Akane Yamaguchi

Akane Yamaguchi (山口茜, Yamaguchi Akane; born 6 June 1997) is a Japanese badminton player who competes in women's singles. A former world number one, she became the first Japanese singles player to reach the top ranking on 19 April 2018. Yamaguchi is a three-time World Champion, winning the title in 2021, 2022 and 2025. This makes her the first Japanese player in any discipline to win three world titles. Her other major individual tournament victories include the All England Open, the Asian Championships, and the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals. At the junior level, she won back-to-back World Junior Championships in 2013 and 2014. While still a junior player, she also transitioned to the senior circuit and became the youngest player to win a BWF Super Series tournament at the 2013 Japan Open. In team events, Yamaguchi was part of the squads that won gold at the 2018 Asian Games, the 2018 Uber Cup, the 2017 Asia Mixed Team Championships, and the 2018 and 2020 Asia Team Championships. Earlier in her career, she was named the BWF Most Promising Player of the Year in both 2013 and 2014, and she later received the BWF Female Player of the Year award in 2022.