By Wasantha Kumara. Updated 18 October 2026.
Quick Answer
French Open Badminton 2026 runs from Tuesday 20 October to Sunday 25 October at the Arena Grand Paris in Tremblay-en-France. It is an HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750 event with US$950,000 in prize money. Play starts at 10:00 Paris time on Tuesday, which is 04:00 ET and 09:00 in the UK. The finals begin at 11:00 Paris time on Sunday. An Se-young and Kunlavut Vitidsarn are the top seeds in singles.
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Introduction
French Open Badminton 2026 begins on 20 October in a new venue. The Yonex Internationaux de France moves to the Arena Grand Paris in Tremblay-en-France, north-east of Paris. The 2025 edition was played at the Glaz Arena in Cesson-Sévigné.
The Île-de-France region says about 250 players from more than 20 countries will play more than 150 matches in six days. The main storyline is a home test for France. Four French men start in singles, and the draw has already paired two of them in round one.
Schedule and start times
The organizers list one session on most days. Friday and Saturday each have two. Doors open 30 minutes before play, and the organizers say times can change. End times are only a guide.
| Day | Round | Play starts (Paris) | ET (USA, Toronto) | UK | Sydney, Melbourne |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 20 Oct | Round of 32 | 10:00 | 04:00 | 09:00 | 19:00 |
| Wed 21 Oct | Round of 32 | 10:00 | 04:00 | 09:00 | 19:00 |
| Thu 22 Oct | Round of 16 | 12:00 | 06:00 | 11:00 | 21:00 |
| Fri 23 Oct | Quarter-finals, session 1 | 09:30 | 03:30 | 08:30 | 18:30 |
| Fri 23 Oct | Quarter-finals, session 2 | 16:30 | 10:30 | 15:30 | 01:30 (Sat) |
| Sat 24 Oct | Semi-finals, session 1 | 09:30 | 03:30 | 08:30 | 18:30 |
| Sat 24 Oct | Semi-finals, session 2 | 16:30 | 10:30 | 15:30 | 01:30 (Sun) |
| Sun 25 Oct | Finals | 11:00 | 06:00 | 10:00 | 21:00 |
France and the UK both switch to winter time in the early hours of Sunday 25 October, and US clocks change on 1 November. So the gap to ET is six hours from Tuesday to Saturday and five hours on Sunday. Sydney is on summer time throughout.
Only the first match on each court has a fixed time. Later matches start when the earlier ones end.
How to watch
The organizers name L'Équipe as the broadcaster in France. Information on broadcasters in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia is not currently available. Check the BWF tournament page during the week for streams in your country.
Venue, tickets and getting there
The Arena Grand Paris is at 1 Avenue Traversière, Tremblay-en-France. By public transport, take RER B to Parc des Expositions de Villepinte, then bus 39. Tickets are sold through the official ticket shop. Avoid resellers.
Seeds and defending champions
All five 2025 champions return. The 2025 men's and women's singles winners are confirmed on the BWF tournament page.
| Event | Defending champion | 2026 seed |
|---|---|---|
| Men's singles | Anders Antonsen (Denmark) | 2 |
| Women's singles | An Se-young (South Korea) | 1 |
| Men's doubles | Kim Won-ho / Seo Seung-jae (South Korea) | 1 |
| Women's doubles | Yuki Fukushima / Mayu Matsumoto (Japan) | 1 |
| Mixed doubles | Feng Yanzhe / Huang Dongping (China) | 1 |
Top four seeds in each event, as listed on 18 October:
| Event | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles | Kunlavut Vitidsarn | Anders Antonsen | Christo Popov | Jonatan Christie |
| Women's singles | An Se-young | Wang Zhiyi | Akane Yamaguchi | Ratchanok Intanon |
| Men's doubles | Kim / Seo | Liang Weikeng / Wang Chang | Fajar Alfian / Muhammad Shohibul Fikri | Aaron Chia / Soh Wooi Yik |
| Women's doubles | Fukushima / Matsumoto | Pearly Tan / Thinaah Muralitharan | Rin Iwanaga / Kie Nakanishi | Hsu Yin-hui / Lin Jhih-yun |
| Mixed doubles | Feng / Huang | Jiang Zhenbang / Wei Yaxin | Mathias Christiansen / Alexandra Bøje | Thom Gicquel / Delphine Delrue |
The draw can change if seeded players withdraw.
The French storyline
The organizers call Alex Lanier a world champion. He is seeded seventh and opens against Jason Gunawan of Hong Kong, ranked 22nd. They have not met since 2019. Lanier won the Singapore Open this year, beating home favorite Loh Kean Yew in the final. It was his second Super 750 title. His form at the BWF World Championships 2026 in New Delhi is covered in our earlier post.
Christo Popov is seeded third and faces fellow Frenchman Arnaud Merklé in round one. The loser will not reach the round of 16. Toma Junior Popov, ranked 15th, has the hardest opener of the four. He plays top seed and world No. 1 Vitidsarn. If Toma wins, the organizers say an all-French quarter-final with Lanier is possible.
In mixed doubles, Gicquel and Delrue are the fourth seeds. They open against England's Callum Hemming and Estelle van Leeuwen, who ended their run at the European Championships. Margot Lambert and Camille Pognante return to the international circuit after Lambert's recovery. They play Ong Xin Yee and Carmen Ting of Malaysia, whom they beat at last year's event in Rennes.
Matches to watch in round one
| Day | Match | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Tue | An Se-young (1) v PV Sindhu | An has won this title in 2019, 2024 and 2025. Sindhu is ranked 10th. |
| Tue | Kunlavut Vitidsarn (1) v Toma Junior Popov | World No. 1 against a home player ranked 15th |
| Tue | Kirsty Gilmour v Mia Blichfeldt | Blichfeldt, ranked 14th, won the Arctic Open this month. Gilmour is ranked 33rd. |
| Tue | Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty (5) v Christo / Toma Junior Popov | The Indian pair won here in 2022 and 2024. |
| Tue | Fukushima / Matsumoto (1) v Nanako Hara / Riko Kiyose | The top seeds, world No. 3 pair, face fellow Japanese players. |
| Wed | Arnaud Merklé v Christo Popov (3) | Two Frenchmen meet in round one. |
| Wed | Lakshya Sen v Kodai Naraoka (6) | Seeded player against a dangerous unseeded one. |
| Wed | Ng Ka Long v Anders Antonsen (2) | The defending men's singles champion opens. |
Season so far and what comes next
The Denmark Open in Odense ended on 18 October. BWF reports from the week show the defending champion Christie lost to Alwi Farhan 21-14 21-9. Antonsen beat Gunawan 21-10 21-12 to reach the quarter-finals. Gicquel and Delrue lost to Akira Koga and Natsu Saito 22-20 21-19, their second early exit in a row after the World Championships. Final results from Odense were not confirmed when this was written, and standings are not currently available.
The next tour stop is the Hylo Open in Saarbrücken, Germany, from 27 October to 1 November. The organizers' calendar lists it as Super 300.
Prize money and ranking points
The total prize money is US$950,000, paid as set out in BWF regulations.
| Round reached | Singles prize | Doubles prize (per pair) | Ranking points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | $66,500 | $70,300 | 11,000 |
| Runner-up | $32,300 | $33,250 | 9,350 |
| Semi-finals | $13,300 | $13,300 | 7,700 |
| Quarter-finals | $5,225 | $5,937.50 | 6,050 |
| Round of 16 | $2,850 | $3,087.50 | 4,320 |
| Round of 32 | $950 | $950 | 2,660 |
A time clock will also be tested here. In the version reported on Wikipedia, players get 25 seconds from the score update to be ready to serve or receive.
What It Means
This section is analysis, based on the draw and facts above. It is not confirmed fact.
- A first-round win is worth 1,660 points. Round of 16 losers earn 4,320 points and round of 32 losers earn 2,660. For players outside the top eight, one win is the cheapest way to gain ranking points.
- Only eight seeds per event means early collisions. Players ranked 9 to 16 can meet top seeds immediately. Sindhu (10th) opens against An, and Toma Junior Popov (15th) opens against Vitidsarn. Vitidsarn lost in the first round at Odense last week, so the top seed has no easy start.
- French hopes are thinner than four entries suggest. Christo Popov against Merklé guarantees at most three French men in the round of 16. An all-French quarter-final needs Toma to beat the world No. 1 first.
- Mixed doubles is a test of recovery for the French pair. Gicquel and Delrue arrive after two early exits, and their opener is a rematch against the pair who beat them at the Europeans.
- The turnaround to the next event is short. The finals end on 25 October and the Hylo Open starts on 27 October. Deep runs in Paris could mean late changes to Saarbrücken entries.
FAQ
When is the French Open badminton 2026?
It runs from 20 to 25 October 2026. The finals are on Sunday 25 October.
Where is it held?
At the Arena Grand Paris in Tremblay-en-France, a new venue for this event. RER B and bus 39 serve the arena.
Who are the defending champions?
Anders Antonsen and An Se-young won the singles titles in 2025. Kim Won-ho/Seo Seung-jae, Yuki Fukushima/Mayu Matsumoto and Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping won the doubles titles.
How much prize money is there?
US$950,000 in total. The singles winner receives $66,500 and a winning doubles pair receives $70,300.
How can I watch?
The organizers name L'Équipe as the broadcaster in France. For other countries, check the BWF tournament page.
Sources
- Yonex Internationaux de France: official draw and opening matchups (13 October), schedule, HSBC BWF World Tour calendar
- BWF World Tour: Yonex French Open 2026 tournament page, Denmark Open news (16 October)
- Île-de-France region: event listing
- Tourisme 93: opening hours
- Wikipedia: 2026 French Open (badminton), 2026 Denmark Open