Mathias Christiansen

Mathias Christiansen (born 20 February 1994) is a Danish badminton player who joined the national team in July 2013. He was the silver medalists in the 2018 and 2024 European Championships, and also the bronze medalists in the 2016, 2017, and 2021 European Championships, as well at the 2023 European Games. He was part of Danish winning team at the 2016 Thomas Cup. He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Career Early career Christiansen was born on 20 February 1994, in Bornholm, Denmark, where his journey into badminton began at a young age in the town of Allinge. His introduction to the sport was quite serendipitous; he started playing after his schoolteacher encouraged him to attend badminton practice.

2017–2019 In 2017, Christiansen and Daugaard secured a bronze medal in the men's doubles at the European Championships and reached a career-high ranking of No. 19 in that category. However, his profile rose significantly in late 2017 when he paired with the legendary Christinna Pedersen. This duo quickly became a global powerhouse, reaching back-to-back finals at the China and Hong Kong Open. In 2018, the pair captured the India Open title and earned a silver medal at the European Championships in Huelva, Spain. Their consistent performance at elite tournaments, including a runner-up finish at the Korea Open, propelled Christiansen to a career-best world ranking of No. 4 in October 2018. Additionally, he helped the national team secure a bronze medal at the 2018 Thomas Cup in Bangkok.

Following Pedersen's retirement from international play in early 2019, Christiansen began his current partnership with Alexandra Bøje. Making their debut at the Canada Open in July, they reached the podium finishing as runners-up in the Hungarian International in November, and then claimed two titles in the Irish and Scottish Open.

2020–2022 Christiansen helping Denmark secure gold at the 2021 European Mixed Team Championships and contributing to back-to-back bronze medals at the 2020 and 2022 Thomas Cup finals. On the individual circuit, Christiansen and Bøje won the bronze medal at the 2021 European Championships. They also captured titles at the 2020 SaarLorLux Open and the 2021 Orléans Masters, reached the finals of the 2021 Swiss and French Open, and made his Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games. and securing a bronze medal at the European Games in Poland. This momentum continued into early 2024 as they reached the final of the European Championships in April, earning a silver medal, and were runners-up at the Canada Open in July.

However, just days before the 2024 Paris Olympics, for which they had qualified, Christiansen announced his withdrawal from the Games. The decision followed a series of three unintentional administrative errors in reporting his "whereabouts" to Anti-Doping Denmark over a 12-month period. To avoid disrupting the Danish Olympic team with the pending investigation, Christiansen chose to step down, which eventually resulted in a one-year suspension that lasted until July 2025.

2025–2026 The year 2025 marked a triumphant return to the professional circuit for Christiansen after completing a one-year suspension related to anti-doping whereabouts reporting. Reunited with his longtime partner, Alexandra Bøje, the pair made an immediate impact by winning the Macau Open in their very first tournament back in July. They carried this momentum into the BWF World Championships in Paris, where they pulled off a massive upset against the world No. 1 seeds, Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. and an additional victory at the Indonesia Masters Super 100. By the end of 2025, Christiansen had successfully rehabilitated his world ranking from outside the top 150 back toward the elite tier.

The pair has maintained high-level consistency in 2026, notably reaching the finals of major tournaments such as the India Open and the Indonesia Masters in January. In March, they secured a runner-up finish at the Orléans Masters in France. Two months later, they went on to win their first title of the year at the Thailand Open, beating Chinese pair of Zhu Yijun and Li Qian. This pair then continued their winning streak by grabbing the Singapore Open title by beating the young Japanese pair of Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara in three games. The next week, Christiansen and Bøje recorded their biggest win of their career by securing the Indonesia Open title, beating Chinese pair of Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi in the final.

Achievements

European Games Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2023 Arena Jaskółka,Tarnów, Poland Alexandra Bøje Robin Tabeling Selena Piek 14–21, 13–21 Bronze Bronze

European Championships Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref

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.

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Level Opponent Score Result Ref

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.

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2017 China Open Christinna Pedersen Zheng Siwei Huang Yaqiong 15–21, 11–21 Runner-up 2017 Hong Kong Open Christinna Pedersen Zheng Siwei Huang Yaqiong 15–21, 13–21 Runner-up BWF Superseries Finals tournament BWF Superseries Premier tournament BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (3 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 doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2014 Scottish Open David Daugaard Raphael Beck Andreas Heinz 21–13, 21–17 Winner 2016 Dutch Open David Daugaard Lee Jhe-huei Lee Yang 17–21, 17–21 Runner-up 2016 Scottish Open David Daugaard Adam Hall Peter Mills 15–21, 21–19, 21–15 Winner

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2016 Dutch Open Sara Thygesen Søren Gravholt Maiken Fruergaard 21–18, 20–22, 21–16 Winner BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (13 titles, 5 runners-up) Men's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2014 Croatian International David Daugaard Theodor Johansen Mads Pedersen 21–8, 21–12 Winner 2014 Hellas International David Daugaard Frederik Colberg Mikkel Mikkelsen 0–0 retired Winner 2014 Belgian International David Daugaard Jacco Arends Jelle Maas 11–10, 6–11, 8–11, 11–7, 11–9 Winner 2015 Finnish Open David Daugaard Andrew Ellis Peter Mills 19–21, 12–21 Runner-up 2015 Italian International David Daugaard Kasper Antonsen Niclas Nøhr 22–24, 14–21 Runner-up 2016 Swedish Masters David Daugaard Kim Astrup Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21–19, 21–23, 21–19 Winner 2016 Finnish Open David Daugaard Adam Cwalina Przemysław Wacha 21–23, 21–12, 21–12 Winner 2016 Spanish International David Daugaard Takuro Hoki Yugo Kobayashi 10–21, 6–21 Runner-up

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 2015 Orléans International Lena Grebak Chan Peng Soon Goh Liu Ying 11–21, 21–17, 21–19 Winner 2015 Irish Open Lena Grebak Robert Mateusiak Nadieżda Zięba 19–21, 21–18, 21–18 Winner 2016 Swedish Masters Lena Grebak Robert Mateusiak Nadieżda Zięba 10–21, 13–21 Runner-up 2016 Austrian Open Lena Grebak Matthew Nottingham Emily Westwood 21–17, 21–17 Winner 2016 Orléans International Lena Grebak Robin Tabeling Samantha Barning 21–14, 21–13 Winner 2016 Finnish Open Lena Grebak Niclas Nøhr Sara Thygesen 18–21, 23–21, 21–16 Winner 2016 Irish Open Sara Thygesen Robin Tabeling Cheryl Seinen 21–16, 21–16 Winner 2019 Hungarian International Alexandra Bøje Kim Sa-rang Kim Ha-na 12–21, 15–21 Runner-up 2019 Irish Open Alexandra Bøje Ronan Labar Anne Tran 21–12, 21–19 Winner 2019 Scottish Open Alexandra Bøje Mathias Bay-Smidt Rikke Søby Hansen 23–21, 21–16 Winner BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament BWF Future Series tournament