Badminton was first introduced to Sweden in the early
1930s by
Danes that brought the sport to the country. The national team was formed soon after the formation of the
Swedish Badminton Association in 1936.
Men's team Early years of Thomas Cup qualification (1936–1979) Sweden first competed in qualifying for the first
Thomas Cup in 1949. The team consisted of a five man team featuring
Nils Jonson, who was the finalist in the men's doubles event at the
1948 All England Championships,
Inge Blomberg, national doubles champions
Helge Paulsen and
Bengt Polling and
Knut Malmgren. The team received a bye in the first round but lost in the semi-finals to
Denmark 9–0. In the
1952 Thomas Cup European Zone qualifiers, the team lost to Denmark again but with a better margin of 6–3. In 1955, the team advanced to the finals of the
1955 Thomas Cup European Zone qualifiers by defeating
France 9–0 and
England 7–2 in the first two rounds. However, the team lost their chances of qualifying for the final tournament when they lost 8–1 to Denmark. In 1958, the team beat
Scotland 9–0 in the first round but lost to Denmark 9–0 in the second round. In 1961, the team defeated newcomers
Norway 9–0 in
Trollhättan but lost their second round match at home to
England by a narrow margin. From 1964 to 1979, the team missed their chances of qualifying for the
Thomas Cup after losing to Denmark and England in the final rounds of the European Zone.
1980s In the
1982 Thomas Cup European Zone qualifiers, Sweden defeated
West Germany 9–0 in
Duisburg to advance to the finals but lost 8–1 to Denmark in
Copenhagen. In 1984, the team advanced to the knockout stages of the Thomas Cup European Zone qualifiers after finishing first in their group in the group stages but were then defeated by England in the semi-finals. In the third place playoff match, Sweden defeated Scotland 5–0 and qualified for the
Thomas Cup for the first time since 1949. The team were placed into Group B with defending champions
China, Denmark and
South Korea. The team lost their first match to Denmark 4–1. Their sole victory came from doubles pair
Stefan Karlsson and
Thomas Kihlström whom won the All England Championships in 1983. The team lost their next matches 5–0 to South Korea and China, finishing last in their group. In 1986, Sweden qualified for the
1986 Thomas Cup after defeating Scotland in the third place playoff. The team were grouped with
Indonesia, Denmark and South Korea. Sweden first lost 5–0 to South Korea and Indonesia then 4–1 to Denmark. In the 1988 Thomas Cup qualifiers, Sweden advanced to the semi-finals of the European zone but lost to Denmark 5–0. The team almost failed to qualify for the
Thomas Cup when the team trailed 0–2 against the
Netherlands in the third place playoff. The team then came back to win the tie 3–2 with a win from
Jens Olsson in the third singles match and two wins from the doubles matches. Sweden were placed in Group B with the same teams the team faced in the last Thomas Cup. The team lost to Indonesia 5–0 and then 4–1 to Denmark. In their final match, the team trailed 0–1 but took a surprising 2–1 lead against South Korea with two wins in their second and third singles. The team then lost the tie 2–3 with defeat from their doubles matches.
1990s Sweden advanced to the final of the Thomas Cup European zone qualifiers for the first time after defeating England 3–2 in the semi-finals, granting the team qualification for the 1990 Thomas Cup in Japan. The team then lost 4–1 to Denmark. In the 1990 Thomas Cup, the team finished last in their group after losing to China,
Malaysia and South Korea. In 1992, the team qualified for the Thomas Cup after defeating England 4–1 in the European zone semi-finals. Placed in Group A, the team failed to advance to the knockout stages after they lost out to Indonesia 4–1 and China 5–0. The team then won their first ever match in the Thomas Cup when they beat
Thailand 3–2 to finish third in the group. In the
1994 Thomas Cup, the team failed to advance to the knockout stages again after losing out to China and Indonesia but won their last match against
Finland 5–0. The team were also eliminated in the group stages of the
1996 Thomas Cup but managed to win a point when they defeated England 4–1. The team also failed to advance to the knockout stages of the Thomas Cup in 1998.
Slow decline (2000–present) Although Sweden qualified for the Thomas Cup in
2000 and
2002, the team failed to win against all of their opponents and finished last in the group stages. In 2004, Sweden fell short to the Netherlands in the second round of the Thomas Cup European Zone knockout stage and failed to qualify for the final tournament for the first time since 1982. In 2006, the team took part in the
2006 European Men's Team Badminton Championships but failed to reach the knockout stages after losing 3–2 to
Ukraine in the group stages. In the
2008 European Men's Team Badminton Championships, the team went a step higher by advancing to the quarter-finals but could not advance further as they lost to Denmark 3–0. Sweden's group stage woes continued in 2010 and 2012 with the team losing to
Russia and Denmark in the group stages of both editions respectively. In 2014, Sweden showed signs of resurgence after ousting fifth seeds, the Netherlands in the group stages and finishing first in their group to reach the quarter-finals of the European Team Championships. However, the team lost their chances of securing bronze when they lost 3–0 to Finland, making it their first ever defeat against the Finns since their first meeting in 1984. In 2016, the team qualified for the quarter-finals of the European Team Championships as the highest ranked second-placed team in the group stages but lost out to
Germany 3–0. In 2020, Sweden were eliminated in the group stages of the European Team Championships after the team finished second behind England. In 2024, the team failed to qualify for the
2024 European Team Championships after losing 5–0 to England in the European qualifiers in
Milton Keynes.
Return to the Thomas Cup (2026) In December 2025, Sweden qualified for the
2026 European Men's Team Championships after defeating
Azerbaijan 3–1 in their qualifying group final in Portugal. In the 2026 European Men's Team Championships, the team were drawn against France, Germany and host nation Turkey. The team edged past Turkey 3–2 then lost 5–0 to their French counterparts. The team then created an upset when they won a decisive victory against Germany 3–2 to book their place in their first ever semi-final at the European Team Championships. The team won bronze after losing to France 3–0 in the semi-finals. With this result, Sweden qualified for the Thomas Cup, marking it their first appearance since their last appearance in 2002.
Women's team Sweden first competed in the qualifying rounds of the
inaugural Uber Cup. The team played their first match against
Ireland in
Dublin and lost 6–1. The two teams met again in the second round of the
1960 Uber Cup European Zone qualifiers with Ireland defeating Sweden 7–0. In December 1968, the team lost 4–3 to Scotland in the first round of the
1969 Uber Cup European Zone qualifiers. The team then failed to qualify for the 1972 Uber Cup after losing in the first round of the European Zone qualifiers to Denmark 6–1. In 1974, the team withdrew from the
Uber Cup qualifiers following the absence of team captain
Eva Stuart.
Debut at the Uber Cup Sweden made their maiden appearance at the Uber Cup in 1986 when the team qualified for the final tournament after defeating Scotland in the third place playoff of the European Zone qualifiers. The team were placed in Group A with China, Denmark and Japan. The team lost 5–0 to China and Japan in their first two matches and then 3–2 to Denmark. The team failed to qualify for the Uber Cup for a second consecutive time in 1988 after losing to the Netherlands in the tie for third place at the European qualifiers. In the
1990 Uber Cup, the team suffered defeats from China, South Korea and the Netherlands to finish last in their group.
Uber Cup semi-finalists (1992–1994) Despite Sweden's disappointing Uber Cup campaign in 1990, the team began showing signs of improvement in 1992 when they defeated England and the Netherlands in the 1992 Uber Cup European Zone knockout stage to qualify for the
Uber Cup as winners of the European Zone for the first time. Under coach
Kenneth Holmström, Sweden started off with their first win at the Uber Cup by defeating England 3–2. The team then pulled off an upset, beating former champions
Japan 4–1 and lost to South Korea by the same margin. With two wins in their record, Sweden advanced to the semi-finals of the Uber Cup for the first time since their debut in 1986. In the semi-finals, the team lost 5–0 against the reigning champions, China. Sweden managed to replicate their success in the next Uber Cup with two wins against Denmark and Thailand in the group stages. The team faced off against China for a second time since the last Uber Cup semi-final. The team trailed 0–2 against their Chinese opposition with
Ye Zhaoying and
Han Jingna defeating
Lim Xiaoqing and
Catrine Bengtsson in the first two singles matches. Sweden then won a point when
Christine Magnusson defeated
Liu Yuhong in three games. Sweden lost the tie when their first doubles pair of
Catrine and
Maria Bengtsson lost out to
Ge Fei and
Gu Jun in a tough three game battle. In the second doubles match, Lim and Magnusson defeated
Chen Ying and
Wu Yuhong in three games to end the tie 2–3.
Recent results (2000–present) Sweden qualified for the 2000 Uber Cup after failing to qualify for the tournament twice in 1996 and 1998. The team finished last in their group after losing to China, South Korea and the Netherlands. In 2006, Sweden competed in the
European Women's Team Championships and reached the quarter-finals after defeating
Italy and hosts
Greece in the group stages. The team then lost 3–0 to Germany in the quarter-finals. From 2008 to 2012, the team have failed to advance to the knockout stages of the European Women's Team Championships. In 2024, Sweden failed to qualify for the European Women's Team Championships after the team finished second behind
Spain in their qualifying group.
Mixed team Sweden hosted the
1972 European Badminton Championships that featured the first edition of the
European mixed team event. The team finished in fourth place after achieving a win over Scotland and losing to England, Denmark and West Germany. From 1974 to 1980, the team finished third at the European Mixed Team Championships four times in a row. Sweden went one place up in 1982 when the team finished as runners-up of the European Mixed Team Championships. In 1989, the team competed in the inaugural edition of the
Sudirman Cup in Jakarta and finished in fifth place.
European champions (1992–1994) In April 1992, Sweden won their first ever title at the European Mixed Team Championships by defeating Scotland 5–0 and Denmark and England 3–2. In 1994, the team defended their title by defeating Denmark 3–2 and winning 5–0 against Scotland and Russia.
Decline (2000–present) In the 2002 European Mixed Team Championships, Sweden finished in fifth place of the overall standings. In the
2007 Sudirman Cup, the team were relegated from Level 1 to Level 2 and finished in 16th place, losing 3–1 to Russia. In the 2009 Sudirman Cup, Sweden were relegated once more to Level 3. The team won their match against Australia 3–1 to maintain their status in Level 3. Since 2019, Sweden has not qualified for the European Mixed Team Championships. == Competitive record ==