The All England Open: Badminton's Oldest and Most Prestigious Tournament

The All England Open is the oldest badminton tournament in the world — first held in 1899, which makes it older than the FIFA World Cup, older than the Tour de France, older than the modern Olympics. Before the World Championships existed (they started in 1977) and before badminton was in the Olympic programme (1992), the All England was the world title in all but name. If you won at the old羽毛球 stadium in London's Wembley, you were the best in the world. Today it's a BWF World Tour Super 1000 event, and while the ranking points are the same as any other Super 1000, the prestige still sits above its weight class. Generations of legends have prized an All England title above almost any other achievement, and players still speak of winning it in a different tone from winning other tournaments. It's the history, not the points.

A genuinely Victorian beginning

The first All England was held in 1899, making it older than the modern Olympics' badminton programme by nearly a century. That inaugural edition was a modest affair — only doubles and mixed doubles were contested; singles events were added in 1900. It was cancelled only twice, for the two World Wars, and has otherwise run continuously for well over 120 years. There's a real sense of lineage when you watch it: today's champions are added to a roll of honour that stretches back to players in long trousers and ankle-length skirts.

Why it mattered so much (and still does)

For most of the 20th century there was no World Championships (that only began in 1977) and no Olympic badminton (1992). So the All England became, by default, the tournament that crowned the best in the world. That history is baked into its prestige. Ask an older player or coach what they'd most like to have won, and a surprising number will say the All England before the Worlds — it's the title with the deepest roots. It's now a Super 1000 event, one of badminton's "grand slams".

The eras and the legends

The All England's winners' list reads like a history of the sport's power shifts:

• The early decades were dominated by English and then Danish and Malayan players.
• The all-time men's-singles record belongs to Indonesia's Rudy Hartono — eight titles (1968–1974 and 1976), seven of them consecutive — a record that has stood for half a century and probably always will.
• In the modern (Open) era, the man to beat is Lin Dan, with six All England titles — second only to Hartono and a reflection of his all-time dominance, covered in the best players of all time.
• Indonesian, Chinese, Danish and (more recently) a broader international field have traded the major titles, mirroring the sport's global spread.

The original block: what the All England feels like that the points don't capture

I want to push back gently on a modern habit: treating the All England as "just another Super 1000." On paper, that's exactly what it is — same ranking points as the Indonesia or China Open. But anyone who's watched it knows the ranking-points framing misses the point entirely. **The All England is the one tournament where the history is part of the pressure.** Players talk about it differently. The venue in Birmingham, the crowd, the knowledge that you're playing for a title Lin Dan won six times and that legends going back to the 1800s have held — it gets into players' heads in a way a brand-new event never could. There's a reason a Super 1000 in a city with no badminton heritage doesn't feel the same even with identical prize money. Prestige in sport isn't assigned by a points table; it's accumulated, decade by decade, name by name. The BWF can grade tournaments however it likes, but it can't manufacture 125 years of history. That's why, if I could give a club player one tournament to attend in person, it'd be this one — not for the badminton, which is world-class everywhere on the Tour, but for the feeling of watching a result get added to a list that old.

FAQ

• Q: What is the All England Open? It's the oldest badminton tournament in the world, first held in 1899, and one of the most prestigious. Today it's a BWF World Tour Super 1000 event held in Birmingham, England.
• Q: When was the first All England Championships? 1899. The inaugural edition featured only doubles and mixed doubles; singles events were added the following year, in 1900.
• Q: Why is the All England so prestigious? For most of the 20th century there was no World Championships or Olympic badminton, so the All England effectively crowned the world's best — a prestige it still carries.
• Q: Who has won the most All England singles titles? The all-time men's-singles record is Indonesia's Rudy Hartono, with eight titles (1968–1974 and 1976), seven of them in a row. In the modern (Open) era, Lin Dan of China leads with six — second only to Hartono.
• Q: Is the All England a Super 1000 event? Yes. On today's BWF World Tour it's classified as a Super 1000, one of the four "grand slam"-level tournaments.
• Q: Has the All England ever been cancelled? Only twice, during the two World Wars. It has otherwise run continuously for well over 120 years.