The world of badminton is divided after a new rule adopted by the Badminton World Federation, to take effect by January 2027, that will make badminton games shorter, from 21 points to 15 points, hoping to make the sport more exciting while also helping players to recover physically, avoid injuries, and overall make badminton more competitive. Badminton matches will continue to be a best of three games, but instead of a best of three, first to 21 (3x21), they will use a 3x15 system.
The rule was approved by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) during their Annual Meeting on April 25 in Horsens, Denmark, and will include Olympic Games. They said that all reviews and studies showed that the 3x15 system out-performed the traditional 3x21 system as well as the proposed 5x11 system (best of five games at only eleven points each).
Chinese player Shi Yuqi, World Champion in Paris 2025 and current World No. 1, said that this will make matches less physically exhausting but more mentally challenging: "Shorter matches mean less demand on physical conditioning, but at the same time, the pressure from opponents, especially younger ones, will be stronger", the 30-year-old said, via Reuters.
A surprise reaction came from 43-year-old Lee Chong Wei, who retired in 2019, but said that this will mean players will retire older, and that she wouldn't be surprised if "I end up coming back to the court myself".
