All England Open Badminton Championships
The All England Open Badminton Championships is the world's oldest badminton tournament, held annually in England. With the introduction of the BWF's latest grading system, it was given Superseries status in 2007, upgraded to Superseries Premier status in 2011.[1]
The world's first open tournament was held in the English town of Guildford in 1898, the success of which paved the way for the All England's inaugural edition, which was held at London's Horticultural Halls in 1899. Although the inaugural edition consisted of just the doubles format, the singles were introduced from the second edition onward.[2] It was eventually considered – especially after the first Thomas Cup series in 1949 – the unofficial world championship of the sport until 1977, when the International Badminton Federation launched its official championships.[3]
There were two instances when it was halted – from 1915 to 1919 (due to World War I) and from 1940 to 1946 (due to World War II).[4]
Historical venues for the Championships
The tournament has been held at eight venues, and is now played at Arena Birmingham, Birmingham.[5]
| Years active | Venue | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1899–1901 | HQ of the London Scottish Rifles | Buckingham Gate |
| 1902 | Crystal Palace Central Transept | Sydenham Hill |
| 1903–1909 | London Rifles Brigade's City Headquarters | Bunhill Row, Islington |
| 1910–1939 | Lindley Hall, Vincent Square | Westminster, London |
| 1947–1949 | Harringay Arena, North London Stadium | North London |
| 1950–1956 | Empress Hall | Earls Court |
| 1957–1993 | Wembley Arena | Wembley, London |
| 1994–present | Arena Birmingham | Birmingham |
Past winners
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Successful players
Below is the list of the most successful players in the All England Open Badminton Championships:
| Name | MS | WS | MD | WD | XD | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 21 | ||
 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 18 | ||
 | 10 | 7 | 17 | |||
| 6 | 10 | 1 | 17 | ||
 | 7 | 8 | 15 | |||
| 1 | 4 | 8 | 13 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 4 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 5 | 6 | 11 | |||
| 7 | 4 | 11 | |||
| 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 | ||
| 1 | 5 | 5 | 11 | ||
 | 6 | 5 | 11 | |||
| 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 3 | 7 | 10 | |||
| 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | ||
 | 4 | 5 | 9 | |||
| 4 | 5 | 9 | |||
| 5 | 4 | 9 | |||
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 1 | 6 | 1 | 8 | ||
 | 8 | 8 | ||||
| 2 | 6 | 8 | |||
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | ||
 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
In the modern era players are less able to compete in multiple disciplines due to the differentiation of required skills and the physical demands of the game. Some men's and women's doubles players are able to compete successfully in mixed doubles. The last player to win in both singles and a doubles discipline was Li Lingwei of China who won women's doubles in 1985 then in women's singles in 1989.
Many female badminton players change their surname after marriage. Below are some of the former names or latest names as noted in the table above:
- ^1 – Judy Devlin later known as Judy Hashman
- ^2 – Tonny Ahm formerly known as Tonny Olsen
- ^3 – Ethel B. Thomson later known as Larcombe
- ^4 – Margaret Tragett formerly known as Larminie
- ^5 – Gillian Gilks formerly known as Gillian Perrin and the latest was changed to Gillian Goodwin
- ^6 – Ulla Strand formerly known as Ulla Rasmussen
- ^7 – Kitty McKane later known as Godfree
- ^8 – Nora Perry formerly known as Nora Gardner
Performances by nation
Updated after the 2020 edition.
| Nation | MS | WS | MD | WD | XD | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
24 | 39 | 28 | 46.5 | 52 | 189.5 |
| 2 | |
21 | 14 | 21 | 11 | 21 | 88 |
| 3 | |
20 | 22 | 6 | 24 | 13 | 85 |
| 4 | |
15 | 4 | 21 | 2 | 6 | 48 |
| 5 | |
3 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 35 | |
| 6 | |
14 | 11.5 | 0.5 | 26 | ||
| 7 | |
7 | 7.5 | 2 | 3.5 | 20 | |
| 8 | |
1 | 12 | 0.5 | 4 | 1 | 18.5 |
| 9 |  |
1 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 18 |
| 10 |  |
1 | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 6.5 | |
| 11 |  |
3 | 0.5 | 1 | 4.5 | ||
| 12 |  |
3 | 3 | ||||
| 13 |  |
2 | 2 | ||||
| 14 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
1 | 1 | ||||
 |
1 | 1 | |||||
 |
1 | 1 | |||||
| 17 |  |
0.5 | 0.5 | ||||
 |
0.5 | 0.5 | |||||
| Total | 109 | 109 | 110 | 110 | 110 | 548 |
References
- Gilmour, Rod (22 May 2010). "All England Badminton Championships handed 'premier' status on world tour". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- International Badminton … the first 75 years. Badminton World Federation. p. 80. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- Matthews/Morrison, Peter/Ian. The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and Results. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 74-78. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
- "History". Badminton England. Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- "The History of All England Championships". Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-15.