The YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2026 kick off tomorrow in Birmingham – one of the highlights not only on European soil, but on the global stage.
The Super 1000 tournament is taking place from Tuesday to Sunday, bringing six days of top-level badminton. It is the longest-standing badminton tournament in the world, now in its 116th edition.
In men’s singles, third seed Anders Antonsen returns to the World Tour after we last saw him at the Indonesia Masters at the end of January. Eighth seed Alex Lanier is also back after skipping last week’s German Open and will face Canadian sensation Victor Lai, one to watch. There is also an all-European first-round clash between Rasmus Gemke and newly crowned German Open champion Christo Popov, who defeated his brother Toma Junior Popov in yesterday’s final. Toma Junior Popov is also in the All England draw.
Mia Blichfeldt returns after missing last week’s tournament in Mülheim and will have a challenging opening match against sixth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani. Kirsty Gilmour retired in the Round of 16 in Germany last week and it remains to be seen if she has recovered in time for Birmingham.
There are plenty of European pairs in doubles. On home soil, Ben Lane/Sean Vendy will look to shine on home soil but they face one of the toughest possible opening matches against top seeds Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae. Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen will meet the winners of that encounter if they secure the win in their first match.
In women’s doubles, there will be three European pairs. Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva will meet seventh seeds Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Min. Luo partnered Bao Li Jing in Germany last week and defeated the Stoeva sisters in the quarterfinals before going on to win the title. Margot Lambert/Camille Pognante and Polina Buhrova/Yevheniia Kantemyr are also in the draw.
Mixed doubles has several European pairs with solid chances. Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue enter as fifth seeds, while Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Bøje are seeded eighth and could be eyeing one of their biggest results since their comeback. There is another all-European clash in the opening round, with Jesper Toft/Amalie Magelund facing Alexander Dunn/Julie Macpherson, who reached the quarterfinals in Germany last week.
Schedule
Tuesday, 3 March – 10:00, Round of 32
Wednesday, 4 March – 10:00, Round of 32
Thursday, 5 March – 10:00, Round of 16
Friday, 6 March – Quarterfinals, Session 1: 9:30–14:30 & Session 2: 17:00–22:00
Saturday, 7 March – Semifinals, Session 1: 9:30–14:30 & Session 2: 17:00–22:00
Sunday, 8 March – Finals, 11:00
All times indicated are local time (GMT+0).
