Yuho Imai
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 June 1995 Nara Prefecture, Japan |
| Height | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) |
| Weight | 59 kg (130 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Japan |
| Sport | Badminton |
| Handedness | Right |
| Women's & mixed doubles | |
| Highest ranking | 69 (XD with Akira Koga, 30 September 2025) 133 (WD with Minami Kawashima, 12 April 2018) |
| BWF profile | |
Yuho Imai (今井 優歩, Imai Yūho; born 29 June 1995) is a Japanese female badminton player.[1][2]
Career
In her early career focusing on women's doubles, Imai won the 2016 Sydney International with Haruka Yonemoto and finished as the runner-up at the 2017 Russia Open Grand Prix with Minami Kawashima.[3][4] Her career-high ranking in women's doubles was No. 133, achieved on 12 April 2018. After the 2019 Akita Masters, she did not compete internationally for several years.
She returned to competition in 2025, shifting her focus to mixed doubles with Akira Koga. They secured their first BWF World Tour title by winning the Kaohsiung Masters, a Super 100 level tournament. The pair defeated World University Games gold medalists Wu Hsuan-yi and Yang Chu-yun in the final.[5] On the International Challenge/Series circuit, the pair won titles at the Mexican International and the Northern Marianas Open, and finished as runners-up at the Northern Marianas International.[6][7] Her career-high ranking in mixed doubles with Koga is No. 69, achieved on 30 September 2025.
Achievements
BWF World Tour (1 title)
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[8] 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.[9]
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Kaohsiung Masters | Super 100 | Akira Koga | Wu Hsuan-yi Yang Chu-yun |
16–21, 21–13, 21–15 | Winner | [5] |
BWF Grand Prix
The BWF Grand Prix has two level such as Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix. It is a series of badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.
Women's Doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Russian Open | Minami Kawashima | Akane Araki Aoi Matsuda |
6–11, 11–6, 7–11, 11–7, 5–11 | Runner-up | [4] |
- BWF Grand Prix tournament
BWF International Challenge/Series (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
Women's Doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Sydney International | Haruka Yonemoto | Erina Honda Nozomi Shimizu |
21–16, 15–21, 21–18 | Winner | [3] |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mexican International | Akira Koga | Davi Silva Sânia Lima |
15–8, 9–15, 15–9 | Winner | [6] |
| 2025 | Northern Marianas International | Akira Koga | Kim Jae-hyeon Kim Min-ji |
13–21, 21–16, 18–21 | Runner-up | [7] |
| 2025 | Northern Marianas Open | Akira Koga | Haruki Kawabe Kokona Ishikawa |
21–19, 21–13 | Winner | [10][11] |
- BWF International Challenge tournament
- BWF International Series tournament
References
- ^ "Players: Yuho Imai". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ^ "メンバー紹介-選手紹介". act-saikyo.com (in Japanese). Act Saikyo. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ a b Irawan, Hengky (17 September 2016). "Result: Sydney International 2016". Nippon Badminton Association (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 8 November 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
- ^ a b Etchells, Daniel (23 July 2017). "Top seed Cheah suffers defeat in final at BWF Russian Grand Prix". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ a b Chan, Chien-chuan (28 September 2025). "Badminton: World University Games Gold Medal Pair Wu Hsuan-yi & Yang Chu-yun Suffer Comeback Defeat to Finish as Runners-Up, 'A Pity We Couldn't Show we can't show our 'wheel dance' to everyone'". LTSports News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 29 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ^ a b "Champions in Mexico – Pan Am Circuit 2025". Badminton Pan America. 13 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b "Korea Dominates Finals Day – Northern Marianas International 2025". Badminton Oceania. 22 June 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Japan Dominates Finals at CROWNE PLAZA Northern Marianas Open". Badminton Oceania. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Sablan Jr., James (12 August 2025). "Japan sweeps Crowne Plaza badminton titles". Marianas Variety. Archived from the original on 12 August 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.