The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Women's Team Championships, is a major international

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

competition contested by women's national badminton teams. First held in 1956–1957 and contested at three year intervals, it has been contested every two years since 1984 when its scheduled times and venues were merged with those of Thomas Cup, the world men's team championship. In 2007, the

Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation, aka BWF, is the international governing body for the sport of badminton approved by the International Olympic Committee. It was founded on 5 July 1934 as the International Badminton Federation with nine member ...

decided to have Thomas and Uber Cup finals separated again but the proposal was ultimately abandoned. The Uber Cup is named after a former British women's badminton player, Betty Uber, who in 1950 had the idea of hosting a women's event similar to the men's. She also made the draw for the 1956–1957 inaugural tournament, which took place at Lytham St. Annes in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. The cup follows a similar format to that of the men's competition of the Thomas Cup. As of the 2024 tournament,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

is the most successful team, having won 16 titles.

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

is second, having won it six times, followed by

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, each with three cups.

Trophy

The Uber Cup trophy was officially presented at the annual general meeting in 1956, the year the first Uber Cup tournament was first held. It was made by Mappin & Webb, prominent silversmiths on Regent Street in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The trophy is 20 inches high with a rotating globe on top of a plinth and a female player standing on top of a shuttlecock.

Results

1957–1981

1984–1988

1990–present

Successful national teams

So far, only five countries have won the Uber Cup with China the most successful team, with 16 titles, followed by Japan (six titles), Indonesia (three titles), the United States (three titles) and Korea (two titles). The Uber Cup has only spread to two continents so far:

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Nine teams have made it into the finals. The finalists other than the five winner countries above are Denmark, England, the Netherlands and Thailand. Sweden, Hong Kong, Germany, Chinese Taipei and India are the other fives teams which have made it into the final four. Bold text denotes team was host country.

Team appearances at the final stages

, 30 teams have qualified in the history of the competition for the final stages of the Uber Cup. Asia and Europe are the continent with the most teams, at ten. Africa had four teams that qualified, followed by Oceania and Pan America with three teams each. Below is the list of teams that have appeared in the final stage of Uber Cup as of the 2024 tournament. ;27 times * * ;23 times * ;21 times * * ;15 times * ;14 times * * ;13 times * ;11 times * ;10 times * * ;9 times * * * * ;6 times * ;5 times * * * ;3 times * * * ;2 times * * ;1 time * * * * *

References

{{Main world championships Recurring sporting events established in 1956 World championships in badminton