Natsu Saito

is a Japanese badminton player. As of 2025, she is affiliated with the Plenty Global Linx badminton team. Saito is a mixed doubles specialist, best known for her partnership with Hiroki Midorikawa. Together, they reached a career-high world ranking of 7, won two World Tour Super 500 titles, and secured the silver medal at the 2025 Asian Championships.

Career 2015–2018: Junior career Saito made her international debut at the junior level in 2015, reaching the final of the girls' doubles at the Asian U17 Junior Championships with Rumi Yoshida. In 2017, she represented Japan at the World Junior Championships, helping the team secure a bronze medal. That same year, she won the mixed doubles title at the India Junior International with Takuma Obayashi.

In 2018, Saito and partner Hiroki Midorikawa won the mixed doubles title at the German Junior. She was also part of the Japanese squads that won silver at the Asian Junior Championships and a bronze at the World Junior Championships.

2019–2020: Senior debut Saito began competing in senior international tournaments in 2019. In mixed doubles with Midorikawa, she won titles at the Waikato International and the Vietnam International.

2023: First World Tour title Saito and Midorikawa began 2023 by reaching the semifinal of the Thailand Masters. In July, they won their first World Tour title at the Super 500 Canada Open, defeating the Danish pair Mathias Thyrri and Amalie Magelund. At the Asian Championships in Ningbo, she and Midorikawa advanced to the final but were defeated by Hong Kong's Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet, securing the silver medal. Later in the season, the pair reached the quarterfinals of the World Championships and the semifinals of the Denmark Open. In October, they achieved a career-high world ranking of 7. Saito and Midorikawa concluded their partnership at the BWF World Tour Finals in December, where they advanced to the semifinals.

2026: New partnership and Canada Open title Saito formed a new mixed doubles pairing with Akira Koga. The pair made their international debut at the season-opening Malaysia Open, where they reached the second round, before advancing to the semifinals of the Thailand Masters. In July, the pair won the Canada Open, marking their first Super 300 title together.

Achievements Asian Championships Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2025 Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium,Ningbo, China Hiroki Midorikawa Tang Chun Man Tse Ying Suet 15–21, 21–17, 13–21 Silver Silver

BWF World Tour (3 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.

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2022 Canada Open Super 100 Hiroki Midorikawa Ye Hong-wei Lee Chia-hsin 21–12, 12–21, 15–21 Runner-up 2023 Canada Open Super 500 Hiroki Midorikawa Mathias Thyrri Amalie Magelund 21–17, 16–21, 21–13 Winner 2023 Australian Open Super 500 Hiroki Midorikawa Feng Yanzhe Huang Dongping 14–21, 21–16, 15–21 Runner-up 2024 Indonesia Masters Super 500 Hiroki Midorikawa Zheng Siwei Huang Yaqiong 15–21, 16–21 Runner-up 2025 Indonesia Masters Super 500 Hiroki Midorikawa Guo Xinwa Chen Fanghui 21–15, 21–17 Winner 2026 Canada Open Super 300 Akira Koga Liu Kuang-heng Hsu Yin-hui 21–17, 17–21, 21–17 Winner 2019 Indonesia International Naru Shinoya Anggia Shitta Awanda Pia Zebadiah Bernadet 19–21, 18–21 Runner-up 2019 Malaysia International Naru Shinoya Yulfira Barkah Agatha Imanuela 21–15, 21–23, 21–9 Winner

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2019 Waikato International Hiroki Midorikawa Simon Leung Gronya Somerville 21–15, 21–13 Winner 2019 Vietnam International Hiroki Midorikawa Vichayapong Kanjanakeereewong Ruethaichanok Laisuan 21–16, 21–8 Winner 2021 Belgian International Hiroki Midorikawa Jesper Toft Clara Graversen 21–18, 21–9 Winner 2022 Belgian International Hiroki Midorikawa Chiu Hsiang-chieh Lin Xiao-min 21–13, 21–17 Winner BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament

BWF Junior International (2 titles, 3 runners-up) Girls' doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2017 German Junior Rin Iwanaga Kim Min-ji Seong Ah-yeong 16–21, 14–21 Runner-up

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2017 India Junior International Takuma Obayashi Rinov Rivaldy Angelica Wiratama 18–21, 21–16, 21–17 Winner 2018 German Junior Hiroki Midorikawa Wang Chan Jeong Na-eun 19–21, 21–18, 21–17 Winner

BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament BWF Junior International Challenge tournament

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

Akira Koga

Players Feng Yanzhe & Huang Dongping 2 0 2 –2 Guo Xinwa & Chen Fanghui 2 0 2 –2 Amri Syahnawi & Nita Violina Marwah 1 0 1 –1

Hiroki Midorikawa

Players Feng Yanzhe & Huang Dongping 11 1 10 –9 Guo Xinwa & Chen Fanghui 2 1 1 0 Jiang Zhenbang & Wei Yaxin 6 1 5 –4 Zheng Siwei & Huang Yaqiong 6 1 5 –4 Marcus Ellis & Lauren Smith 1 0 1 –1 Thom Gicquel & Delphine Delrue 4 2 2 0 Mark Lamsfuß & Isabel Lohau 2 1 1 0 Tang Chun Man & Tse Ying Suet 2 1 1 0

Players Amri Syahnawi & Nita Violina Marwah 3 2 1 +1 Praveen Jordan & Melati Daeva Oktavianti 1 1 0 +1 Yuta Watanabe & Arisa Higashino 2 0 2 –2 Kyohei Yamashita & Naru Shinoya 4 3 1 +2 Chen Tang Jie & Toh Ee Wei 6 2 4 –2 Kim Won-ho & Jeong Na-eun 4 1 3 –2 Dechapol Puavaranukroh & Sapsiree Taerattanachai 1 1 0 +1