Badminton is considered to be one of the world’s most popular sports. The sport has an extensive fan base in the three most populous countries in the world: China, India, and Indonesia.
Badminton has developed rapidly in several non-Asian countries, including Spain. One of the main reasons is that the country gave birth to one of the most remarkable women’s singles badminton players of all time, the 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist Carolina Marin.
The growth of badminton in some countries is accompanied by the development of badminton commercially. Badminton has become a sport that offers many advantages, so many new sponsors have sprung up.
Badminton athletes who have exemplary achievements can easily attract big sponsors with a value of millions of dollars every year. One of the spectacular ones is Pusarla V Sindhu from India, who made it to Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid female athletes.
Currently, badminton is one of the sports that offer relatively large prize money. Although quite small compared to other popular sports such as tennis and basketball, badminton athletes who excel can collect hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from the tournaments they win.
Kento Momota, a two-time world champion from Japan, collected over half a million dollars in 2019. He won many prestigious tournaments that year, including the All England Open.
Here is a rough calculation table of badminton prize money for the 2023-2026 calendar (excluding BWF Tour Super 100 and BWF Continental Circuit prize money).
Tournament | Level | Prize Money (in USD) |
BWF World Tour Finals | World Tour Finals | 2,000,000 |
All England Open | Super 1000 | 1,250,000 |
China Open | Super 1000 | 2,000,000 |
Indonesia Open | Super 1000 | 1,250,000 |
Malaysia Open | Super 1000 | 1,250,000 |
China Masters | Super 750 | 850,000 |
Denmark Open | Super 750 | 850,000 |
French Open | Super 750 | 850,000 |
India Open | Super 750 | 850,000 |
Japan Open | Super 750 | 850,000 |
Singapore Open | Super 750 | 850,000 |
Australian Open | Super 500 | 420,000 |
Canada Open | Super 500 | 420,000 |
Finnish Open | Super 500 | 420,000 |
Hong Kong Open | Super 500 | 420,000 |
Indonesia Masters | Super 500 | 420,000 |
Kumamoto Masters Japan | Super 500 | 420,000 |
Korea Open | Super 500 | 420,000 |
Malaysia Masters | Super 500 | 420,000 |
Thailand Open | Super 500 | 420,000 |
German Open | Super 300 | 210,000 |
Hylo Open | Super 300 | 210,000 |
Syed Modi India International | Super 300 | 210,000 |
Korea Masters | Super 300 | 210,000 |
Super 300 | ||
Orléans Masters | Super 300 | 240,000 |
Spain Masters | Super 300 | 210,000 |
Swiss Open | Super 300 | 210,000 |
Taipei Open | Super 300 | 210,000 |
Thailand Masters | Super 300 | 210,000 |
US Open | Super 300 | 210,000 |
Total | 18,760,000 |
Prize money in badminton has been steadily increasing over the years due to the growing popularity of the sport and increased sponsorship and media coverage. High-profile tournaments, such as the BWF World Tour Finals and the All England Open, offer substantial prize pools, and winning these events can significantly impact a player’s career and financial standing.