PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Open could be set for a major revamp, with a longer duration and increased prize money on the cards.

Under the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) new Super 1000 concept, the men’s and women’s singles will feature a group-stage format with 48 entries each, while the doubles events will retain a 32-pair knockout draw. The tournament is expected to span 11 days, ending on a Sunday.

And under this new format, a total of 219 matches are expected to be played throughout the tournament.

Prize money will also be increased, with BWF set to cover the minimum prize commitments, easing the financial burden on hosts.

Another key change will see Super 100 tournaments fully integrated into the BWF World Tour’s commercial framework from 2027. Consequently, the number of Super 100 events will be trimmed from 10 to eight annually, while Super 300 tournaments will also be reduced from 11 to eight . 

Both levels, however, are expected to be upgraded in terms of profile and presentation. However, the tournament duration for these two tiers including Super 750 and Super 500 will remain at six competition days.

"We want to ensure a clear differentiation between the levels of events to highlight the prominence of the highest-level events, while still maintaining a family relationship between the tournaments under the BWF World Tour umbrella brand.

“Top players must also consistently perform at the highest levels of the structure,’ said BWF, describing one of the objectives they hope to achieve through this new concept.

Malaysia has been among the elite Super 1000 hosts since 2023, alongside the All-England, Indonesian Open and China Open. However, that status is only guaranteed until 2026, and it remains uncertain whether the Malaysian Open will continue to feature at the top tier in the next cycle.

Still, the BWF are assuming that hosts from the 2023–2026 cycle will be keen to continue staging the same tournaments at the same level in the 2027–2030 calendar, with a final decision expected around November.

At the same time, the world body are inviting member associations to show their interest to host one or more tournaments in the next cycle, based on the newly proposed structure.

Concerns over the congested calendar and modest prize money in badminton have been raised before including by legend Datuk Lee Chong Wei.

Earlier this year, two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen also urged the BWF to extend Super 1000 tournaments like the Malaysian Open, much like tennis Grand Slams, to give players more time to rest and recover between intense matches.