Wakana Nagahara

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Wakana Nagahara
Personal information
Born (1996-01-09) 9 January 1996 (age 29)
Memuro, Hokkaido, Japan
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Sport
CountryJapan
SportBadminton
HandednessRight
Retired2 February 2025[1]
Women's & mixed doubles
Highest ranking1 (WD with Mayu Matsumoto, 30 April 2019)
19 (XD with Takuro Hoki, 9 July 2019)
BWF profile
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  Japan
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 Nanjing Women's doubles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Basel Women's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Huelva Women's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Tokyo Women's doubles
Sudirman Cup
Silver medal – second place 2019 Nanning Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Suzhou Mixed team
Uber Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Bangkok Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Chengdu Women's team
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Wuhan Women's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Dubai Women's doubles
Asia Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 2020 Manila Women's team
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Alor Setar Mixed team
Asian Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Kota Kinabalu Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Taipei Mixed team

Wakana Nagahara (永原 和可那, Nagahara Wakana; born 9 January 1996) is a Japanese badminton player.[2] She is a two-time world champion in the women's doubles. Nagahara attended Aomori Yamada High School, and was part of the Japanese national junior team that won the bronze medals at the 2013, 2014 Asian and 2014 World Junior Championships. She won her first senior international title at the 2014 Smiling Fish International in the women's doubles event partnered with Mayu Matsumoto.[3] In national events, she plays for the Hokuto Bank team.[4] Nagahara was awarded as the 2018 Most Improved Player of the Year by the BWF together with her partner Mayu Matsumoto. They obtained the honour after winning the 2018 BWF World Championships title and improving their ranking from 14 to 3 in the world.[5] On 30 April 2019, she reached a career high as the women's doubles world No. 1.

Career

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2021

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In March, Nagahara and her partner Mayu Matsumoto won their first World Tour Super 1000 title in the All England Open defeating their compatriots, the defending champion, and current world number 1, Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota in the final.[6] She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics partnering Matsumoto as 3rd seeds, and her pace was stopped by Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong of South Korea in the quarter-finals.[7]

Awards and nominations

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Award Year Category Result Ref.
BWF Awards 2018 Most Improved Player of the Year with Mayu Matsumoto Won [8]

Achievements

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World Championships

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Women's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2018 Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park, Nanjing, China Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Yuki Fukushima
Japan Sayaka Hirota 		19–21, 21–19, 22–20 Gold Gold [9]
2019 St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Yuki Fukushima
Japan Sayaka Hirota 		21–11, 20–22, 23–21 Gold Gold [10]
2021 Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain Japan Mayu Matsumoto China Chen Qingchen
China Jia Yifan 		15–21, 12–21 Bronze Bronze [11]
2022 Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan Japan Mayu Matsumoto China Chen Qingchen
China Jia Yifan 		13–21, 14–21 Bronze Bronze [12]

Asian Championships

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Women's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2019 Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium,
Wuhan, China 		Japan Mayu Matsumoto China Chen Qingchen
China Jia Yifan 		21–19, 14–21, 19–21 Silver Silver [13]
2023 Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates 		Japan Mayu Matsumoto South Korea Baek Ha-na
South Korea Lee So-hee 		21–16, 8–21, 13–21 Bronze Bronze [14]

BWF World Tour (5 titles, 10 runners-up)

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The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[15] 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 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[16]

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2018 Indonesia Open Super 1000 Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Yuki Fukushima
Japan Sayaka Hirota 		14–21, 21–16, 14–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [17]
2018 Spain Masters Super 300 Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Ayako Sakuramoto
Japan Yukiko Takahata 		21–17, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [18]
2018 China Open Super 1000 Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Misaki Matsutomo
Japan Ayaka Takahashi 		16–21, 12–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [19]
2018 French Open Super 750 Japan Mayu Matsumoto Bulgaria Gabriela Stoeva
Bulgaria Stefani Stoeva 		21–14, 21–19 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [20]
2018 Fuzhou China Open Super 750 Japan Mayu Matsumoto South Korea Lee So-hee
South Korea Shin Seung-chan 		21–23, 18–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [21]
2019 All England Open Super 1000 Japan Mayu Matsumoto China Chen Qingchen
China Jia Yifan 		21–18, 20–22, 11–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [22]
2019 Singapore Open Super 500 Japan Mayu Matsumoto South Korea Kim Hye-jeong
South Korea Kong Hee-yong 		21–17, 22–20 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [23]
2019 Japan Open Super 750 Japan Mayu Matsumoto South Korea Kim So-yeong
South Korea Kong Hee-yong 		12–21, 12–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [24]
2019 BWF World Tour Finals World Tour Finals Japan Mayu Matsumoto China Chen Qingchen
China Jia Yifan 		14–21, 10–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [25]
2020 Denmark Open Super 750 Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Yuki Fukushima
Japan Sayaka Hirota 		10–21, 21–16, 18–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [26]
2021 All England Open Super 1000 Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Yuki Fukushima
Japan Sayaka Hirota 		21–18, 21–16 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [27]
2022 Thailand Open Super 500 Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Nami Matsuyama
Japan Chiharu Shida 		21–17, 15–21, 24–26 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [28]
2022 French Open Super 750 Japan Mayu Matsumoto Malaysia Pearly Tan
Malaysia Thinaah Muralitharan 		19–21, 21–18, 15–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [29]
2023 Canada Open Super 500 Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Nami Matsuyama
Japan Chiharu Shida 		20–22, 16–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [30]
2024 India Open Super 750 Japan Mayu Matsumoto China Zhang Shuxian
China Zheng Yu 		21–12, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [31]

BWF Grand Prix (2 titles, 4 runners-up)

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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.

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2014 Russian Open Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Yuriko Miki
Japan Koharu Yonemoto 		17–21, 7–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [32]
2016 U.S. Open Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Shiho Tanaka
Japan Koharu Yonemoto 		22–20, 15–21, 19–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [33]
2016 Thailand Open Japan Mayu Matsumoto Thailand Puttita Supajirakul
Thailand Sapsiree Taerattanachai 		12–21, 17–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [34]
2017 Canada Open Japan Mayu Matsumoto Japan Chisato Hoshi
Japan Naru Shinoya 		21–16, 16–21, 21–18 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [35][36]
2017 U.S. Open Japan Mayu Matsumoto South Korea Lee So-hee
South Korea Shin Seung-chan 		16–21, 13–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [37]

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2016 U.S. Open Japan Yugo Kobayashi Poland Robert Mateusiak
Poland Nadieżda Zięba 		21–16, 21–18 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [33]
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title)

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Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2014 Smiling Fish International Japan Mayu Matsumoto Thailand Pacharapun Chochuwong
Thailand Chanisa Teachavorasinskun 		21–17, 21–11 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [38]
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

Performance timeline

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Key
W F SF QF #R RR Q# A G S B NH N/A DNQ
(W) won; (F) finalist; (SF) semi-finalist; (QF) quarter-finalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze medal; (NH) not held; (N/A) not applicable; (DNQ) did not qualify.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

National team

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  • Junior level
Team events 2013 2014
Asian Junior Championships B B
World Junior Championships 4th B
  • Senior level
Team events 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Asia Team Championships NH G NH A NH A
Uber Cup NH A NH B NH B
Sudirman Cup S NH DNP NH B NH

Individual competitions

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Senior level

[edit]
Women's doubles
[edit]
Events 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Ref
Asian Championships A S NH A B QF [13][14]
World Championships G G NH B B 3R NH [9][10][11][12]
Olympic Games NH QF NH RR [39]
Tournament BWF Superseries / Grand Prix BWF World Tour Best Ref
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Malaysia Open A QF QF NH SF A 2R SF ('22)
India Open A NH A W W ('24)
Indonesia Masters A NH A SF 2R A w/d w/d SF ('19)
German Open A 2R SF NH w/d QF A SF ('19)
French Open A SF W SF NH A F SF SF W ('18)
All England Open A SF F QF W w/d QF 1R W ('21)
Spain Masters NH W A NH A W ('18)
Thailand Open NH A F A QF QF w/d NH F A F ('16, '22)
w/d
Malaysia Masters A 1R A SF w/d NH 2R SF A SF ('19, '23)
Singapore Open A W NH A QF QF W ('19)
Indonesia Open A F QF NH A 1R SF SF F ('18)
Australian Open A QF NH QF QF A QF ('19, '22, '23)
U.S. Open A 1R F F A NH A F ('16, '17) [33][37]
Canada Open A QF A W A NH A F A W ('17)
Japan Open A 1R 1R 1R QF F NH QF SF 1R F ('19)
Korea Open A QF QF 2R NH A SF Ret. SF ('23)
Chinese Taipei Open 2R 1R A SF A NH A SF ('17)
Hong Kong Open A QF 1R SF NH QF SF ('19)
China Open A F 2R NH QF F ('18)
Macau Open A QF A NH QF ('17)
Denmark Open A 1R SF F A 1R SF F ('20)
Korea Masters A QF A NH A QF ('16)
Japan Masters NH SF SF ('23)
China Masters A 2R 1R F SF NH QF F ('18)
Superseries /
World Tour Finals 		DNQ SF F DNQ w/d F ('19)
New Zealand Open A 2R 2R A QF NH QF ('19)
Russian Open F w/d A NH F ('14)
Year-end ranking 101 94 32 14 3 3 3 5 8 9 — 1
Tournament 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Best
Mixed doubles
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Events 2019
Asian Championships 2R
World Championships 3R
Tournament SS / GP BWF World Tour Best
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Malaysia Masters A 2R QF QF ('20)
Indonesia Masters A NH A QF 1R QF ('19)
German Open A 1R NH 1R ('19)
All England Open A 1R 1R 1R ('19, '20)
Singapore Open A 1R NH 1R ('19)
Australian Open A 2R NH 2R ('19)
U.S. Open W SF A NH W ('16)
Canada Open A SF A NH SF ('17)
Korea Open A 1R NH 1R ('19)
China Open A 1R NH 1R ('19)
Japan Open 1R 1R A 1R NH 1R ('16, '17, '19)
Denmark Open A 1R 2R w/d 2R ('19)
French Open A QF QF NH QF ('18, '19)
Fuzhou China Open A 1R 2R 1R NH 2R ('18)
Hong Kong Open A QF 2R NH QF ('18)
Indonesia Open A 1R NH 1R ('19)
Malaysia Open A 1R NH 1R ('19)
Thailand Open A 1R w/d 1R ('19)
w/d
Year-end ranking 122 94 64 25 25 19
Tournament 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Best

References

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