BWF postpones Thomas and Uber Cup amid COVID-19 pandemic

The decision comes following the withdrawal of a number of players from the tournament.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has decided to postpone the Thomas and Uber Cup due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The tournament was scheduled to be held in Aarhus, Denmark.

BWF, in collaboration with Badminton Denmark, has for many months been preparing for a safe return to international badminton. This includes going to extreme lengths to preserve the health and safety of all participants such as implementing a bubble system to create a safe badminton ecosystem.

However, in view of the recent COVID-19 related developments around the world, a number of teams and individual players have elected not to travel to Denmark for tournaments in Aarhus and Odense.

"These are exceptional circumstances we find ourselves in and while a return to international badminton remains a priority for the BWF, the health and safety of the entire badminton community is of utmost importance," BWF said in a statement.

"Therefore, after lengthy discussions with key stakeholders, commercial partners and participating member associations, it has been realised that we are not in a position to deliver the level of competition reasonably expected by fans and all stakeholders, and as a result, have decided that we will not stage this year’s Thomas and Uber Cup Finals on the dates 3-11 October 2020."

BWF is looking into possible alternative dates to reschedule the world men’s and women’s team championships but not before into 2021. Meanwhile, the Denmark Open in Odense will proceed as originally planned in the BWF tournament calendar (13-18 October).

The event will also be used as an opportunity to implement relevant COVID-19 safety protocols and operating procedures for the planned restart of international badminton tournaments. The second tournament scheduled for Odense – the VICTOR Denmark Masters 2020 – slated for 20-25 October has been cancelled as it is no longer feasible to conduct this additional event.