BWF tournament grade system: Explained Simple 

Since 2018 (and until 2021), BWF is using a whole new grading system, replacing the BWF Super Series (from 2007 until 2017).

GRADE 1: BWF World Tournaments

There are 3 kinds of grade 1 tournaments:

1. BWF World Championships
2. Olympic Games
3. BWF World Team Championships (Thomas, Uber & Sudirman Cup)

Every year, 1 of the first 2 is held. If there are no Olympic Games, there are World Championships. That means: in 4 years time, we have 1 year with Olympics and 3 years with Worlds.

Ranking points depend on the position you end up in the tournament. A table with ranking points for each position can be found in the BWF Statutes.

Other Grade 1 tournaments are also the World Team Championships. The Thomas Cup and Uber Cup are Men's and Women's Team Championships. Sudirman Cup is Mixed.

To calculate the ranking points, you need to calculate the average points of a player. If he/she played more than 10 tournaments, you divide his best 10 results by 10. If he played 10 or less tournaments, you divide his total points by the number of tournaments he played.

Depending on the situation the player or pair is in, you calculate the given number of ranking points in different ways:

• win a match: you add his average points and "the sum of the total ranking points of the opponent, divided by 100"
• lose a match: the player gets his average points
• win a match, but the player/pair has no World Ranking: you add 1 point and "the sum of the total ranking points of the opponent, divided by 100"
• lose a match, but the player/pair has no World Ranking: the player gets no points
• win a match, but the player/pair has no World Ranking and the opponents also have no World Ranking: the player/pair gets 2 points

You never get prize money for a Grade 1 tournament.

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GRADE 2: BWF World Tour and BWF Tour

The BWF (World) Tour exists of 6 levels: 5 HSBC BWF World Tour levels and 1 BWF Tour level. That level determines the minimum of the (total) prize money of a tournament.

These are the levels of the World Tour, their prize money, and the number of events in 2018:

1. BWF World Tour Finals (1 event): $1,500,000
2. BWF World Tour Super 1000 (3 events): $1,000,000
3. BWF World Tour Super 750 (5 events): $700,000
4. BWF World Tour Super 500 (7 events): $350,000
5. BWF World Tour Super 300 (11 events): $150,000
6. BWF Tour Super 100 (11 events): $75,000

The best 15 singles players and 10 doubles pairs (according to BWF Ranking) are obligated to play all Super 1000 and Super 750 tournaments and at least 4 out of 7 of the Super 500 tournaments.

The different levels also have some different features like nationality separation, the number of players and a qualifying round.

Ranking points depend on the position you end up in the tournament. A table with ranking points for each position can be found in the BWF Statutes.

Prize money is distributed like this: total prize money * (percentage/100). That percentage is different for each ending position. They can be found in another section of the BWF Statutes.

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GRADE 3: Continental level

Also here, there are 3 different levels of tournaments, who, again, determine the minimum total prize money.

These are the levels of the Continental level, their prize money, and the number of events in 2018:

1. International Challenge (22 events): $25,000
2. International Series (37 events): $10,000
3. Future Series (27 events): $10,000

Ranking points depend on the position you end up in the tournament. A table with ranking points for each position can be found in the BWF Statutes.

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