |
WSWomen's singles
| Player / pair | Nation | Titles | Won at |
|---|---|---|---|
| An Se-young | Korea | 3 | China Masters S750,Denmark Open S750,French Open S750 |
| Mia Blichfeldt | Denmark | 1 | Arctic Open S500 |
MDMen's doubles
| Player / pair | Nation | Titles | Won at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fajar Alfian / Muhammad Shohibul Fikri | Indonesia | 1 | Denmark Open S750 |
| Man Wei Chong / Tee Kai Wun | Malaysia | 1 | French Open S750 |
| Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty | India | 1 | China Masters S750 |
| Aaron Tai / Yap Roy King | Malaysia | 1 | Arctic Open S500 |
WDWomen's doubles
| Player / pair | Nation | Titles | Won at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pearly Tan / Thinaah Muralitharan | Malaysia | 1 | Denmark Open S750 |
| Sumire Nakade / Miyu Takahashi | Japan | 1 | China Masters S750 |
| Yuki Fukushima / Mayu Matsumoto | Japan | 1 | French Open S750 |
| Chen Fanshutian / Luo Xumin | China | 1 | Arctic Open S500 |
XDMixed doubles
| Player / pair | Nation | Titles | Won at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feng Yanzhe / Huang Dongping | China | 2 | China Masters S750,French Open S750 |
| Jiang Zhenbang / Wei Yaxin | China | 2 | Arctic Open S500,Denmark Open S750 |
How you qualify
The field is the top eight in each of the five disciplines on the BWF World Tour ranking for the season, which BWF publishes as the Race to the Finals. It is a separate list from the 52-week World Ranking: only World Tour tournaments inside the qualifying window count (in recent seasons, from the Super 100s of late November through to the last Super 500 about three weeks before the Finals), the World Championships and continental events do not, and every season starts from zero.
Best 14 results. A player's or pair's Race total is their best 14 World Tour results of the year, and no more than three of those may come from Super 100 tournaments. Playing a 15th event can only help if it beats the worst of the 14.
Two per association. A maximum of two players or pairs from any one member association qualify in each discipline. If three Chinese pairs sit in the top eight of men's doubles, the third is passed over and the ninth-placed pair moves up. This is the rule that decides most of the late-November drama.
World Champions. In a non-Olympic year the reigning World Champions are invited if they have not qualified on points, provided they are inside the top 20 of the World Ranking at the invitation date. The field stays at eight: the champion takes the eighth place and the two-per-association limit still applies. In an Olympic year the same invitation goes to the Olympic champions instead.
Host country. There is no guaranteed place for the host association in the Finals regulations we have read. Hangzhou has hosted since 2023 and holds the event through 2026.
Ties. Tied players are separated first by who played more World Tour tournaments, then by who scored more points at tournaments from 1 July onwards, then by lot.
Sources: BWF World Tour Finals qualification page; BWF World Tour Regulations, section 8.2 (copy hosted by Badminton Pan Am); Wikipedia. Points table: BWF World Ranking table in force since April 2024, via Wikipedia and New Straits Times.
What is left to play autumn tour · finished events greyed out
Full calendar →| Dates | Tournament | Level | Winner's points | Runner-up | Counts for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live27 Oct – 1 Nov | Hylo Open Saarbrücken | Super 500 | 9,200 | 7,800 | 2026 Race |
| Live3 Nov – 8 Nov | Korea Open Yeosu | Super 500 | 9,200 | 7,800 | 2026 Race |
| Live10 Nov – 15 Nov | Japan Masters Kumamoto | Super 500 | 9,200 | 7,800 | 2026 Race |
| Live17 Nov – 22 Nov | Hong Kong Open Hong Kong | Super 500 | 9,200 | 7,800 | 2026 Race |
| Live24 Nov – 29 Nov | Syed Modi International Lucknow | Super 300 | 7,000 | 5,950 | 2027 Race expected |
| Live1 Dec – 6 Dec | Guwahati Masters Guwahati | Super 100 | 5,500 | 4,680 | 2027 Race expected |
| Live8 Dec – 13 Dec | Odisha Masters Cuttack | Super 100 | 5,500 | 4,680 | 2027 Race expected |
| 9 Dec – 13 Dec | BWF World Tour Finals Hangzhou | Finals | 14,000 to the winner; World Ranking only, not the Race | ||
A Super 500 title in November is worth 9,200 Race points, the same as one in January. The Race closes a few weeks before the Finals: BWF's counting list for the 2025 Finals opened with the Syed Modi India International 2024 (a Super 300 in late November) and the two Indian Super 100s that followed it, and closed with the Australian Open in late November 2025, which is why we expect the Hong Kong Open to close this one and the Syed Modi International, Guwahati Masters and Odisha Masters to count for 2027. BWF confirms the eight names in each discipline in the week after the cut-off. The official list is on bwfworldtourfinals.bwfbadminton.com.