The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has made a slight tweak to the India Open’s schedule, shifting the Super 750 event to February in 2027 before restoring it to its usual late-January window in 2028 as part of the World Tour calendar announced on Tuesday.
The India Open, the country’s premier badminton tournament, will be held from February 2 to 7, 2027, before returning to its regular slot from January 25 to 30, 2028 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. The 2026 edition was played from January 13 to 18.
The scheduling change comes after the 2026 tournament drew criticism from several top international players over poor air quality, cold indoor playing conditions and hygiene concerns at the venue.
The BWF also confirmed that the Syed Modi India International, which has been downgraded to a Super 100 event, will be held in Lucknow from July 27 to August 1, 2027, and from July 25 to 30, 2028.
The governing body announced a 35-event World Tour calendar for 2027 and 2028, featuring tournaments ranging from Super 1000 to Super 100 level, along with the season-ending World Tour Finals. The circuit will run throughout the year from January to December.
At the top level, the calendar includes five Super 1000 tournaments across Asia and Europe. These events will now be spread over 11 days across two weekends and will feature a new format with a 48-player singles draw, including a group stage followed by knockout rounds, while doubles events will have a 32-pair knockout draw. The BWF said all 1,095 matches from the Super 1000 tournaments will be broadcast globally.
Explaining the changes, BWF President Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul said player welfare had been a key consideration.
“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.
“The enhancements introduced in this calendar, including extended competition windows, are a deliberate step to improve playing conditions for our top athletes. They enable more balanced scheduling and greater recovery time between matches, supporting players in their pursuit of excellence and helping them sustain longer, more successful careers. At the same time, we now have a high-quality, globally balanced circuit of unprecedented scale — more televised matches into more markets — creating greater opportunities for players and accelerating badminton’s global reach and impact,” Leeswadtrakul added.
The BWF also confirmed that all tournaments from January 4, 2027 onwards will be played under the new 3×15 scoring system, replacing the existing 3×21 format.
The qualification window for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will run from May 3, 2027 to April 30, 2028. The governing body added that the dates and host cities for the 2027 Sudirman Cup, 2027 World Championships and the 2028 Thomas & Uber Cup Finals will be announced separately.