Akane Yamaguchi

Akane Yamaguchi (山口 茜, Yamaguchi Akane, born 6 June 1997) is a Japanese badminton player from the Kumamoto Saishunkan team who specializes in singles play. She was the first Japanese player to hold the number 1 position in the BWF women's singles ranking.

Akane Yamaguchi 山口茜
Yamaguchi at Indonesia Open Super Series Premier 2015
Personal information
Country	Japan
Born	(1997-06-06) 6 June 1997 Katsuyama, Fukui, Japan[1]
Height	1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)
Weight	55 kg (121 lb)
Handedness	Right
Women's singles
Career record	310 wins, 111 losses
Highest ranking	1 (19 April 2018)
Current ranking	3 (17 March 2020)
Medal record Women's badminton Representing  Japan World Championships 2018 Nanjing Women's singles Sudirman Cup 2015 Donggguan Mixed team 2019 Nanning Mixed team 2017 Gold Coast Mixed team Uber Cup 2018 Bangkok Women's team 2014 New Delhi Women's team 2016 Kunshan Women's team Asian Games 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Women's team 2014 Incheon Women's team 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Women's singles Asian Championships 2019 Wuhan Women's singles 2017 Wuhan Women's singles Asia Team Championships 2018 Alor Setar Women's team 2020 Manila Women's team Asia Mixed Team Championships 2017 Ho Chi Minh Mixed team East Asian Games 2013 Tianjin Women's singles 2013 Tianjin Women's team Youth Olympic Games 2014 Nanjing Girls' singles World Junior Championships 2013 Bangkok Girls' singles 2014 Alor Setar Girls' singles 2012 Chiba Girls' singles 2012 Chiba Mixed team 2014 Alor Setar Mixed team Asian Youth Games 2013 Nanjing Mixed doubles Asian Junior Championships 2012 Gimcheon Mixed team 2014 Taipei Girls' singles 2012 Gimcheon Girls' singles 2013 Kota Kinabalu Mixed team 2014 Taipei Mixed team
BWF profile

Yamaguchi won the national junior championship as a primary school student in 2010. She also won the 2014 and 2017 national championships, and the 2017 BWF Super Series Finals international tournament.[2] Yamaguchi helped the Japan women's team win the 2018 Uber Cup and she also won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games.[3][4]

Career

2012

In July, Yamaguchi represented Japan at the Asian Junior Championships held in Gimcheon, South Korea. She finished in the semifinals in the women's singles event and settled for the bronze medal, losing to her teammate Nozomi Okuhara with a score of 0–2 (19–21, 9–21). She was part of the national junior team that won the first Asian junior mixed team title for Japan.[5] She reached the finals of the BWF World Junior Championships three years in a row, winning a silver medal in the 2012, then gold medals in 2013 and 2014.[6]

2013

In April, Yamaguchi finished second at the Osaka International in the women's singles event final to Kaori Imabeppu with a score of 0–2 (20–22, 16–21),[7] and was women's singles runner-up in the New Zealand Open, a Grand Prix tournament.[8] Aged 16, Yamaguchi became the youngest player to win the BWF Super Series tournament, beating Shizuka Uchida in the finals of the Japan Open. This was the first time a Japanese woman had won the women's singles at the Japan Open and the first victory for Japan in the Japan Open.[9]

While in high school, Yamaguchi won the national badminton competition, competing in the women's singles event. At the 2nd Asian Youth Games held in Nanjing in August 2013, where she represented the Fukushima Prefectural Tomioka High School, she won a gold medal in mixed doubles.[10] In October, she represented Japan at the East Asian Games badminton competition held in the Tianjin Binhai New Area, China, where she finished third in the women's singles. After graduating from high school, she joined Re-Shunkan Pharmaceutical badminton team.[11]

2014

In January, Yamaguchi competed in South Korea and in the Malaysia Open where she reached the semifinal and quarterfinal rounds, respectively. In February, she won the Asian Junior Championships girl's singles title. In March, she competed in the first round of the 2014 All England Super Series Premier. In June, she played in three consecutive tournaments, including the 2014 Japan Super Series, the 2014 Indonesia Super Series Premier, and the 2014 Australian Super Series, though each time she was eliminated after the first round. In November, she was the runner-up in the 2014 China Open Super Series Premier. In September, she represented Japan in the 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea, helping her team win the women's team bronze medal.

At the opening ceremony of the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China, on 16 August, she served as the flag-bearer for the Japanese team.[12] She was the number one seed in the women's singles event, eventually winning the women's singles silver medal.[13]

In November, she won both the BWF Super Series and the Premier China Open. She then won the All Japan General Championships in December. Her victory at just 17 years of age made her the second youngest player to do so. In December, she finished third in the BWF Super Series Final held in Dubai, UAE.

2015

In March 2015, Yamaguchi reached the women's singles semifinal in the 2015 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold. In May, she represented the Japanese team in the Sudirman Cup in her second singles appearance. Although Yamaguchi was not scheduled to play, in the final against the defending champions, China, the coach arranged for her to play since Yamaguchi had defeated both of China's top players. The Chinese team took a 2–0 lead in the women's finals. Yamaguchi's opponent was the London Olympics gold medalist Li Xuerui. In the end, Yamaguchi defeated her 2–0 (21–23, 14–21), and the Japanese team was a runner-up. This marked the first time Japan had earned a victory in the Sudirman Cup Championship.

In October, she was the women's champion of the 2015 Bitburger Open Grand Prix Gold with a victory over Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan, a Gold Grand Prix women's singles champion.[14]

2016

Yamaguchi won her second Super Series title at the Korea Open, beating Sung Ji-hyun, the fifth seed.[15] She followed this with a win at the Denmark Open held at Odense, making her the fourth non-Chinese women's singles player to win two consecutive Super Series following Tai Tzu-ying, Ratchanok Intanon and Tine Baun. On her way to victory, Yamaguchi defeated two-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Carolina Marín in a close, three-set match and her teammate Nozomi Okuhara,[16] whom she had never beaten prior to the Olympic Games. In May 2016, she was selected as the main player for the women's singles in the 2016 Uber Cup, helping the Japanese team win third place in the women's team competition.

In August, she represented Japan for the first time in the women's singles badminton event at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, while in the semifinals, facing teammate and 6th seed Nozomi Okuhara, she lost and was eliminated.[17] Yamaguchi played in the 2016 Denmark Super Series Premier in October. In the women's singles final, she defeated the No. 2 seed, Tai Tzu-ying, winning the tournament.[18] This was her first major super women's singles championship in her career. [19]

2017

In February 2017, Yamaguchi represented Japan at the 2017 Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and helped the team win its first mixed team championship. She also won the gold medal in the women's singles finals of the 2017 German Open Grand Prix Gold. In March, she played in the 2017 India Super Series. In the women's singles semifinal, she lost to the tournament's top seed and Olympic champion, Carolina Marín. She participated in the 2017 Badminton Asia Championships held in Wuhan, China. in April. She defeated Malaysian star Goh Jin Wei in the first round as the No. 2 seed; in the top eight, Yamaguchi played well and defeated the No. 6 seed 2–0.[20]

In August 2017, Yamaguchi represented Japan in the BWF World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, where she played in the women's singles event. She was the No. 1 seed, so had a bye in the first round. She defeated Denmark's Line Kjærsfeldt 2–0 in the second round, but in the third she faced No. 9 seed Chen Yufei and was defeated 0–2 (18–21, 19–21) and eliminated.[21] In October, she played in the 2017 French Super Series. She lost the women's singles final to the tournament's top seed, Tai Tzu-ying. Yamaguchi was the runner-up. She played in the 2017 China Open Super Series Premier, and in the women's singles final she swept the host's Gao Fangjie 2–0 (21–13, 21–15) to win her first women's singles championship of the year.[22]

In December, she played in the finals, defeating teammates Sayaka Sato and He Bingjiao in the group stage. She lost to India's P. V. Sindhu, but still qualified for second place. She won the semifinal 1–2 defeating Ratchanok Intanon. In the final Yamaguchi defeated Sindhu, the World Championship runner-up, winning the women's singles championship in the Super Series Finals.[23]

2018

In March, Yamaguchi played in the 2018 German Open. In the women's singles final, she defeated the No. 4 seed, China's Chen Yufei, 2–1 and won the Super 300 women's singles championship. She also played in the 2018 All England Open in March losing to Tai Tzu-ying in the women's singles final 0–2 . On 19 April 2018, Yamaguchi became the first Japanese person to become the top-ranked singles player in the world,[24] for which she was awarded the "Honorary Citizen Award" by the mayor of Katsuyama, Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, on 1 May 2018.[25] In May 2018, she was selected as the main force of the Uber Cup women's singles, helping the Japanese team regain the women's team championship after 48 years.[26]

In July, she participated in the 2018 BWF World Championships held in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. She was the second seed in the women's singles. In the top four, facing the Olympic runner-up P. V. Sindhu, she lost both games 0–2 finishing in third place in the World Championships women's singles.[27]

In August, she represented Japan in the Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia, and helped the Japanese women's team win the women's team gold medal. In the women's singles semifinals, facing the tournament's No. 3 seed Olympic runner-up P. V. Sindhu, Yamaguchi lost 1–2 , winning the women's singles bronze medal.[28]

2019

In February 2019, Yamaguchi played in the German Open, and in the women's singles final defeated the No. 3 seed, World Championship champion, Ratchanok Intanon 2–1 to become the Super 300 women's singles champion.[29] In March, she played in the 2019 All England Open, and lost to the tournament's top seed Tai Tzu-ying in the women's singles semifinal 1–2.[30] In April, she played in the Malaysia Open, finish as the runner-up after lost to the top seed of the tournament, Tai Tzu-ying, 0–2.[31]

She played in the Asian Championships. In the semifinal she defeated Chen Yufei, the top seed in China, making it through to the final where she faced another Chinese star, He Bingjiao, and winning the first Asian Championship title for the Japanese team. In the same month, she played in the New Zealand Open, lost in the semifinal to the tournament's No. 6 seed Li Xuerui of China 1–2 . In May, she represented Japan at the 2019 Sudirman Cup held in Nanning, China, helping the Japanese team win the mixed group runner-up.[32]

In July, she won the Japan Open, her second Japan Open title since her first six years prior.[33] That same month, she won a match against Taiwanese competitor Tai Tzu-ying, the highest-ranked player in the world, placing her in the finals of her first Indonesia Open.[34] In August, Yamaguchi was defeated in the second round of 2019 BWF World Championships held in Basel, Switzerland, by 20-year-old Yeo Jia Min of Singapore 0–2.[35]

After a disappointing loss in the BWF World Championships due to some injury problems she faced, she lost in the early stages of China, Korea and Denmark open tournaments. She came back in her form in the French Open, where she managed to reach semifinals round after losing to An Se-young. She also reached the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open and Korea Masters. She competed in the World Tour Finals in Guangzhou, where she got to the semifinals after her victories against He Bingjiao and defending champion P. V. Sindhu. She lost to Chen Yufei in the group stage and the semifinales as well, denying her the final.

2020

After a slow start, Yamaguchi claimed her first title victory of the year at the Thailand Masters, beating An Se-young in two straight games. She helped her team in winning the Badminton Asia Team Championships by beating the An Se-young in the final. The Japanese team won it 3–0 against Korea.[36]

Technical evaluation

Chinese player Sun Yu has commented on Yamaguchi's style, pointing out that while small, she is diligent and runs swiftly, and that she is capable of picking up the kinds of difficult shots that others are typically unable to save. Sun Yu also suggests that her style of play is based upon patience and consistent performance, observing that she does not make mistakes often, while simultaneously taking advantage to score from opponents who rush and make errors. Another Chinese player, Wang Shixian, agrees that Yamaguchi is quick and nimble, and that for challengers to be successful, they need to be capable of matching her speed.[37]

In 2019, Li Yongbo, head coach of the Chinese team, commented on the Japanese teenager:

She plays with patience and quality. As to whether there is room for further development due to her short stature, I think talent in badminton is not limited by height restrictions, her skill is more than enough to make up for her height. As for her future, we have to see how she holds up in the coming year."[38]

Achievements

BWF World Championships

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2018	Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park, Nanjing, China	P. V. Sindhu	16–21, 22–24	Bronze

Asian Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2018	Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Indonesia	P. V. Sindhu	17–21, 21–15, 10–21	Bronze

Asian Championships

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2019	Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China	He Bingjiao	21–19, 21–9	Gold
2017	Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China	Tai Tzu-ying	21–18, 11–21, 18–21	Silver

East Asian Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2013	Binhai New Area Dagang Gymnasium, Tianjin, China	Wang Shixian	21–19, 19–21, 16–21	Bronze

Youth Olympic Games

Girls' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Nanjing Sport Institute, Nanjing, China	He Bingjiao	24–22, 21–23, 17–21	Silver

BWF World Junior Championships

Girls' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Stadium Sultan Abdul Halim, Alor Setar, Malaysia	He Bingjiao	14–21, 21–18, 21–13	Gold
2013	Hua Mark Indoor Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Aya Ohori	21–11, 21–13	Gold
2012	Chiba Port Arena, Chiba, Japan	Nozomi Okuhara	12–21, 9–21	Silver

Asian Youth Games

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2013	Nanjing Sport Institute, Nanjing, China	Minoru Koga	Dechapol Puavaranukroh Puttita Supajirakul	21–19, 19–21, 21–17	Gold

Asian Junior Championships

Girls' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Taipei Gymnasium, Taipei, Chinese Taipei	Chen Yufei	21–11, 16–21, 21–13	Gold
2012	Gimcheon Indoor Stadium, Gimcheon, South Korea	Nozomi Okuhara	19–21, 9–21	Bronze

BWF World Tour (6 titles, 2 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[39] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[40]

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Level	Opponent	Score	Result
2020	Thailand Masters	Super 300	An Se-young	21–16, 22–20	Winner
2019	Japan Open	Super 750	Nozomi Okuhara	21–13, 21–15	Winner
2019	Indonesia Open	Super 1000	P. V. Sindhu	21–15, 21–16	Winner
2019	Malaysia Open	Super 750	Tai Tzu-ying	16–21, 19–21	Runner-up
2019	German Open	Super 300	Ratchanok Intanon	16–21, 21–14, 25–23	Winner
2018	French Open	Super 750	Tai Tzu-ying	22–20, 17–21, 21–13	Winner
2018	All England Open	Super 1000	Tai Tzu-ying	20–22, 13–21	Runner-up
2018	German Open	Super 300	Chen Yufei	21–19, 6–21, 21–12	Winner

BWF Superseries (5 titles, 5 runners-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels are Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consists of twelve tournaments around the world that have been introduced since 2011. Successful players are invited to the Superseries Finals, which are held at the end of each year.

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2017	Dubai World Superseries Finals	P. V. Sindhu	15–21, 21–12, 21–19	Winner
2017	China Open	Gao Fangjie	21–13, 21–15	Winner
2017	French Open	Tai Tzu-ying	4–21, 16–21	Runner-up
2017	Denmark Open	Ratchanok Intanon	21–14, 15–21, 19–21	Runner-up
2017	Australian Open	Nozomi Okuhara	12–21, 23–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2016	Denmark Open	Tai Tzu-ying	19–21, 21–14, 21–12	Winner
2016	Korea Open	Sung Ji-hyun	20–22, 21–15, 21–18	Winner
2015	Japan Open	Nozomi Okuhara	18–21, 12–21	Runner-up
2014	China Open	Saina Nehwal	12–21, 20–22	Runner-up
2013	Japan Open	Shizuka Uchida	21–15, 21–19	Winner

     BWF Superseries Finals tournament

     BWF Superseries Premier tournament

     BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

The BWF Grand Prix, a series of badminton tournaments that have been sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007, consists of two levels, Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold.

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2017	German Open	Carolina Marín	Walkover	Winner
2015	Bitburger Open	Busanan Ongbumrungpan	16–21, 21–14, 21–13	Winner
2013	New Zealand Open	Deng Xuan	17–21, 21–18, 20–22	Runner-up

     BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

     BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 runner-up)

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2013	Osaka International	Kaori Imabeppu	20–22, 16–21	Runner-up

     BWF International Challenge tournament

     BWF International Series tournament

Performance timeline

National team

• Junior level

Team events	2012	2013	2014
Asian Junior Championships	Gold	Bronze	Bronze
World Junior Championships	Silver	4th	Bronze

• Senior level

Team events	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
East Asian Games	Bronze	N/A
Asia Team Championships	N/A			A	N/A	Gold	N/A	Gold
Asia Mixed Team Championships	N/A				Gold	N/A	A	N/A
Asian Games	N/A	Bronze	N/A			Gold	N/A
Uber Cup	N/A	Silver	N/A	Bronze	N/A	Gold	N/A
Sudirman Cup	A	N/A	Silver	N/A	Bronze	N/A	Silver	N/A

Individual competitions

• Junior level

Events	2012	2013	2014
Asian Junior Championships	Bronze (GS) R2 (XD)	A	Gold
Asian Youth Games	N/A	R16 (GS) Gold (XD)	N/A
World Junior Championships	Silver (GS) R2 (XD)	Gold	Gold
Youth Olympic Games	N/A		Silver (GS) GS (XD)

• Senior level

Events	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
East Asian Games	Bronze	N/A
Asian Championships	A		R2	R2	Silver	w/d	Gold
Asian Games	N/A	R16	N/A			Bronze	N/A
World Championships	A			N/A	R3	Bronze	R2
Olympic Games	N/A			QF	N/A

Tournament	2018	2019	2020	Best
BWF World Tour
Malaysia Masters	SF	R1	R1	SF (2018)
Indonesia Masters	A	R2	R2	R2 (2019, 2020)
Thailand Masters	A	A	W	W (2020)
German Open	W	W	Q	W (2017, 2018, 2019)
All England Open	F	SF	QF	F (2018)
India Open	A		Q	SF (2017)
Malaysia Open	QF	F	Q	F (2019)
Singapore Open	A	SF		SF (2016, 2019)
New Zealand Open	A	SF		F (2013)
Indonesia Open	QF	W		W (2019)
Japan Open	QF	W		W (2013, 2019)
Thailand Open	QF	w/d		QF (2018)
China Open	SF	R1		W (2017)
Korea Open	SF	R1		W (2016)
Denmark Open	R2	R1		W (2016)
French Open	W	SF		W (2018)
Fuzhou China Open	R2	R1		R2 (2018)
Hong Kong Open	QF	SF		SF (2019)
Korea Masters	A	SF		SF (2019)
BWF World Tour Finals	SF	SF		W (2017)
Year-end Ranking[41]	5	3
Tournament	2018	2019	2020	Best

Tournament	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Best
BWF Super Series
All England Open	A			R1	R2	SF	SF (2017)
India Open	A				R2	SF	SF (2017)
Malaysia Open	A		QF	R2	R1	QF	QF (2014, 2017)
Singapore Open	A			QF	SF	QF	SF (2016)
Indonesia Open	A		R1	QF	R2	QF	QF (2015, 2017)
Australian Open	GPG		R1	R2	QF	F	F (2017)
Korea Open	A		R2	SF	W	SF	W (2016)
Japan Open	R1 (WS) R2 (WD)	W	R1	F	SF	QF	W (2013)
Denmark Open	A		R2	R2	W	F	W (2016)
French Open	A		QF	R1	QF	F	F (2017)
China Open	A		F	R2	QF	W	W (2017)
Hong Kong Open	A		QF	R2	QF	QF	QF (2014, 2016, 2017)
BWF Super Series Finals	NQ		SF	NQ	GS	W	W (2017)
Year-end Ranking	242	87	12	10	7	2
Tournament	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Best

Tournament	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Best
BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold
Malaysia Masters	A			R1	A	R1 (2016)
Swiss Open	A		SF	R1	A	SF (2015)
German Open	A		R1	SF	W	W (2017)
New Zealand Open	F	A				F (2013)
U.S. Open	A		SF	A		SF (2015)
Bitburger Open	A		W	A		W (2015)
Macau Open	A		SF	A		SF (2015)

Record against selected opponents

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 17 March 2020.[42]

Players Matches Results Change Won Lost Chen Yufei 18 10 8 +2 He Bingjiao 13 11 2 +9 Li Xuerui 11 4 7 –3 Wang Shixian 4 2 2 0 Wang Yihan 3 1 2 –1 Tai Tzu-ying 18 8 10 –2 Saina Nehwal 11 9 2 +7 P. V. Sindhu 17 7 10 –3

Players Matches Results Change Won Lost Minatsu Mitani 2 2 0 +2 Nozomi Okuhara 19 8 11 –3 Bae Yeon-ju 6 4 2 +2 Sung Ji-hyun 10 5 5 0 Carolina Marín 13 6 7 –1 Porntip Buranaprasertsuk 2 2 0 +2 Ratchanok Intanon 23 13 10 +3

Career overview

Singles Played Wins Losses Balance Total 421 310 111 +199 2020 15 11 4 +7

Doubles Played Wins Losses Balance Total 4 2 2 0 2020 0 0 0 0

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37. "尷尬！中羽賽女單28年首次無緣決賽". 新華社. 26 August 2019. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
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39. "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. 29 November 2017. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
40. "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. 15 January 2018. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
41. "BWF World Rankings". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
42. "Akane Yamaguchi Head to Head". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 20 March 2020.

External links

• Akane Yamaguchi at BWF.tournamentsoftware.com
• Akane Yamaguchi at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• "Akane Yamaguchi Profile". Kumamoto Saishunkan Badminton Team.
• "選手名鑑". 山口茜 Smash and Net TV.