As for prize money, there is simply no comparison between tennis and badminton. Any Grand Slam title in tennis is worth more than 10 Superseries badminton titles.
Just take the Australian Open 2012
[TD="class: dkBlueBgWhiteText"]PRIZE Money (in US$) for Australian Open 2012 Men's and Women's Singles[/TD]
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1st Round $20,800
2nd Round $33,300
3rd Round $54,625
4th Round $109,250
Quarter finalist $218,500
Semi finalist $437,000
Runners-up $1,150,000
Winners $2,300,000
Just winning R1 alone it's US$20,800. So why wouldn't Federer play 19 tournaments? When Lin Dan is compared to Roger Federer by the well-known badminton writer,Dev Sukumar, it is not the number of tournaments played but the accolades won and dominance in their respective sports. Even the prizemoney or rewards for Lin Dan in the Olympic year for having won gold is a far cry from what Federer gained in any typical year.
In badminton tournaments this year, Intanon so far already played 21 (not including CBSL which is spread over 3 months and in between other tournaments) while Sung JH 20, though only a few of them were played to 5 rounds, several were early exits.
Indeed, to popularise and promote badminton worldwide and individually in each country so as to attract big money as well, BWF and the member associations must work closely together in every aspect, starting with better scheduling and coordination of international tournaments with the various BAs, and not just concentrate on the BWF-sanctioned SS/GPGs.
Without a wide fan base of both the casual or recreational players and the enthusiasts, badminton will have a long way to catch up with tennis in popularity,publicity and prizemoney, perhaps with the exception of China, Indonesia and Malaysia but not in terms of prize money. Just the number of TV telecasts, live and delayed, for tennis and badminton should give you an idea of where the two sports stand to each other.