French Open Badminton: History, Highlights, and 2024 Tournament Guide

The badminton world has seen numerous tournaments, but the BWF World Tour Super 750 competitions, the French Open, in particular, are one of the most awaited. Badminton tournaments have always been spectacular events to follow. So, we are heading to the 2024 French Open, which was extremely remarkable this year.

The following page will lead us through the discussion of the highlights of the previous French Open competitions, past winners, notable matches, top players, and its long-standing history.

History of the French Open Badminton

The French Open is an annual badminton tournament held in France. Although the first competition was held in 1909, it only experienced 93 editions due to tournament cancellations between 1915 and 1934 for obvious reasons and in other years due to other factors.

Badminton French Open entered the BWF Super Serious only in 2007 in the Grade 2 tournament, along with four other tournaments. It was categorized in Super 750 based on the BWF event structure and was a great achievement. Today, this is one of the 12 most prestigious badminton tournaments in the world, hosting players from various parts of the world.

Badminton was mostly a European-based game; thus, in the first decades of the French Open, you could see many England’s, Ireland’s, and French flags in finals.

However, after the half of the century, in 1956, the doubles championship-winning strick from European players was interrupted by a couple from India and Malaysia, C.L. Yap and A.C. Bahree. Since then, more and more Asian participants started to grab the winning titles at the French Open. Nowadays, it’s hard to notice the winner of this tournament from somewhere besides China, South Korea, Malaysia, or Denmark.

Venue and Atmosphere

The event has been getting recognized over the years, increasing the prize money each year. New sponsors and regulators changed the approach to this level of tournament, paying out USD 850,000 this year. However, the viewers won’t be disappointed also. The atmosphere of the badminton tournament is always stunning. The 94th edition of the French Open occurred at the newest Adidas Arena in Paris, France. The arena was constructed in February this year and fits over 8000 spectators. It hosts some other sports events as well, including basketball, powerlifting, rhythmic gymnastics, wrestling, handball, and even eSports competitions.

If you want to explore more about this venue, Adidas Arena has a very informative website with a program of upcoming events, venue infrastructure, available zones to enter, and viewer conveniences. The website is a perfect source of information and includes maps of the main arena locations.

Winners and Notable Matches

The French Open is an important stage for badminton professionals, as it’s one of the six competitions of the 2024 BWF World Tour. In order to have a chance to win the tournament series, players must collect points during all six stages. French Open allows players to receive up to 11,000 points for winning the finals. Let’s look through the main seeds and note the past winners.

Men’s Singles (seeds)

• Viktor Axelsen – Danish two-time Olympic badminton champion.
• Shi Yuqi – Chinese world No. 1 badminton champion.
• Li Shifeng – Chinese 2022 Asian Games gold medal winner.
• Anders Antonsen – Danish three-time World Championship medalist.
• Anthony Sinisuka Ginting – Indonesian bronze medal winner at Asian Games 2018.
• Kodai Naraoka – Japanese World Championships silver medal winner in 2023.
• Prannoy H. S. – Indian World Championship bronze medal winner in 2023.
• Kunlavut Vitidsarn – Thai World Championship gold medal winner in 2023.

The champion is Shi Yuqi, the current world No. 1 professional badminton player from China. The second place was taken by a Thai player, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who won last year’s gold championships. He conceded to the champion in the second round with just two points difference. What a tough final battle for these two fierce competitors!

Met’s Doubles (seeds)

• Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty from India (champions)
• Liang Weikeng / Wang Chang from China (second round)
• Kang Min-hyuk / Seo Seung-jae from South Korea (semi-finals)
• Kim Astrup / Anders Skaarup Rasmussen from Denmark (quarter-finals)
• Aaron Chia / Soh Wooi Yik from Malaysia (quarter-finals)
• Takuro Hoki / Yugo Kobayashi from Japan (semi-finals)
• Fajar Alfian / Muhammad Rian Ardianto from Indonesia (quarter-finals)
• Liu Yuchen / Ou Xuanyi from China (second round)

2024 French Open finals winners are Indian badminton professionals Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Both players are gold medalists in Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Champiohips. The finals against Taiwanese representatives Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan were not so complicated for Indian competitors.

Memorable French Open Matches

You could have seen many men’s and women’s matches in the singles and doubles categories. But some of them stand out from others. For example, the round 16 men’s doubles match with the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty was a scary domination from the Indian team. They proved their dominance in the 48th minute, scoring 21-13, 24-22. This match equaled their overall meeting score of 4:4. Thus, the odds were quite equal in this match due to equal winning chances. Try your predictions at https://india.1xbet.com/line/badminton.

This first round pushed Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty toward the finals, where they had to meet Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan. As a result, their impressive French Open journey gave them enough scores to claim their bigger prizes. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy said that he loved the new stadium for its atmosphere.

Top Players to Watch

Watching any sports competition online, it’s important to consider the top players and their winning chances. Bright players grab our attention to badminton competitions. Below we’ve listed the most talented, inspirational, and competitive French Open 2024 participants.

• We’ve already mentioned the champion, Shi Yuqi, a Chinese badminton star. He’s 28 years old, so his journey includes many achievements. However, it took him 8 years to win another champion title. His previous title was won at the French Open in 2016.
• Kunlavut Vitidsarn is the runner-up who put up an excellent fight to the current world No. 1, Shi Yuqi. Kunlavut was a Thai badminton champion last year, winning a gold medal at the 2023 World Championship. He’s 23 years old, and colleagues call him “View” or “Three-Game God.” His highest rank is 3, but the current is 8. However, due to his second place at the French Open, his rank will probably be higher.
• Anders Antonsen is a Danish two-time European champion, three-time World Championship medalist, and four-time fans’ favorite. He is one of the most consistent players, as his highest world rank was 2 in 2024, but now it is 3. His French Open tournament went not as he expected, as he lost to Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo (Indonesia) in the quarterfinals.

French Open and Its Place in the BWF World Tour

French Open plays a crucial role in the BWF World Tour on the level Super 750, along with China Masters, Denmark Open, Japan Open, India Open, and Singapore Open. In the future 2025 and 2026 seasons, the French Open will stay on the Super 750 level. Players who compete in the Super 750 BWF World Tour get ranking points. Depending on the earned points during the season, players can claim the trip to the BWF World Tour Finals, where they compete for $1,500,000 and the title of World Tour winner.

Predictions and Expectations for 2024

Most of the season tournaments have passed. But what is expected from the finals? We’ve evaluated the most prospective players from previous BWF World Tour matches to predict the next World Tour Finals winner.

Taking into account the results of all tour matches and the number of points in men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen, Chou Tien-Chen, Kodai Naraoka, Shi Yuqi, and Weng Hongyang have the highest probabilities of entering the Tour Finals. Shi Yuqi has the highest win/loss ratio of 86.49% (32/5), and he is the French Open champion. Although his previous significant win was in 2016, Shi Yuqi has incredibly high winning opportunities in 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When is the French Open Badminton 2025 scheduled?

The next French Open Super 750 Tour will take place in Glaz Arena on 21-26 October.

Where can I buy tickets for the French Open?

All tickets can be purchased on the partnering sites (Koobit) and the BWF World Tour website.

Who won the French Open Badminton last year?

The 2024 French Open is won by Shi Yuqi.

Conclusion

The French Open is a crucial stage for the Badminton world, as it features world-top players from every corner of the world. The matches take place at the best stadiums in Paris, which can accommodate thousands of spectators. If you want to join the next tournaments, remember to purchase the ticket in advance. However, you can watch live games on various platforms.