Badminton fans can get excited once again as the BWF World Tour resumes for the 2026 season, kicking off with the Malaysia Open at the Axiata Arena from January 6-11.
As one of the most prestigious tournaments on the circuit, the Kuala Lumpur event traditionally attracts the world’s top shuttlers and sets the tone for the year ahead.
However, this year’s opening action will be missing several high-profile names, as a number of leading players have been forced to withdraw. Here are some of them.
Viktor Axelsen
The Danish men’s singles ace will miss not only the Malaysia Open but also the following week’s India Open, as his back problems have unfortunately carried over into 2026. Last year, Axelsen managed to compete in only eight World Tour tournaments, as well as the second edition of the BXL Jakarta event.
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Li Shi Feng
Last year’s Malaysia Open semi-finalist will not be participating this year, having not fully recovered from an ankle injury. The world number five sustained the injury during a match against Chou Tien Chen at the World Tour Finals last month.
Gregoria Mariska Tunjung
No official reason has been provided for the Indonesian women’s singles star’s withdrawal, but it could be her vertigo issues again, which severely hampered her 2025 season and forced her to miss several key tournaments. The 2024 Olympic bronze medallist last competed at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, where she won once and lost twice in the women’s team event as Indonesia finished runners-up.
Yeo Jia Min
The 26-year-old Singaporean’s withdrawal was largely expected after she pulled out of the women’s singles event at the 2025 SEA Games due to a hamstring injury. Despite missing the first tournament of the year, Yeo still began 2026 on a positive note after announcing her engagement to former national swimmer Pang Sheng Jun.
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Pornpawee Chochuwong
The Thai shuttler was unable to recover in time from the left calf injury she suffered at the year-end World Tour Finals. According to Pornpawee, it was a recurrence of the same injury that forced her to retire against An Se-young at the Korea Open in September.
Wang Chi-lin/Chiu Hsiang-chieh
The Chinese Taipei pair will miss the first three tournaments of the year. No official reason has been given, but it could be related to Chiu’s leg pain during the BWF World Tour Finals.
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Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanisi
The Japanese pair have withdrawn from both the Malaysia Open and India Open due to a shoulder injury sustained by Iwanaga.
Kim Jae-hyeon/Jeong Na-eun
Jeong will not feature in mixed doubles at this year’s Malaysia Open, but she remains scheduled to compete in women’s doubles alongside Lee Yeon-woo.
