Viktor Axelsen floats idea of 10-day All England with rest days | Badminton News
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Viktor Axelsen, asked badminton global bodies to reconsider wrapping up important tournaments in 5-6 days flat, and urged All England scheduled for March, to turn into a 10 day event instead, accommodating rest days like tennis.
The decorated shuttler, now 31 years old, tweeted, “All England and the other Super 1000’s could be 10 days+ events. Give the players 1-2 more rest days, more time to hype the matches and more chances for media/fans to communicate with the players.”
The All England typically starts on Tuesdays and is done Sunday of next week, like every other tournament that is Super500 and above. Four Super 1000s are slotted on the circuit in a calendar year, besides S750s which attract top names.
Cool.
All England and the other Super 1000’s could be 10 days+ events. Give the players 1-2 more rest days, more time to hype the matches and more chances for media/fans to communicate with the players. https://t.co/I6r9r0j8D1
— Viktor Axelsen (@ViktorAxelsen) January 31, 2025
Axelsen was reacting to The US Open announcement of becoming a 15-day event starting this year. “It will start on a Sunday for the first time in the Open Era. The first round will be spread out over a 3-day period. Both the Australian Open and Roland Garros have already implemented this change. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that will remain a 14-day event,” the original post read.
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Badminton offers no rest days in between the business end days of quarters, semis and finals. When informed that Badminton matches tend to be shorter (45 minutes to 1 hrs 30 typically as against tennis 2 hrs 30+), Axelsen responded, “Sure. Agree. 10 days is a stretch. But 7-8-9 days would be great as a start. All I’m saying is at this point the super 1000’s are not feeling ‘different enough’ compared to super 500’s IMO. Other than more prize money + points.”
With mandatory rules for player participation, most top players rove the world in a caravan and feature in most of the 10 “top” meets.
When Axelsen was asked about the bloating expenses, he said, “I’m pretty sure the money is there to start with atleast 1. And if not 10 days then 7,8 or 9. In my opinion it would be a pretty good investment to see if the sport can carry such an event,” he said.
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