Badminton Ranking Protection is a policy implemented by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to support players who are temporarily unable to compete due to legitimate reasons such as injury, illness, or pregnancy. It helps ensure they don’t lose their career momentum entirely while recovering or on leave.
What Is Badminton Ranking Protection?
Ranking protection allows an eligible player to retain their world ranking position (or a version of it) for the purposes of tournament entry and seeding, even though they are not actively playing and thus not earning ranking points.
How Does Badminton Ranking Protection Work?
Here’s a breakdown:
- Eligibility Criteria
A player must:
Be out of competition for at least 3 months continuously.
Submit a request to BWF with appropriate medical documentation or evidence.
Have been ranked within the top 100 in singles or top 50 in doubles before the break.
- Application & Approval
The player (or their national association) applies to BWF.
BWF reviews and approves ranking protection if all criteria are met.
- Duration of Protection
Protection lasts for the length of absence or a maximum of 6 tournaments (whichever comes first), once the player returns.
The protected ranking is valid for entry and seeding purposes, not for calculating ranking points.
- How Badminton Ranking Protection Is Used
When entering a tournament after returning, the player can use their protected ranking to gain entry or potentially a better seed, even if their actual ranking has dropped during their absence.
Example: A player ranked #12 before injury can still enter top-tier tournaments as a #12-ranked player after returning, even if their actual ranking dropped to #48.
Important Notes For Badminton Ranking Protection
Protected rankings do not award any points—only access.
It’s different from a wild card, which is a discretionary invitation.
Not all tournaments must honor the protected ranking for seeding, but many do.
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