Akane Yamaguchi

Akane has been called a badminton prodigy from a very young age. She held a racquet for the first time at the age of three and started playing seriously at the age of five. She joined the Japanese national team at the age of 15, the youngest athlete to ever join. The following year in 2013, she won the singles title at the YONEX Open Japan making her the youngest player and first Japanese athlete to ever win the tournament.

She continued to add titles to her name including the YONEX Denmark Open where she beat London Olympic Gold Medalist, Carolina Marin. In 2018, she became the first Japanese athlete to reach the world No. 1 ranking.