On Wednesday 18 August 2021, the BWF made a live draw for the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2021, which will take place from 9 -17 October 2021.
In the Uber Cup draw, both qualifiers from Oceania and Africa (Tahiti and Egypt) were drawn into the same group. Meanwhile, in the Thomas Cup draw, Tahiti will face defending champions, China, in a tough group:
| TotalEnergies BWF Thomas Cup Finals 2021 | TotalEnergies BWF Uber Cup Finals 2021 |
| Group C | Group C |
| China | Korea |
| India | Chinese Taipei |
| Netherlands | Tahiti |
| Tahiti | Egypt |
To check out the full draw, click here.
Originally, Australia were the top qualifier from Oceania for the Thomas & Uber Cup Finals following their wins at the VICTOR Men’s and Women’s Team Championships in 2020. However, due to the significant travel costs and quarantine restrictions currently in place in their country, Badminton Australia decided to withdraw. Runners up, New Zealand, were offered the spot but decline for similar reasons. Following the process of inviting Oceania’s next ranked teams, Tahiti welcomed the invite. Their country is currently enjoying no travel restrictions and several of their proposed players currently reside in France – much closer to the host city of Finland.
Tahiti also accepted an invite to compete in the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup (rescheduled from 2020) in Denmark, two weeks prior (26 September – 3 October 2021) week after the Finland tournament. They have only ever competed in the World Mixed Team Championships once before, when the tournament came to the Gold Coast in 2017.
The team has less than five weeks to prepare for their first international tournament in over eighteen months, working closely with the development and administration team at Badminton Oceania to assist with travel requirements, player development and training.
