Updates to BWF Laws and Regulations

Attached are documents which detail all changes to badminton and para badminton regulations as approved by the BWF Council at its meeting on 8 November 2025.

The following is a summary of key changes. Please consult the attached documents for more details on all other changes.

Regulation Changes – Badminton

Section 5.1 (General Competition Regulations) – The allowance for Continental Confederations to play Junior and Individual Continental Championships concurrently (same week).

Section 5.2.1 (BWF World Championships) – A reserve list will be created to fill vacancies after the publication of the draw. Detailed regulations to be confirmed in due course.

Section 5.3.3.1 (World Ranking System) – The calculation of points in Team Tournaments for pairs with a notional and adjusted ranking have been revised.

Regulation Changes – Para Badminton

Section 5.5.6 (BWF World Para Badminton Championships) – The entry size for XD SH6 is increased with an implementation date of 15 February 2026 (following the BWF Para Badminton World Championships 2026).

Section 5.5.9 (Para Badminton World Ranking Regulations)

• Removal of the loss of points for country versus country matches where there is a retirement or withdrawal.
• The addition of points for Level 2 tournaments for female players in mixed class events where the female player defeats an opponent with a male player.

Various Sections – The MD SL3-SL4 event is changed to MD SL3-SU5 with an implementation date of 15 February 2026 (following the BWF Para Badminton World Championships 2026).

Regulation Changes – Miscellaneous

Section 5.6.1 (Participation Regulations for Players and Support Personnel with a Russian/Belarusian Passport) – The ranking eligibility restriction for Russian and Belarussian players to apply for ‘neutral status’ to compete in BWF sanctioned tournaments (i.e. on the World Ranking list as of 1 March 2022), has been removed.

More Information / Contact Person

 To access specific Sections of the BWF Statutes, please refer to the Statutes page of the BWF Corporate website at: https://corporate.bwfbadminton.com/statutes/

Please contact Events Director – Technical Operations, Christopher Trenholme ([email protected]), should you have any questions.