Top badminton players in the BWF prize money list: The magnificent five

The top badminton players, based on the prize money list released by BWF, include five names such as Tai Tzu Ying and Viktor Axelsen.

Notably, these five names will be different from the richest badminton players list, where the legendary Lin Dan or Lee Chong Wei top by a mile with their giant net worth.

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The Badminton World Federation (BWF) recently released its prize money list based on the 2023 season. Two men and three women made the top five.

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It’s no surprise that world No.1 men’s singles shuttler Viktor Axelsen tops the list. He was followed by three women and a male doubles player between them.

The top badminton players, ranked by the BWF’s latest prize money list, in descending order.

Tai Tzu Ying

The current world No.3 women’s singles shuttler won three Asian Championships titles in 2017, 2018, and 2023 and was a silver medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The 29-year-old former world No.1 from Chinese Taipei lists her latest victory in taking the Hangzhou leg of the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2023. She earned $367,450 last year.

Seo Seung Jae

The South Korean men’s doubles player claimed $375,455 last year after winning the mixed and men’s doubles events of the 2023 BWF World Championships. The 26-year-old left-hander teamed up with Kang Min-hyuk in men’s doubles to win two more major tournaments last year before recently adding the 2024 India Open to his collection.

Chen Yu Fei

The Chinese world No.2 women’s shuttler’s recent success came in the 2023 China Masters Super 750. The 25-year-old Hangzhou native hopes to add to her $469,220 winnings from last season after coming off a runner-up finish in the 2024 India Open.

An Se Young

The 22-year-old South Korean dynamo rose to become the world No.1 women’s shuttler in August 2023 and has kept the position in the last six months. An collected $628,020 after she won eight titles and made the semifinals in the season finale last year.

Viktor Axelsen

Consistency has been the norm for Viktor Axelsen, which made as to why he topped this list. The 30-year-old Danish superstar got $645,095 by staying as the world No.1 since September 2017 and after topping six HSBC BWF World Tour events last year. Axelsen’s victory in the season finale, which was the highest prize money earner on the circuit in 2023, cemented his place as still the best in the game.

Meanwhile, the Swedish also makes the list of the richest badminton players, alongside Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei.