Anders Antonsen posted a carousel this week arguing that continental events in men's singles aren't weighted evenly in the BWF World Ranking. He's upfront that he has a stake in it: "I'm definitely biased here, as I'm one of the players affected."

His main points:

Unequal weighting: The Asia Championships and Asian Games count as Super 1000s. The European Championships and European Games count as Super 500s.

Points gap: A Super 1000 title is worth 12,000 points and a Super 500 title is worth 9,200. That's a 2,800 point difference per title.

Games years make it worse: In Europe, the European Games replace the European Championships that year, so only one continental event counts. In Asia, the Asian Games and Asia Championships both happen, so Asian players get two Super 1000 level opportunities while Europeans get one Super 500.

Strength of field: He grants that the Asia Championships likely have a stronger overall draw, but notes they still miss many top players (he cites Victor Lai, currently top 8). He asks whether an event's category should depend on its name and continent or on the actual level of competition.

Context: In the October 27 ranking, three of the top four are European (Popov #1, Vitidsarn #2, Antonsen #3, Lanier #4), and the top spot has been changing hands almost weekly.

His suggested fixes:

1. Continental Games shouldn't count toward the World Ranking at all.
2. Weight events by the ranking of the players entered.
3. Assess each category (MS, WS, doubles) separately rather than giving them all the same weighting. He thinks European MS deserves more than a Super 500, and that other European categories might deserve less.

Original post: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GgUzviaFZ/

What do you think? Is a strength-of-field weighting realistic for the BWF, or would it create new problems (e.g., top players skipping events to drag down their value)? And should continental Games count at all?

I've been learning badminton for about two weeks. I practice forehand serves and shuttlecock juggling every day. How would you rate my progress so far?

Review: Anjilong (安集龙) AN2601 Pro electronic tension head + electronic brake (ordered from Taobao)

A badminton stringer’s upgrade from a Wise 2086

TL;DR: I swapped the Wise 2086 on my Pro’s Pro Hornet for an AN2601 Pro, a little-known electronic head sold on Taobao, and added the seller’s optional rising diablo and electronic brake upgrade. Total landed cost in Vancouver was CAD $989.54, no duties. That’s less than a new Wise 2086 alone costs in Canada, and the brake gives my manual machine a feature normally found only on machines costing many times more. The head is faster-responding and more rigid than the Wise, and after roughly 20 racquets I’m very happy with it.

Disclosure: I bought this with my own money and have no affiliation with the seller.

Who I am (and the limits of my experience)

I’m a badminton player and I only string badminton racquets, so nothing here speaks to tennis. I lurked the stringing forums for three or four years before buying anything. My brother has a Prince Neos, so I’ve been around machines for a while, and I kept browsing tabletop options that wouldn’t break the bank but would let me string my own racquets on my own schedule instead of paying a shop and waiting to get them back. Along the way I looked at the AEF M9, SIBOASI’s machines, and HUIPAIYIJI’s lineup.

Earlier this summer a friend upgraded to a dedicated Yonex machine and sold me his setup: a Pro’s Pro Hornet with modest upgrades to the clamps and C-mounts, plus a Wise 2086 (Series 13, possibly 14). That would have been perfectly fine to string on for years. I strung on it for a couple of months before the AN2601 Pro arrived in mid-September. Since then I’ve done about 20 racquets on the new setup, stringing as a hobbyist for myself and my wife.

What it is

The AN2601 is an electronic constant-pull tension head built to retrofit existing stringing machines. It comes in standard and Pro versions; the Pro adds a rising diablo. It pulls 10.0 to 80.0 lb in 0.1 lb steps (the increment is adjustable in the settings), weighs 3.8 kg (about 8 lb), runs on 100–240 V at 50/60 Hz, and carries a 2-year warranty.

I haven’t opened mine up, so I can’t speak to the internals. The design and overall shape are close enough to the WISE 2086 that I’d guess it’s based on the same layout, with significantly updated and upgraded components. To be clear though, it’s its own product, not a WISE clone. (photo)

The big one: the electronic brake upgrade

The feature I most want to highlight is the optional electronic brake attachment, and it’s the main reason I’m writing this post.

On cheaper machines, the racquet mount rotates freely. When the tensioner pulls, the mount can shift slightly, and that movement shows up as fluctuation in the tension actually reaching the string. More expensive machines solve this by locking the mount in place while the tensioner is pulling. That’s what this upgrade adds.

It works by replacing the stock racquet mount axle with an electronic brake axle, which then plugs into the tension head. Installation is straightforward: unscrew the mount from the axle, then the axle from the base, then reverse the process with the replacement. That’s it.

In use, the brake can be engaged on its own, or set to trigger automatically when you press the button to start a pull. The activation latency is adjustable to taste, and the brake releases on its own as soon as the tensioner stops pulling.

The seller offers two variants depending on your machine. I messaged him directly on WeChat, and after some back and forth he worked out the right parts for my Hornet. He’s also reachable through Taobao messaging and RedNote (Xiaohongshu/小红书). If you’re considering this, contact him with your machine model and photos before ordering — he’s made adapters for most types of systems and will match the parts to yours.

(video)

What I paid

I paid no duties. The shipping company handled everything. If you ship through Taobao’s own international service, they handle it too, though that route would have cost roughly 50–100% more than the third-party forwarder I used. It’s probably the more trustworthy option if you’d rather not gamble.

Shipment details, in case you’re pricing out air freight yourself: the package declared 8.1 kg (just under 18 lb) at 40 × 40 × 20 cm, covering the head, the brake parts, and all accessories in one box.

Timeline: A couple of days from the seller to the forwarder’s warehouse, then about 9–10 days to fly to Canada, clear customs, and land on my doorstep.

Dealing with the seller: We communicated mainly over WeChat, in Mandarin. If you don’t read Chinese, modern translation tools handle this well enough that I wouldn’t expect it to be a barrier.

Price context: what this actually buys you

A fair comparison for the head itself is the Wise 2086, the standard electronic retrofit in North America (prices as of September 2026):

•    RacquetGuys (Canada): CAD $1,099, head only

•    Tennishead (US manufacturer): USD $1,101 including US shipping, out of stock at the time with about a 6-week lead time

•    Tennis Warehouse (US): USD $799 plus oversize shipping, back-ordered and US-only shipping

•    Adapters run USD $79 each and the WISE 2090 calibrator is USD $97. Wise doesn’t offer an electronic brake.

The more interesting comparison is against machines that come with these features built in. I’m not claiming this setup equals them. A Yonex or Wilson comes with a far better mounting system, a stand, and local support. But strictly in terms of electronic tensioning features, here’s roughly what that costs off the shelf:

•    Yonex Precision 9.0: CAD $21,000 at Max Sports Canada

•    Wilson Baiardo: CAD $9,299 at RacquetGuys; the Baiardo L is CAD $5,999

•    Head EX-TE3600: CAD $7,499

•    Victor C-7032 Ultra: forum reports put it around CAD $6,500

•    Li-Ning E5000: MSRP CAD $6,999.99, discounted to roughly CAD $5,997 at Li-Ning Canada

•    Gamma X-LT electronic: CAD $4,299

So a used manual machine plus a roughly CAD $1,000 retrofit puts the tensioning side of things in the same conversation as machines listed at five to twenty times the price. That’s the pitch.

Installation

Relatively easy. All the tools you need are in the package, and Anjilong provides a video to follow if working from a written manual isn’t your thing. I took my time and was extremely careful, so it ran about an hour. If you’re handy and comfortable with tools, it’ll go faster.

One practical note on power: mine shipped with a Chinese Type I cord, but the seller included a universal adapter in the box so I could plug it into a Canadian outlet. The supply is 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz, so no converter is needed.

AN2601 Pro vs. Wise 2086

A few differences stand out. The AN2601 goes lower on tension (10 lb vs. 15 lb) but tops out lower too (80 lb vs. 86 lb), which is irrelevant for badminton and may matter if you string tennis. It has 6 memory slots instead of 2, which is genuinely useful for saving mains, crosses, and knot tensions across a few frames. On weight the two are near-identical, within about half a pound, so neither is meaningfully more portable.

Stringing experience

Short version: it’s much smoother than the Wise. Five specific differences stand out.

Significantly better gripper and glide-to-activate!

One of the differences between the WISE2086 and more professional stringing machines with their own tension heads is that the gripper and trigger feels a bit outdated and crude. With the Angilon, you not only two buttons to start/stop pulling (one where the trigger is, but also one to the left of the display), you also have glide-to-activate!! It appears to be the same one as the third-party upgrade package that is available for the WISE 2086 on Taobao, but I cannot be certain.

The rising diablo

The Pro version offers a rising diablo instead of a fixed one, and I opted for it. There’s genuine debate over whether this matters, but I think it does. The string gets pulled at an angle closer to level with the racquet, rather than angled slightly downward.

Much faster polling

The tension sensor and its correction loop run noticeably faster than on the 2086. The head responds to micro-fluctuations so quickly that I mostly don’t notice them happening. This is especially apparent because the live tension readout only moves when there’s a meaningful deviation, so the display stays steady where the Wise would show it chasing.

It’s rigid

The Wise 2086 has a floating track, which makes the head feel a bit wobbly, particularly when pulling at an angle. I confirmed this after some back and forth with Dan at Tennishead. The AN2601 is solid by comparison, with no side-to-side play between the puller and the main body.

The 45-second auto-release

Worth knowing before you buy: the Anjilong head automatically disengages after 45 seconds of constant pull. It’s a protective feature to limit wear on the head, and it isn’t adjustable in either direction. It caught me off guard the first time it dropped tension on me, but I got used to it quickly. Forty-five seconds is plenty of time to clamp, so it’s not a deal breaker — just don’t let it surprise you mid-pull.

What I like

•    The electronic brake brings a feature normally reserved for far more expensive machines.

•    Total cost including the brake and shipping came in under a new Wise 2086 in Canada.

•    Faster tension correction and a far more rigid puller than the Wise.

•    Six memory slots and a lifetime pull counter are small but welcome touches.

•    The seller was responsive and sorted out the right parts for my machine.

What could be better

Honestly, not much. At this price you’re getting a package that punches well above its weight.

The real gap is on the business side rather than the product. There’s no marketing or support presence for this aimed at North America, which is why nobody here has heard of it. If there were, I suspect there’d be a lot of interest. Practically, that means ordering through Taobao and handling support over WeChat rather than walking into a local shop. The warranty is 2 years, and the manufacturer will ship replacement parts for anything that wears out, so in principle there shouldn’t be a failure that a part swap can’t fix.

Who should consider it

DIY-minded stringers who are comfortable ordering from Taobao and messaging the seller, and who want constant pull plus an electronic brake on an existing manual machine for roughly what a Wise 2086 alone costs here. Less suited to anyone who wants warranty service close to home. You should be able to find the seller page by searching "安集龙" on Taobao.

Verdict

For a long time, the North American market has only one option when it comes to upgrading your manual or drop-weight stringing machine with an electronic tension head, and that is the WISE 2086. The Angilon AN2601 Pro is a very, very, attractive alternative (upgrade, even) at roughly the same cost – provided you are comfortable with communicating with the seller overseas.

Happy to answer questions. Just thought to share my thoughts on a discovery that I am excited about.

Obviously referencing the decision by the umpire to give the French doubles side a red card for undue delay in the XD semi final. I see a lot of criticism of the decision online, with people attacking both the rule and the umpire.

First things first, can we accept that it takes great personal courage to give a team a red card in a difficult case in a tournament hosted by that teams country? That is a sign of a damn good umpire in my books. But beyond that, and credit to the user Wilaan for breaking down the timeline (with some additions by myself);

1:16:10 - rally ends (shuttle lands after coming off the frame of Feng's racket)
1:16:12 - scoreboard updates to 19-19
1:15:22 - umpire tells french pair the timer is running
1:16:24-26 - umpire announces "19 all"
1:16:28 - umpire tries to speed the french pair along by telling them to take their new shuttle
1:16:38 - live broadcast shows Delphine pacing back and forth
1:16:40 - umpire says "play"
1:16:45 - Delphine moves into the service position
1:16:46 - umpire calls Delphine over for the red card

To add to this, pairs on both sides had repeated warnings over the timer throughout the game (mostly the French pair). Now, if this had happened earlier in the first game, most people probably wouldnt have batted an eye except to say the umpire was being a bit harsh. But for some reason people think that the umpires should not be enforcing the rules just because its a tight game in the third game.

The French players had clearly broken the rules, they'd had repeated warnings, and they chose to ignore them. That umpire actually did their job unlike many others that are too cowardly to enforce the rules.

Greater enforcement of the rules and respect for umpires will only make the game better. Do we really want badminton to be like basketball, where the travel rule is barely enforced anymore and players are just running with the ball? Do we want the immaturity of tennis "stars" who throw hissyfits and where umpires are scared to enforce rules against them so as to avoid the tantrum and public attack?

Badminton is better with rules, especially those that are enforced.

Many have often asked to use thumb grip for doubles defence. https://youtube.com/shorts/1IpK3yY6O2k?is=AC8h2RRQc7_QqgRD. Looking at this video here, you can clearly see there is an issue if you use backhand grip and the smash is steep. Your racket is completely down. Unless u have insane wrist flexibility it is very hard to defend well. Backhand is easier for beginners n low intermediate. But bevel grip is what the high level players use mostly.

I believe this is the first time we've witnessed a player become the mens singles no.1 whilst also consistently playing in another discipline the entire time.

I mean that is actually crazy, think about how tired he is after all of these years playing at the top level in two disciplines, and managing to hit rank 1 in singles.

Very unique, wish more people were talking about it.

Surely he would be even stronger if he gave up doubles and purely focused on singles?
Thoughts?

Hi everyone, I’m planning to buy All England Final tickets for my boyfriend. Which category would be the best? Would appreciate any advice or opinion on this. Thanks!

I am right-handed. What grip should I use in doubles defence when my opponent is smashing from the left corner and from the right. I find that from the left, I can use backhand, but if they attack from the right, I’m unsure on what is best.

Hi, as title says, i am currently training to young boys (11 and 15) in the local community. I haven't played badminton in quite a while, and I am looking for some suggestions for some fun mini-games/activities I can throw at the during practice.

The problem is the majority of them I encounter either require more than 2 (3 with trainer) players OR, Is just practicing techniques

Hi everyone! Looking for a group that plays on weekends at Bintang San Carlos / Burlingame, but can also consider locations that are a bit farther. Not really sure about my skill level, but maybe somewhere between beginner and intermediate.

Hi,

I really love playing badminton but it seems like it doesn't love me back. I tried training, watching videos or even getting coached by better players but i felt like I'm not improving despite them telling me that i did. There are days that I have good performance but a lot of times i kept making errors despite in my head i know what to do.

I'm really on a verge of quitting and just accept that i will never be good at this sport. Any people out there felt the same feeling as I did? If so, how did you fix being inconsistent.

Thank you in advance.

Im a low intermediate badminton player who started playing socials about 2 years ago, and got training about a year ago 1-2 times a week. Before training I could only clear half court, smash flat, etc. But since training, I have significantly improved my shot quality, variation, and footwork etc. Ofc theres still a lot I need to work on. On any given day I feel like you'll get 2 versions of me on the court. Version 1 is really confident and can pose a threat to people who are better than me. I can smash sharp down the line, Im fast on my feet, and can spin net tight. Yet on the contrary, version 2 cannot rally and is riddled with self-doubt. I make 1 mistake, and that compounds into 5 mistakes for the subsequent rallies. It's like I lose all concentration and doubt my capabilities because I cannot hit shots that I usually can. I just hit it out just on the serve return or hit the shuttle aimlessly. On days like this, people who I should beat on paper I lose to, because I just can't keep the shot in and play confidently. And if I play people who I know are better than me, I have the preconceived thought that I will lose. It makes me feel frustrated and dejected as there is no in between. it's either Im playing very well, or very bad. Does anyone feel like this? And what are some tips you guys do to maintain concentration even on a bad day?

I've seen many coaching videos telling us to avoid the panhandle + wrist bending directly downwards to swing, due to its limited angle to complete the swing and also how it may injure your wrist if you swing hard enough. Personally, I've been trained long enough that the motion pretty much never comes up since I always pronate from the forehand grip and even for net kills a light tap would be enough and does not bend the wrist at all.

But watching many videos on teaching newcomers and also observing many casual sessions, I actually see this wrist bending a lot, and even on some veterans they might exhibit this motion maybe 5% of the time.

So I have two questions: 1. Is it actually useful in a limited number of scenarios? What are they? And 2. Why do coaches not try to correct that first if it is actually bad for your wrist? Or is teaching badminton to beginners so hard that this is just one of those things that takes a long time to correct?

Many would, I hope, agree that Lin Dan followed by LCW stand at the top as the greatest players of the sport.

However, the third place at the podium is verily a contest between Chen Long and Axelsen. Both are among the greatest badminton players; whose your pick over the other?

In my circle, a lot of rallies end up with players running from one backcourt corner to the other. Eventually one is forced into hitting a weak shot.

How to avoid being moved around like this in doubles?

Could it be a lack of pace in the shot ? Slow shots more time for opponent to hit to the corners easily.

I've recently been trying to incorporate more of reading my opponents in order to maximize my ability to play shots and create more advantages. However, an issue I've been running into is that when the opponent plays a medium height shot to the mid/backcourt, I can't seem to "find time" to look at the opponents. It's far easier when it's something like a drive, net, or a super high clear for me to either watch them out of the corner of my eye or take a quick glance at them.

A few possibilities Ive thought of but am not sure about:

1. I just need to overcome my fear that I'll be late to the shuttle and look.
2. The opponent's shot is too fast (even if it's a clear)
3. I need to look faster
4. I'm not pushing my center of gravity low enough as to give me that extra time

I understand that part of the game is trying to remember what your opponents have been doing during the rally but I think that falls more under anticipation rather than reading a situation. (Although I admit I could be wrong about that.

How do you guys manage to look at your opponents in order to find gaps?

Hi! I’m not a professional badminton player nor athletic, but I want to help my sibling, who actually plays badminton—reach great heights. He currently represents his school for badminton, and I just recently learned that their school only provides gym and equipment yet no coach (They fired the previous coach, and won’t be hiring anyone ‘til April). We can’t afford nor access contact a coach and he has an upcoming competition—his first major competition in fact (local)—finally after playing for 3 years.

The reason why I’ll be stepping up as his coach is because he needs support. He’s diagnosed with ADHD and literally just 13 years old.

I have already learned about: badminton knowledge (techniques), sports safety, injury prevention, and conditioning. + track what he should already be doing such as: daily exercises, diet, sleep, equipment maintenance and etc. I also track almost every event, training and sessions.

Besides the obvious, what else should I keep in mind? Like, should I read books about physiology about male teens? What more shall I learn about badminton? Tactical mastery? Sports science?

I won’t really be supporting my brother when it comes to tactical mastery. But I’ll learn at least the basics so that I can help with observations.

Thank you so much 🥲

Hey guys! I've recently purchased a Fitbit air and have been using it for a month now. Do any of you use it for badminton? Which features should I focus on more for badminton? In your experience are these stats accurate like hr, steps(especially during game), readiness score, sleep etc

I had a discussion yesterday about whether VA has reached this level of greatness. What do you think? Who among the active or recently retired players actually has reached that level of badminton greatness?

What does this sub think of the Popov brothers’ playing styles? I’m a big fan of both, but I feel like they’re stronger as singles players and have a better chance of achieving big results individually than as a doubles pair.

I'm a beginner who uses the Nanoflare 1000Z and it's incredibly unforgiving on mishits and feels hard to hit the sweet-spot. The tension is 24lbs. Any tips to master it?

Badminton deserves better. How can we still have such terrible streams in 2026?

I think we, as a badminton community, should be much more vocal about how our sport is being managed.

I come from esports, especially Counter-Strike, and I genuinely don't understand how badminton can have such poor decision-making at the top. We get projects like AirBadminton that barely anyone cares about, discussions about changing the scoring system when it wasn't necessary, yet we can't even get the basics right.

If we want more media attention, the first step is making our sport enjoyable to watch.

I'm a cameraman myself, and I genuinely don't understand how it's so difficult to provide a decent 1080p stream.

For around €5,000, you could buy 3–4 decent cameras, several shotgun microphones, HDMI cables or wireless transmitters, and build a perfectly acceptable streaming setup. And that's equipment you can reuse for years!

Don't tell me this requires millions. I could personally provide a decent setup for a fraction of what these events probably spend.

Look at esports.

In Counter-Strike, tournaments have incredible production, beautiful stages, multiple camera angles, great sound, engaging content and amazing atmospheres. All of this makes people WANT to watch, even when they don't fully understand the game.

Badminton has everything needed to be entertaining. The speed, the athleticism, the rallies, the atmosphere. But we're terrible at showcasing it.

Just look at the French Open stream.

And this isn't the first time. We've seen similar problems in Indonesia. (2025) but it's also mostly at every tournaments when there is no TV production. I remember watching a Denmark International challenge where they have all 5 (YES 5 courts ) covered by a decent pro camera/audio...and this was for international challenge. So there is really no excuses.

The image quality sometimes looks like 180p. The cameras shake whenever someone moves nearby or possibly touches the barriers. And somehow, this is an OFFICIAL international badminton broadcast?

They recently posted highlights of Toma Junior Popov beating Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the world No. 1.

Imagine being someone who doesn't follow badminton. You hear that a French player has just beaten the best player in the world, you click on the highlights, and you're greeted with absolutely terrible video quality.

Even as someone who loves badminton, I sometimes want to close the stream because it's so unpleasant to watch.

And we're completely wasting the atmosphere!

French crowds are incredible. People scream, chant, celebrate every point and create one of the best atmospheres in badminton.

Yet watching the stream, you barely experience any of that energy.

How can we expect new fans to fall in love with the sport when we can't even show them what makes it special?

I also genuinely wonder how these decisions are made.

Does the BWF simply give local organizers a budget and tell them to handle the production? Do organizers then hire the cheapest company available?

I'm genuinely asking because I don't understand how we keep ending up with these results.

I'm not even asking for a full television production like we'll probably get during the later rounds. Just decent cameras, stable footage, clear sound and proper 1080p quality.

I still own an old Panasonic GH5, which you can now buy second-hand for around €300, and it's capable of recording 4K at 60 fps. Obviously, a complete live production requires more than just a camera, but the equipment needed to produce a respectable stream is not outrageously expensive anymore.

The situation is especially frustrating in France.

We're competing with football, tennis, rugby, cycling, basketball and many other sports for attention.

And whether we like it or not, presentation matters enormously.

People are attracted by beautiful images, good storytelling, exciting highlights and entertaining broadcasts.

I've discussed this with several badminton journalists, and the lack of mainstream coverage in France is depressing.

When Christo Popov or Alex Lanier win major European titles, they struggle to make the front page of our biggest sports newspapers.

When Alex won the Denmark Open, he wasn't even featured on the main page.

Meanwhile, when Félix and Alexis Lebrun won European titles in table tennis, they received major coverage, including prominent photos.

And our biggest sports newspaper even broadcast the Denmark Open semifinals and finals!

So it's not as if badminton has absolutely no opportunities for exposure.

But we cannot expect people to take badminton seriously if the sport itself doesn't look professional on screen.

I'm honestly tired of seeing people in suits making decisions about the future of badminton while completely neglecting how the sport is presented to the public.

We need people who understand modern media, content creation, marketing, entertainment and how to attract a new audience.

Not just people who know how to organize a tournament.

I'm not saying every tournament needs a massive esports-level production. I'm saying that in 2026, a stable, good-quality stream should be the absolute minimum.

Badminton is an incredible sport. We shouldn't have to fight against its own presentation to convince people to watch it.

And I really think we, as fans, should start demanding better.

What do you think? Is this mainly a BWF problem, a local organizer problem, or simply a complete lack of ambition when it comes to badminton media?

I will be a line judge in our local tournament this Saturday. I know the rule for an outfit is - black from waste down. What suddenly came to my mind - would not those black shoes leave marks of the court?

If there is somebody who does it, I mean line judge role, and can share experience

Thank you

Was thinking about the above shot in doubles play... that basically it's not necessary to master (or even to learn) for non professional play.

And even then, how often do you see the pros play it on TV? Maybe only once in a blue moon, in a hail Mary kinda situation when taking it late when pushed to rear BH corner. And more often than not, the opposition front player will pounce on it easily I reckon.

For context, I'm a low intermediate male player, playing for past 15 years, and hardly even play singles at all.

Thank you.