Yushi Tanaka

Career 2020–2021: International debut and first titles Tanaka made his senior international debut in 2020 and was selected for the Japanese national team for the first time, notably without having competed on the international junior circuit. That year, he won his first international title at the Peru Future Series and finished as the runner-up at the Jamaica International, facing compatriot Takuma Obayashi in both finals.

2022: Two International Challenge titles and world's top 100 In 2022, Tanaka secured two international titles and broke into the world's top 100 for the first time. He won the Polish International, defeating Jan Louda, and the North Harbour International, where he overcame Riku Hatano. Additionally, he won the Denmark Challenge in May, where he defeated Alex Lanier. He concluded the year by securing his second All Japan Championships title, defeating top seed Kodai Naraoka in the semifinal. His national victories came under the coaching of two-time world champion Kento Momota, who had retired from international competition earlier that year.

2025: World Championships debut and Australian Open runner-up In February, Tanaka contributed to the bronze medal win at the Asia Mixed Team Championships. On the BWF World Tour, at the Super 1000 All England Open in March, he defeated eighth-seed Kodai Naraoka in the opening round. Following a second-round appearance at the Super 1000 Indonesia Open, Tanaka achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 19 on 24 June.

In August, Tanaka made his World Championships debut, upsetting world No. 4 Li Shifeng in the first round before being eliminated in the second round. In July, Tanaka reached his first Super 750 semifinal at the Japan Open. In the opening round, he defeated the eighth seed, Li Shifeng, securing his second consecutive victory over the player. He then advanced to the semifinals by upsetting world No. 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the quarterfinals.

Playing style Tanaka describes his playing style as attacking, built on speed and a persistent effort to retrieve every shuttle. His motto, "one last push after getting tired," reflects this approach, which is designed to prevent the shuttle from landing on his side of the court.

Tanaka's speed and court movement have been praised by other players. Kento Momota, the two-time world champion, described him as exceptionally fast, rating his movement into the rear court as world-class.

Momota also highlighted the sharpness of Tanaka's strokes, his defensive ability, and his capacity to establish an attacking rhythm while maintaining patient rallies.

Achievements BWF World Tour (3 titles, 2 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 Tours are 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 2023 Kaohsiung Masters Super 100 Lin Chun-yi 21–11, 17–21, 14–21 Runner-up 2024 Orléans Masters Super 300 Koo Takahashi 21–18, 21–10 Winner 2024 U.S. Open Super 300 Lei Lanxi 15–21, 21–18, 21–15 Winner 2026 Swiss Open Super 300 Alwi Farhan 21–18, 21–12 Winner

BWF International Challenge/Series (6 titles, 2 runners-up) Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2020 Jamaica International Takuma Obayashi 11–21, 21–17, 12–21 Runner-up 2020 Peru Future Series Takuma Obayashi 21–13, 8–21, 21–18 Winner 2022 Réunion Open Riku Hatano 16–21, 17–21 Runner-up 2022 Polish International Jan Louda 21–13, 21–15 Winner 2022 North Harbour International Riku Hatano 21–13, 21–18 Winner 2023 Estonian International Alex Lanier 21–13, 15–21, 21–12 Winner 2023 Osaka International Alwi Farhan 15–21, 21–14, 21–17 Winner 2024 Denmark Challenge Alex Lanier 15–21, 21–12, 21–11 Winner

BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament BWF Future Series tournament

Performance timeline

National team Team events 2025 2026 Ref Asia Mixed Team Championships B NH Asian Games NH Q Thomas Cup NH 5th

Individual competitions Men's singles

Wins over top-10 ranked players Wins over players who were ranked in the world's top 10 at the time the match was played. Opponent Tournament Score 1

9

31 6

8

22 Player Matches Win Lost Victor Lai 1 0 1 –1 Shi Yuqi 4 1 3 –2 Chou Tien-chen 3 0 3 –3 Anders Antonsen 3 0 3 –3 Viktor Axelsen 2 0 2 –2 Alex Lanier 4 3 1 +2 Christo Popov 2 1 1 0 Kevin Cordón 1 1 0 +1

Player Matches Win Lost Srikanth Kidambi 2 1 1 0 Prannoy H. S. 2 2 0 +2 Lakshya Sen 2 0 2 –2 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 3 2 1 +1 Kodai Naraoka 2 1 1 0 Lee Zii Jia 1 0 1 –1 Loh Kean Yew 1 0 1 –1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn 3 1 2 –1