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1. The badminton pyramid

It can be understood as follows : Level Competition, Level of players

🌍  1 Olympic GamesWorld elite

🌍  2 BWF World ChampionshipsWorld elite

🌍  3 Thomas Cup / Uber Cup / Sudirman CupNational teams

🌍  4 BWF World Tour FinalsTop players of the season

🌍  5  Super 1000 World elite

🌍  6 Super 750 Very high level

🌍  7 Super 500 High international level

🌍  8 Super 300 International

🌍  9 Super 100 International / gateway to the professional circuit

🌎 10 Continental ChampionshipsTop players from a continent

🌎 11 National ChampionshipsTop players in the country

🏸 12 International Challenge / Series / Future Series International, intermediate levels

🏆 13 Regional / club tournamentsAmateur → competitive

👦 Juniors U19/U17/U15… Young players

♿ Para badminton Disability categories

 

The BWF World Tour is organised by tournament tier, with differences in ranking points and prize money.

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2. The 5 official disciplines

It is also important to understand that a championship can be organised across 5 different draws :

1. Men MS — Men’s Singles : 1 man versus 1 man

2. Women WS — Women’s Singles : 1 woman versus 1 woman

3. Men’s Doubles MD — Men’s Doubles : 2 men versus 2 men

4. Women’s Doubles WD — Women’s Doubles : 2 women versus 2 women

5. Mixed Doubles  XD — Mixed Doubles : 1 man + 1 woman versus 1 man + 1 woman

 

These are the five main disciplines used in international competitions and the BWF rankings.

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​3. How does the world rankings system work?

This is extremely important if you want to plan a career path for a player.

A player does not become world number one simply by winning a tournament.

They accumulate ranking points in recognised competitions.

The BWF states that the rankings take into account the player’s 10 best results over the last 52 weeks.

So, in simple terms:

Tournament → victory → points → ranking → top-tier tournaments → entry to bigger tournaments.

And the bigger the tournament, the more points are up for grabs.

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4. Where do players start?

It is by no means necessary to be ranked internationally to start competing.

I would instead suggest the following progression:

🟢 Level 1 — Beginner : Players who are just starting out in competition.

     Example :

0–1 year of competition Tournaments:

• club

• local

• beginners

• recreational

Objective : To learn how to win matches.

🔵 Level 2 — Intermediate
     The player has mastered:

• serve

• footwork

• smash

• defence

• clear

• drop shot

• doubles play

They begin to take part in competitions on a regular basis.

Objective : To enter the regional/national rankings.

🟠 Level 3 — Advanced
The player competes in regional and national championships.

They already have:

• a ranking

• tournament experience

• a coach

• physical training

• match strategy

Objective : To enter the national circuit.

🔴 Level 4 — National Elite
This is where we’re talking about the country’s best players.

In Vietnam, for example, you need to aim for the national circuit and selection by the national federation.

Objective:

To be eligible for selection to represent Vietnam.

🟣 Level 5 — International
The player begins to take part in international competitions recognised by the BWF.

They are aiming for : BWF points → a higher ranking → entry into bigger tournaments.

🏆 Level 6 — World Tour
This is the very highest level. Players gradually progress to :

Super 100 → Super 300 → Super 500 → Super 750 → Super 1000 depending on their ranking, the entry criteria and the places available.
 

5. Do you have to win several stages to become champion?

   No.

This is a very important distinction. There is no universal rule such as :

‘You have to win five stages to become world champion.’

Each competition has its own system. For a standard singles tournament, the structure might be :

Qualifying → 1st round → 2nd round → last 16 → quarter-finals → semi-finals → final

For example, a player entering through qualifying may have to win far more matches than a player who is directly admitted to the main draw.

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​​6. How does one get selected for a national team?

It’s different from an individual tournament.

For competitions such as :

🏆 Thomas Cup : Men’s national team

🏆 Uber Cup : Women’s national team

🏆 Sudirman Cup : Mixed national team

 

The player represents their country. Selection is therefore not simply a matter of :

‘I sign up and play.’

The national federation selects players according to its own criteria, including rankings, results, current form, the team’s needs and the applicable regulations.
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7. The World Championships
The BWF World Championships are one of the highlights of individual badminton.

They feature : 

1. men’s singles

2. women’s singles

3. men’s doubles

4. women’s doubles

5. mixed doubles

However, this is not a tournament that just any player can simply enter.

Players must secure a place in accordance with the applicable admission and qualification criteria.

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8. Continental Championships
Then there are the continental championships:

🌏 Badminton Europe

🌏 Badminton Asia

🌎 Badminton Pan Am

🌍 Badminton Africa

🌏 Badminton Oceania

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These allow the best players from a continent to compete against one another.

For a Vietnamese player, the particularly important continental championship is therefore the Asian circuit.

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9. Juniors
There is also a specific age-group structure for young players.

For example:

U15 → U17 → U19

The U19 level is particularly important at international level.

The BWF World Junior Championships is the leading global competition for under-19s. It includes a mixed team competition, the Suhandinata Cup, as well as an individual competition.

The age criteria are specific and must be checked in the rules of the relevant competition.
 

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​​10. Para-badminton
There is also a fully-fledged international structure for para-badminton.

Players are divided into specific sporting categories according to their disability.

The BWF ranking system includes categories such as : WH1, WH2, SL3, SL4, SU5, SH6, etc.

It is therefore a completely different system from the able-bodied ranking.

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11. Intermediate international tournaments
Between the national level and the World Tour, there are notably : 

International Challenge
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International Series
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Future Series

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​These are particularly useful competitions for a player looking to build their international ranking.

The BWF recognises these different categories within its competition system.

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