BWF has already suspended its competitions until at least the end of April, but also expects to lengthen that - potentially past June.

Rankings will be backdated to the last international competition played, the All England Open Badminton Championships.

This will be used to determine the seeding for the next international tournaments held. 

"BWF will provide more information in due course regarding the process as to how the rankings will eventually be 'unfrozen' following the commencement of the international circuit", the governing body said in statement.

"However, it is difficult to outline the exact procedure until we have an exact overview of what the international calendar will look like once play resumes and suspended tournaments have been rescheduled."

Triathlon, table tennis and golf are among the other sports to have frozen their rankings while there is no competition played.

With more than 41,000 people losing their lives from COVID-19 and more countries implementing strict restrictions on movement and group gatherings in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, it seems likely that sport will not be able to return for some months yet.

Japan's Kento Momota currently sits top of the men's rankings, with Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying now top of the women's rankings, overtaking China's Chen Yu Fei.