Ayako Sakuramoto

is a Japanese badminton player. She currently plays for Gifu Bluvic, having previously spent over a decade as a member of the Yonex team. She specializes in women's doubles and has achieved success in numerous tournaments. These include the Asian Junior Championships, BWF World Tour, BWF Grand Prix, and BWF International Challenge/Series. Sakuramoto frequently partners with Yukiko Takahata and Rena Miyaura, with whom she has won multiple titles and medals.

Career Sakuramoto who educated at the Kyushu International University High School, won the girls' doubles bronze medal at the 2011 Asian Junior Badminton Championships. She also won 2012 gold and 2013 bronze in the mixed team event. In 2017, she became the women's doubles runner-up at the Osaka International tournament partnered with Yukiko Takahata. She won her first senior international title at the Spanish International tournament with Takahata.

2021–2022 In 2021, Sakuramoto formed a partnership with Mayu Matsumoto, reaching the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Open. In April 2022, partnering with Hinata Suzuki, she was the runner-up at the Mexican International, losing a three-game final to compatriots Rui Hirokami and Yuna Kato. In team events, Sakuramoto helped the Japanese women's squad win bronze medals at both the Asia Team Championships in February and the Uber Cup in April. Towards the end of the year, she formed a new partnership with Arisa Igarashi, reaching the second round at both the Japan Masters and the China Masters.

2025 Sakuramoto and Igarashi won the India Open in January, defeating Kim Hye-jeong and Kong Hee-yong after having played together for four and a half months. Later that year, Sakuramoto partnered with Mei Sudo, reaching the semi-finals at the Thailand International Series and the Thailand International Challenge in August.

2026 Sakuramoto began competing with Sayaka Hirota, and the pair reached the quarter-finals of the All England Open in March. On 1 April, Sakuramoto transferred to the Gifu Bluvic badminton team, concluding a 12-year tenure with Yonex. She cited the opportunity to partner with Hirota as her primary motivation for the move.

BWF World Tour (12 titles, 3 runners-up) The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.

Women's doubles Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2018 Swiss Open Super 300 Yukiko Takahata Gabriela Stoeva Stefani Stoeva 19–21, 21–15, 21–18 Winner 2018 New Zealand Open Super 300 Yukiko Takahata Cao Tongwei Zheng Yu 21–9, 21–19 Winner 2018 Australian Open Super 300 Yukiko Takahata Baek Ha-na Lee Yu-lim 23–21, 21–18 Winner 2018 Canada Open Super 100 Yukiko Takahata Isabel Herttrich Carla Nelte 21–13, 21–15 Winner 2018 Singapore Open Super 500 Yukiko Takahata Nami Matsuyama Chiharu Shida 16–21, 24–22, 21–13 Winner 2018 Akita Masters Super 100 Yukiko Takahata Nami Matsuyama Chiharu Shida 23–21, 21–11 Winner 2018 Spain Masters Super 300 Yukiko Takahata Mayu Matsumoto Wakana Nagahara 17–21, 13–21 Runner-up 2018 Indonesia Masters Super 100 Yukiko Takahata Nami Matsuyama Chiharu Shida 11–21, 21–19, 22–20 Winner 2019 Akita Masters Super 100 Yukiko Takahata Nita Violina Marwah Putri Syaikah 21–17, 14–21, 21–15 Winner 2022 Canada Open Super 100 Rena Miyaura Rui Hirokami Yuna Kato 21–13, 21–8 Winner 2022 Indonesia Masters Super 100 Rena Miyaura Rui Hirokami Yuna Kato 21–23, 18–21 Runner-up 2023 Swiss Open Super 300 Rena Miyaura Yuki Fukushima Sayaka Hirota Walkover Winner 2023 Orléans Masters Super 300 Rena Miyaura Liu Shengshu Tan Ning 21–19, 16–21, 21–12 Winner 2025 India Open Super 750 Arisa Igarashi Kim Hye-jeong Kong Hee-yong 21–15, 21–13 Winner 2026 Malaysia Masters Super 500 Sayaka Hirota Chen Fanshutian Luo Xumin 16–21, 23–25 Runner-up

BWF Grand Prix (1 runner-up) The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

Women's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2017 New Zealand Open Yukiko Takahata Vivian Hoo Woon Khe Wei 21–18, 16–21, 19–21 Runner-up BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 3 runners-up) Women's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2017 Osaka International Yukiko Takahata Kim So-yeong Yoo Hae-won 21–16, 17–21, 19–21 Runner-up 2017 Spanish International Yukiko Takahata Misato Aratama Akane Watanabe 21–10, 21–15 Winner 2018 Osaka International Yukiko Takahata Naoko Fukuman Kurumi Yonao 21–17, 19–21, 16–21 Runner-up 2022 Mexican International Hinata Suzuki Rui Hirokami Yuna Kato 21–15, 19–21, 17–21 Runner-up BWF International Challenge tournament