Akane Yamaguchi

Akane Yamaguchi, born on 6 June 1997 in Katsuyama, Fukui, is a Japanese badminton player who competes in women's singles. She became the first Japanese singles player to reach world number one, on 19 April 2018, and she is a three-time World Champion, winning in 2021, 2022 and 2025, the first Japanese player in any discipline to win three world titles. As a junior she won the World Junior Championships in 2013 and 2014, and at the 2013 Japan Open she became the youngest player to win a BWF Super Series tournament. She was part of the squads that won the 2018 Asian Games and the 2018 Uber Cup, and she received the BWF Female Player of the Year award in 2022.