Overview

• The BWF Council approved regulations on August 29 to run official enforcement trials in Week 47 of 2025 at select World Tour events, with broader testing planned through 2026.
• The clock starts when the chair umpire updates the score, and both the server and receiver must be ready before the 25 seconds expire.
• Players may take a quick towel or drink, apply cold spray or ice, adjust taping or strapping, or cut strings, and any shuttle change must be finished before the countdown ends.
• Chair umpires retain discretion to allow extra time in exceptional cases such as medical intervention or significant mopping of the court.
• BWF cites data from hundreds of matches showing typical inter-rally gaps average about 22 seconds without incidents, shifting delay control from subjective calls under Clause 16.4 to an objective limit.