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[OSEN=고성환 기자] Will ‘Shuttlecock Empress’ Ahn Se-young (23, Samsung Life Insurance) come back even stronger in 2026? There is growing concern that a rule change to lower the game point to 15 could give him wings.
Taiwan’s ‘Now News’ reported on the 6th (Korean time), “The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is planning to implement the ’15-point 3-game system’ starting next year! Details have been revealed. There are predictions that Ahn Se-young will benefit.”
Recently, BWF is considering changes to its regulations. The goal is to change the tournament, which is currently being played as a 21-point, 3-game best-of-2 game, to a 15-point, 3-game, best-of-2 game. It is known that the purpose is to reduce physical exhaustion and overload of top athletes due to the tight competition schedule.
This is a drastic change that lowers the score by 6 points from the existing 21 points. The media said, “BWF is actively pursuing a major overhaul of the game system. This is to reduce the burden on top players and ensure the sustainable development of badminton.”
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A wave of change may begin as soon as next year. The BWF board of directors has already approved the rule change and plans to vote on it at next year’s general meeting. If it receives enough votes, the new points system will be implemented globally starting in the second half of 2026.
As the game point changes to 15 points, previously a short break was given when one player reached 11 points, but in the future, a technical timeout of less than 60 seconds will be given when a player reaches 8 points. In the third game, the court changes as soon as one side reaches 8 points. The deuce rule is the same as before, but on 20-20, the first player to score 21 points wins.
The BWF also confirmed that it will be testing the new scoring system in some non-Super competitions from May next year. Test competitions include challenger tournaments in Mexico, Malaysia, Sydney, Australia and China.
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Although it is a move aimed at relieving the players’ burden and fatigue, some say it is an attempt to offer even a little bit of support to Ahn Se-young’s solo performance. Starting with the Malaysia Open this season, he won a whopping 10 crowns by winning the India Open, Orleans Masters, All England Open, Indonesia Open, Japan Open, China Masters, Denmark Open, French Open, and Australian Open.
This is a new record for the most wins in a single season, breaking the record for most wins in a single season (9 wins) set by Ahn Se-young in 2023. The season record stands at 68 wins and 4 losses, with a win rate of 94.4%. It is literally an overwhelming score.
Therefore, the point of interest is how this attempt to change the regulations will affect Ahn Se-young. In general, if the game changes from a 21-point game to a 15-point game, the likelihood of an upset increases as it becomes more difficult to make up for early mistakes. In addition, Ahn Se-young often shows comeback wins that turn the game around after the mid-game thanks to his incredible physical strength and mental power, so a 15-point change may not be very pleasant.
China’s ‘Sina Sports’ also said, “Some claim that this rule change is intended to suppress Ahn Se-young’s overwhelming performance. As the number of points per game is lowered to 15, the possibility of catching up if he makes a mistake will be lowered,” and added, “The strategy of overturning an early inferiority and winning will no longer be difficult to repeat.”
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But there are also opposing opinions. In China, they seem to be wary that it could end up giving wings to Ahn Se-young. In the current competition format, winning players have to compete for five consecutive days, resulting in tremendous physical exhaustion. On the other hand, the logic is that if the game is changed to a 15-point system, the game time will be shortened and the pressure will be reduced, allowing Ahn Se-young to win more trophies.
Now News also said, “Experts analyze that, in addition to Ahn Se-young’s current overwhelming skills, the women’s singles F4 (including Tai Tzu-ying, Akane Yamaguchi, and Chen Yu-fei) is gradually declining from its peak, and if the 15-point three-game format is changed next year, she will be able to participate in more competitions. Through this, her dominance will be further solidified, and there is a possibility that she can challenge the incredible record of 12 gold medals in a single season.”
In addition, the media said, “Despite the enormous physical burden this season, Ahn Se-young showed amazing performance and won 10 single-season titles. He broke the BWF single-season record for highest winning percentage with 68 wins and 4 losses in 72 games and a winning percentage of 94.4%. In addition, there is a high possibility that he will become the first player in badminton history to earn more than $1 million (about 1.477 billion won) in single season prize money.” emphasized.
Sina Sports even mentioned Ahn Se-young’s achievement of 20 wins. The media explained, “If superstar Ahn Se-young does not participate due to injury, the status of the tournament will be greatly damaged and the public’s interest and interest will decrease accordingly. From the organizers’ perspective, Ahn Se-young’s participation has a direct impact on the tournament’s reputation, and the rule change may actually be a measure to protect him. Some Chinese fans believe that Ahn Se-young may participate in more tournaments in 2026 and achieve ’20 wins’ in the season.”
[사진] BWF, Ahn Se-young, Korean Badminton Association social media.
The categories of this article follow the classification of media outlets.
