Another year has flown by, and it is once again time for the Arctic Open! That meansbadminton fans are in for a real treat, as many of the world’s top players make theirway to Vantaa, Finland.

The Clash of Clans Arctic Open 2026 powered by Yonex will take place in Myyrmäki, Vantaa, from 6–11 October.

As at last year’s Arctic Open, Finland will be represented by Joakim Oldorff (worldNo. 58) in men’s singles and Petra Saarnivaara (world No. 168) in women’s singles, both courtesy of wild cards.

Kalle Koljonen (world No. 67) will also represent Finland after earning a place in thequalifying draw.

So, let’s take a look at what we can expect.

Men’s singles preview

The men’s singles title could very well be heading to France. The Popov brothers – particularly younger brother Christo, but certainly not forgetting older brother TomaJunior – both have realistic chances of going all the way. Christo enters thetournament as the second seed, while Toma Junior is seeded seventh.

Alongside the French brothers, Europe’s biggest hopes rest on the shoulders of Anders Antonsen. If the Danish showman can find his best form, he will be an extremely difficult opponent for anyone.

The biggest favourite, however, may well be Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who hasjust risen to world No. 1. Vitidsarn won this tournament back in 2019, when it wasstill known as the Finnish Open. He also won the singles title at the recentlyconcluded Asian Games.

And when discussing the favourites, we certainly cannot forget defending championChou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei – even if, at 36, he would already be eligible for veterans’ competitions.

Finland’s Joakim Oldorff faces Yushi Tanaka in the opening round. The Japaneseplayer is ranked No. 18 in the world, but apart from reaching the semi-finals of theJapan Open this summer, he has not recorded many truly outstanding results over thepast calendar year.

Still, beating Tanaka would be a major achievement for Oldorff. The Finn earned hisbiggest haul of ranking points exactly a year ago when he won a Super 100 tournament in the United Arab Emirates.

Bubbling under: Hong Kong’s Jason Gunawan claimed the biggest title of his careerby winning the China Masters. In Vantaa, however, his first-round opponent is aboutas tough as it gets: Christo Popov. If he can clear that hurdle, the draw could open upconsiderably. Another potential surprise package is Lin Chun-Yi. The player fromChinese Taipei is capable of winning a tournament as prestigious as the All England – but has also suffered far too many first-round defeats.

Women’s singles preview

Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon is the top seed, but her recent results do not necessarilysuggest that she will take the title. Instead, my pick is China’s Han Yue, who won thefirst two editions of the Arctic Open in 2023 and 2024.

On paper, Yue’s toughest challengers are likely to be the Japanese duo TomokaMiyazaki and the experienced Nozomi Okuhara, who are also in the bottom half of the draw.

Finland’s Petra Saarnivaara faces eighth seed Mia Blichfeldt in the opening round. This is already the second time the Dane has faced a Finnish player in the first roundof the Arctic Open: in 2023, she defeated Nella Nyqvist 21–15, 21–13.

Bubbling under: If Ratchanok Intanon and India’s Pusarla V. Sindhu both win theirfirst two matches, we will see a rather remarkable rematch of the 2013 World Championships semi-final. Back then, the 18-year-old Intanon came out on top and went on to claim her country’s first-ever World Championship gold medal.

Intanon’s compatriot Pornpawee Chochuwong could also be a “Bubbling under” candidate. There are no fewer than four Danish players in the draw, but I do notbelieve any of them quite have what it takes to go all the way.

Men’s doubles preview

Do you remember which pair won the men’s doubles title at last year’s Arctic Open? Here’s a hint: they were unseeded.

The correct answer: England’s Ben Lane and Sean Vendy. That title remains theironly tournament victory at this level – after all, the Arctic Open is a Super 500 event. This spring, they won their first European Championship title, and more recently theyhave reached a career-high world ranking of No. 8.

That earns them the top-seeded spot in Vantaa, so this time the English pair will notenter as underdogs. But are they really the favourites?

I would be happy to be proven wrong, but my prediction is that their run will end in the quarter-finals, where they could face China’s He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu.

The Chinese pair have slipped to No. 40 in the world rankings, but that is mainlybecause they have played only six tournaments this year. He Ji Ting has reportedlyfaced allegations related to gambling and has therefore been absent from competitiveaction. However, the pair’s career-high ranking of No. 4 tells you all you need to know about their quality as doubles players...

In the bottom half of the draw, the strongest pair on paper are the 2021 worldchampions Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi. In addition to the Japanese pair, Denmark’s “daddies”, Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, are alwaysinteresting to watch, although their results this year have been less than impressive. Perhaps age is finally beginning to catch up with 34-year-old Astrup and 37-year-old Rasmussen.

Bubbling under: I would be surprised if anyone other than the pairs mentionedabove won the men’s doubles title, but if I have to name one outsider, it would beMalaysia’s Aaron Tai/Yap Roy King. They are ranked only No. 350 in the world, butdon’t let that ranking fool you: the Malaysians have switched partners frequently in recent times, and both have multiple world-ranking entries with different partners.

Women’s doubles preview

In women’s doubles, the easiest and most obvious prediction would be to write thenames Rin Iwanaga – now Uesaka after getting married earlier this year – and KieNakanishi on the winner’s ticket. The Japanese pair are the top seeds and havereached at least the semi-finals in all three editions of the Arctic Open.

However, I predict that their run will end earlier this time. They already face a strongChinese pair, Li Yi Jing/Wang Yi Duo, in the opening round, and if they clear thathurdle, another Chinese pair, Chen Fan Shu Tian/Luo Xu Min, is likely to await themin the next round.

Looking at recent results, however, one pair stands above the rest: Japan’s SumireNakade/Miyu Takahashi. They have played only seven tournaments this season, butthe results speak for themselves: an astonishing five major tournament victories, thebiggest of which came at the China Masters in early September.

Nakade/Takahashi are currently only the seventh-highest-ranked Japanese pair in theworld at No. 29, but if they continue at anything close to this pace, they will soon beinside the top 10.

Bubbling under: Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Yin-Hui/Lin Jhih Yun are the second seeds, although they have yet to win a tournament at this level. China’s Bao Li Jing/Cao ZiHan could also make a deep run, as could by far Europe’s most successful women’sdoubles pair of the 2020s, Bulgarian sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva.

Mixed doubles preview

Ladies and gentlemen, juniors and seniors: if there was ever a time to shine thebrightest spotlight on mixed doubles, this might be it. The line-up hardly gets anybetter than this.

Of the world’s top 10, the only absentees are French world champions ThomGicquel/Delphine Delrue and one half of Malaysia’s top pair, the injured Toh Ee Wei– although Chen Tang Jie will compete with another female partner.

Every other top-10 player on the planet is, at the time of writing, set to compete for the Arctic Open title!

The favourites are likely to be world No. 1 pair Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping, with world No. 3 pair Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin close behind.

The two Chinese pairs have met in the Arctic Open final three years in a row: Feng and Huang won in 2023 and 2024, while Jiang and Wei took the title last year.

A third potential title contender is Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran, currently ranked No. 4 in the world.

Bubbling under: Could Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui become the next Arctic Open mixed doubles champions? They certainly belong in the “Bubbling under” category. Japan’s Yuta Watanabe/Maya Taguchi enter the tournament unseeded, and I am notentirely convinced by their chances, but they deserve a mention nonetheless – theyare simply too intriguing a pairing to ignore.

Written by: JESPER VON HERTZEN

Buy tickets here!
Read more about the event here!
See the tournament schedule here! (The schedule will be updated continuously as thetournament progresses.

Qualifying begins on Tuesday, 6 October, with free admission to the arenathroughout the day. See you at Vantaa Energia Areena!