The German Open 2026 has officially begun. The tournament, which will be upgraded from a Super 300 to a Super 500 event on the BWF World Tour starting next year, is taking place this week in Mülheim an der Ruhr.

Qualification Rounds Kick Off the Week

Tuesday’s schedule begins with the qualification rounds, which is currently being played the first half of the opening day. The main draw action will get underway later in the afternoon, no earlier than 2:00 PM local time.

Strong International Field

While a few of the sport’s biggest names are absent, the tournament still features a strong line-up of world-class players competing in Germany.

Among the standout stars are:

• Aaron Chia / Soh Wooi Yik (Malaysia)
• Li Shi Feng (China)
• Wang Zhi Yi (China)

European players are also strongly represented. Newly crowned European Men’s Team Champion Christo Popov enters the tournament as the top seed in men’s singles. Meanwhile, European Women’s Team Champions Stefani Stoeva / Gabriela Stoeva are the top seeds in women’s doubles.

Other notable names in the draw include:

• Toma Junior Popov
• Kim Astrup / Anders Skaarup Rasmussen
• Mathias Christiansen / Alexandra Bøje

The German Open promises to be an exciting week of badminton and an good indication of form, as many top players return to competition following a short break from the World Tour.

Today’s full schedule and the official draws for the tournament can be found here.