Kento Momota

is a Japanese badminton player. He has won several major badminton tournaments including two BWF World Championships, two Badminton Asia Championships, and one All England title. Momota received a Guinness World Records certificate for "The most badminton men's singles titles in a season", for winning 11 titles in the 2019 season.

Known for his strong defence, footwork, patience, and shot quality, he became the first ever Japanese men's singles player to achieve a BWF ranking of No.1 in 2018, holding this distinction for 121 weeks and subsequently being awarded the BWF's best male player of the year award. He is considered to be one of the greats of men's singles badminton.

Early life and career Kento Momota was born on 1 September 1994, in Mino, Kagawa, Japan, to Nobuhiro and Michiyo Momota. His parents named him "Kento" after Clark Kent, the alter ego of the American comic book hero Superman, hoping he would become the strongest person in the world. He began playing badminton at the age of seven, influenced by his older sister, Meiko. Although his parents were not experienced in the sport, his father, Nobuhiro, studied badminton and built a homemade practice court to support his son's development.

In 2007, Momota won the All Japan Elementary School Badminton Championship. This national victory prompted him to seek more advanced training, leading to a move to Fukushima Prefecture to attend Tomioka Daiichi Junior High School, an institution known for its strong badminton program. While there, he continued to excel, winning the National Junior High School Badminton Tournament in August 2009. Momota also became the first junior high student to reach the semifinals of the All Japan Junior Championships, a tournament that included high school players. In 2012, he won gold medals at both the Asian and World Junior Championships, becoming the first Japanese male player to win the world junior title. On the senior circuit, he made his Super Series debut at the Japan Open and competed in the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold and the Canada Open Grand Prix, though he was eliminated in the early rounds. Domestically, Momota reached the quarterfinals of the All Japan Championships, where he was defeated by Kenichi Tago.

2012 Momota capped off his historic junior career in 2012 while continuing to gain experience on the senior circuit. At the Asian Junior Championships held in Gimcheon, South Korea, he won gold medals in the boys' singles and the mixed team event. Later that year, Momota made history at the World Junior Championships held in Chiba, Japan, by becoming the first Japanese male player to win the boys' singles title; he also contributed to Japan's mixed team silver medal.

On the senior circuit, Momota reached the quarterfinals of the Vietnam Open Grand Prix, and the semifinals of the Osaka International. He also advanced to the third round of the Asian Championships in his tournament debut. Although he was eliminated in the early rounds of several Super Series and Grand Prix Gold events, his world ranking rose to number 90 by the end of the year.

2013 In 2013, Momota graduated from high school and turned professional by joining the NTT East badminton team. He began the year by winning three consecutive International Challenge titles in Europe: the Estonian International, the Swedish International, and the Austrian International. In November, he reached his first Super Series Premier semifinal at the China Open. He also advanced to the semifinals at the U.S. Open and the quarterfinals at the Singapore Open and China Masters. Domestically, he was a semifinalist at the All Japan Badminton Championships in December. By the end of 2013, his world ranking had climbed to No. 17.

2014 In May 2014, 19-year-old Kento Momota played a pivotal role in Japan's historic first Thomas Cup victory in New Delhi. He was undefeated throughout the tournament, winning all five of his matches, which included crucial victories over Du Pengyu of China in the semifinal and Chong Wei Feng of Malaysia in the final. On the individual circuit, Momota's best result was reaching the semifinal of the French Open Super Series, where he was defeated by China's Wang Zhengming. He also reached the quarterfinals at the All England Open, the China Open, and the Australian Open. In August, he made his World Championships debut in Copenhagen but exited in the first round. The following month, at the Asian Games in Incheon, he advanced to the third round of the men's singles before losing to Chen Long of China, the eventual silver medalist. Momota concluded his season by qualifying for the BWF Super Series Finals in Dubai, where he was eliminated in the round-robin stage.

2015 In 2015, he became the first Japanese player to win the Singapore Open. By winning that title, he became the first Japanese player to successfully capture a Superseries in the men's singles and holds the record as the youngest Super Series champion in that category. In the 2015 Sudirman Cup, he repeated his Thomas Cup feat to help Japan secure a runner-up position. He once again made history at the 2015 BWF World Championships held in Jakarta. He became the first Japanese player to win a medal in the men's singles event of the prestigious tournament. He made it to the semi-finals before losing to Chen Long in straight games. Rounding off the year, he won the 2015 BWF World Superseries Finals in Dubai. He also competed at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, as well as the 2016 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Hyderabad, India.

2018 Momota returned to the Japanese national team at the end of 2017. However, due to insufficient ranking points, he did not qualify to play in the 2018 All England Open, a significant Super 1000 tournament held in March. On 28 April, he won the 2018 Asian Championships held in Wuhan, defeating Chen Long of China in the final, 21–17, 21–13.

On 5 August, he won the World Championships title in Nanjing, China, beating Shi Yuqi from China in the final, 21–11, 21–13. He also won 4 BWF World Tour titles: Indonesia Open, Japan Open, Denmark Open and Fuzhou China Open. Momota became the first Japanese men's singles player to reach World number 1 in the BWF World rankings on 27 September 2018.

2019 Momota started the 2019 season by competing at the Malaysia Masters as the first seed, but his run was stopped by Kenta Nishimoto in the first round. He then reached the final of the Indonesia Masters but lost to Anders Antonsen of Denmark. He also won the Singapore and Japan Open titles. In August, he reclaimed his World Champion title, beating Anders Antonsen 21–9 and 21–3. In doing so, Momota became only the fourth player to win back-to-back titles, joining a short, all-Chinese list that includes Yang Yang, Lin Dan and Chen Long. After that, he won his first title at the China Open and Korea Open, also defending his titles at the Denmark Open and Fuzhou China Open.

Momota closed his stellar 2019 year by winning his 11th title, the World Tour Finals, beating Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 17–21, 21–17, 21–14. He was also nominated as Best Male Athlete by the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive.

2020 Momota began the 2020 season as the men's singles world number 1. He competed at the Malaysia Masters as the first seed, defeating Indian's Parupalli Kashyap and Prannoy H. S. in the first and second round in straight games, later beating Huang Yuxiang in the quarter-finals in three games. In the semi-final, he dashed the host nation's hopes by defeating Lee Zii Jia 21–10, 21–19. Despite not being at his physical best, Momota pulled off a good performance to beat the 2017 World Champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 24–22, 21–11 in the final. He extended his head-to-head record over Axelsen to 14–1. After winning the Malaysia Masters, Momota was involved in a serious highway accident while en route to the airport; the driver of the vehicle was killed. He was initially reported to have suffered a broken nose and injuries to his lips and face. However, the Nippon Badminton Association later confirmed that he did not sustain any bone fractures.

2021 Momota's 2021 season began with a positive COVID-19 test in January, forcing the Japanese national team to withdraw from three tournaments in Thailand. He returned to international competition in March at the All England Open, advancing to the quarter-finals before losing to Lee Zii Jia. Competing on home soil at the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics, top-seeded Momota suffered an upset group-stage elimination by South Korea's Heo Kwang-hee. In team competitions, he helped Japan secure silver at the Sudirman Cup and bronze at the Thomas Cup. Returning to the BWF World Tour, Momota reached the finals of the Denmark Open, where he lost a 90-minute match to Viktor Axelsen. In November, he claimed his first title since his 2020 accident by defeating Anders Antonsen at the Indonesia Masters.

2022 Momota struggled to regain his pre-injury form throughout 2022, subsequently dropping to world number two. He opened the season with first-round exits at the German Open and the Asia Championships, though he reached the quarter-finals at the All England Open. His mid-season was marked by consecutive first-round eliminations at the Thailand and Indonesia Opens. A brief resurgence occurred at the Malaysia Open, where Momota reached his first final since November 2021, but was defeated by Axelsen. Momota failed to advance past the early rounds in his remaining major tournaments. He was eliminated in the second round of the Malaysia Masters, suffered a second-round defeat at the World Championships, and with a first-round exit at the Japan Open.

2024 On the 18th April, Momota announced his retirement from the Japanese national team, with the 2024 Thomas Cup being his last international tournament, finishing off his career with 3 wins.

Post-retirement activities After retiring from international competition, Momota remained with the NTT East badminton team and continued to compete in domestic tournaments. He also increased his involvement in activities aimed at promoting badminton and developing younger players. Momota subsequently took on a coaching role within NTT East, coaching his younger teammates Yushi Tanaka and Riki Takei.

In 2026, Momota was appointed a TBS Athlete Ambassador for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya, alongside several prominent former Japanese national-team athletes from other sports.

Personal life Momota married on 30 December 2025.

Awards and nominations

Achievements

World Championships Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref 2015 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia Chen Long 9–21, 15–21 Bronze Bronze 2018 Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park, Nanjing, China Shi Yuqi 21–11, 21–13 Gold Gold 2019 St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland Anders Antonsen 21–9, 21–3 Gold Gold 2019 Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China Shi Yuqi 12–21, 21–18, 21–8 Gold Gold 2012 Chiba Port Arena, Chiba, Japan Xue Song 21–17, 19–21, 21–19 Gold Gold

Asian Junior Championships Boys' singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref 2011 Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, Lucknow, India Zulfadli Zulkiffli 18–21, 19–21 Bronze Bronze 2012 Gimcheon Indoor Stadium, Gimcheon, South Korea Soong Joo Ven 21–13, 22–20 Gold Gold

BWF World Tour (16 titles, 6 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 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.

Men's singles Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result Ref 2018 Malaysia Open Super 750 Lee Chong Wei 17–21, 21–23 Runner-up 2018 Indonesia Open Super 1000 Viktor Axelsen 21–14, 21–9 Winner 2018 Japan Open Super 750 Khosit Phetpradab 21–14, 21–11 Winner 2018 China Open Super 1000 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21–23, 19–21 Runner-up 2018 Denmark Open Super 750 Chou Tien-chen 22–20, 16–21, 21–15 Winner 2018 Fuzhou China Open Super 750 Chou Tien-chen 21–13, 11–21, 21–16 Winner 2018 BWF World Tour Finals World Tour Finals Shi Yuqi 12–21, 11–21 Runner-up 2019 Indonesia Masters Super 500 Anders Antonsen 16–21, 21–14, 16–21 Runner-up 2019 German Open Super 300 Kenta Nishimoto 21–10, 21–16 Winner 2019 All England Open Super 1000 Viktor Axelsen 21–11, 15–21, 21–15 Winner 2019 Singapore Open Super 500 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 10–21, 21–19, 21–13 Winner 2019 Japan Open Super 750 Jonatan Christie 21–16, 21–13 Winner 2019 China Open Super 1000 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 19–21, 21–17, 21–19 Winner 2019 Korea Open Super 500 Chou Tien-chen 21–19, 21–17 Winner 2019 Denmark Open Super 750 Chen Long 21–14, 21–12 Winner 2019 Fuzhou China Open Super 750 Chou Tien-chen 21–15, 17–21, 21–18 Winner 2019 BWF World Tour Finals World Tour Finals Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 17–21, 21–17, 21–14 Winner 2020 Malaysia Masters Super 500 Viktor Axelsen 24–22, 21–11 Winner 2021 Denmark Open Super 1000 Viktor Axelsen 22–20, 18–21, 12–21 Runner-up 2021 Indonesia Masters Super 750 Anders Antonsen 21–17, 21–11 Winner 2022 Malaysia Open Super 750 Viktor Axelsen 4–21, 7–21 Runner-up 2023 Korea Masters Super 300 Koki Watanabe 21–16, 21–15 Winner

BWF Superseries (4 titles) The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2015 Singapore Open Hu Yun 21–17, 16–21, 21–15 Winner 2015 Indonesia Open Jan Ø. Jørgensen 16–21, 21–19, 21–7 Winner 2015 Dubai World Superseries Finals Viktor Axelsen 21–15, 21–12 Winner 2016 India Open Viktor Axelsen 21–15, 21–18 Winner BWF Superseries Finals tournament BWF Superseries Premier tournament BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (2 titles, 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.

Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2017 Canada Open Kanta Tsuneyama 20–22, 21–14, 14–21 Runner-up 2017 Dutch Open Yu Igarashi 21–10, 21–12 Winner 2017 Macau Open Ihsan Maulana Mustofa 21–16, 21–10 Winner BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (7 titles) Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2013 Estonian International Eetu Heino 20–22, 21–15, 21–15 Winner 2013 Swedish Masters Eric Pang 21–9, 16–21, 21–18 Winner 2013 Austrian International Riichi Takeshita 21–19, 21–12 Winner 2017 Yonex / K&D Graphics International Kevin Cordón 21–7, 21–15 Winner 2017 Belgian International Lee Cheuk Yiu 21–14, 21–18 Winner 2017 Czech Open Thomas Rouxel 21–8, 21–14 Winner 2018 Vietnam International Goh Giap Chin 21–9, 21–15 Winner BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament

Gambling scandal On 7 April 2016, Momota admitted visiting an illegal casino in Tokyo after casino staff reported him gambling there "frequently". In a board meeting, it was revealed that he gambled away 0.5 million yen during 6 visits to the casino with his teammate, Kenichi Tago, who spent 10 million yen after 60 visits to various casinos. The Nippon Badminton Association secretary general Kinji Zeniya said it would “probably be impossible” for Momota to participate in the Rio 2016 Olympics, with frequent gambling being punishable by law with a prison sentence of up to 3 years. He was banned from playing until late 2017 for this.

Career overview

Singles Played Wins Losses Balance Total 499 388 111 +277

Doubles Played Wins Losses Balance Total 6 2 4 -2

Performance timeline

National team Junior level Team events 2010 2011 2012 Asian Junior Championships RR QF G World Junior Championships 5th 5th S

Senior level Team events 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Ref Asia Team Championships NH S NH QF NH A NH A NH B Asian Games QF NH B NH A NH Thomas Cup G NH A NH S NH B NH B NH QF Sudirman Cup NH S NH A NH S NH S NH A NH Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Best Ref

Record against selected opponents Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 23 August 2026.

Player Matches Win Lost Chen Jin 1 0 1 –1 Chen Long 10 5 5 0 Du Pengyu 2 1 1 0 Lin Dan 5 4 1 +3 Shi Yuqi 12 6 6 0 Tian Houwei 2 1 1 0 Zhao Junpeng 1 0 1 –1 Chou Tien-chen 16 14 2 +12 Anders Antonsen 7 6 1 +5 Viktor Axelsen 17 14 3 +11 Jan Ø. Jørgensen 8 5 3 +2 Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 10 9 1 +8 Rajiv Ouseph 2 2 0 +2 Kevin Cordón 1 1 0 +1 Parupalli Kashyap 5 5 0 +5 Srikanth Kidambi 19 16 3 +13 B. Sai Praneeth 7 5 2 +3

Player Matches Win Lost Prannoy H. S. 8 7 1 +6 Lakshya Sen 3 2 1 +1 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 16 11 5 +6 Tommy Sugiarto 12 9 3 +6 Sho Sasaki 2 1 1 0 Lee Chong Wei 4 2 2 0 Lee Zii Jia 12 8 4 +4 Liew Daren 4 4 0 +4 Loh Kean Yew 3 2 1 +1 Heo Kwang-hee 6 4 2 +2 Lee Hyun-il 1 1 0 +1 Son Wan-ho 11 6 5 +1 Boonsak Ponsana 4 3 1 +2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn 3 2 1 +1 Kantaphon Wangcharoen 3 3 0 +3 Nguyễn Tiến Minh 6 3 3 0

Equipment

Known Rackets Used Yonex Arcsaber Z Slash (Early Years) Yonex Voltric Z Force (2012 - 2014) Yonex Voltric Z Force II (2014 - 2016) Yonex Duora Z Strike (2017) Yonex Astrox 88D [Red/Green] (2018) Yonex Astrox 99 (2018 - 2021) Yonex Astrox 99 Pro (2021 - 2023) Yonex Astrox 77 Pro (2023 - 2024)