Ayako Sakuramoto

Ayako Sakuramoto
Personal information
CountryJapan
Born (1995-08-19) August 19, 1995
Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
HandednessLeft
CoachTakeshi Kamura[1]
Women's doubles
Highest ranking9 (with Yukiko Takahata, 5 February 2019)
11 (with Rena Miyaura, 23 January 2024)
Current ranking53 (with Arisa Igarashi, 18 March 2025)
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  Japan
Uber Cup
2024 Chengdu Women's team
Asia Mixed Team Championships
2019 Hong Kong Mixed team
2025 Qingdao Mixed team
Asia Team Championships
2024 Selangor Women's team
World Junior Championships
2012 Chiba Mixed team
Asia Junior Championships
2012 Gimcheon Mixed team
2011 Lucknow Girls' doubles
2013 Kota Kinabalu Mixed team
BWF profile

Ayako Sakuramoto (櫻本 絢子, Sakuramoto Ayako; born August 19, 1995) is a Japanese badminton player. She is a member of the Yonex team.[2][3] She specializes in women's doubles and has achieved success in numerous tournaments. These include the Asian Junior Championships, BWF World Tour, BWF Grand Prix, and BWF International Challenge/Series. Sakuramoto frequently partners with Yukiko Takahata and Rena Miyaura, with whom she has won multiple titles and medals.

Career

Sakuramoto who educated at the Kyushu International University High School, won the girls' doubles bronze medal at the 2011 Asian Junior Badminton Championships.[4] She also won 2012 gold and 2013 bronze in the mixed team event.[5][6] In 2017, she became the women's doubles runner-up at the Osaka International tournament partnered with Yukiko Takahata.[7] She won her first senior international title at the Spanish International tournament with Takahata.[8]

Achievements

Asian Junior Championships

Girls' doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2011 Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium,
Lucknow, India
Ayano Torii Suci Rizky Andini
Tiara Rosalia Nuraidah
15–21, 15–21 Bronze

BWF World Tour (12 titles, 2 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[9] 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.[10]

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2018 Swiss Open Super 300 Yukiko Takahata Gabriela Stoeva
Stefani Stoeva
19–21, 21–15, 21–18 Winner
2018 New Zealand Open Super 300 Yukiko Takahata Cao Tongwei
Zheng Yu
21–9, 21–19 Winner
2018 Australian Open Super 300 Yukiko Takahata Baek Ha-na
Lee Yu-lim
23–21, 21–18 Winner
2018 Canada Open Super 100 Yukiko Takahata Isabel Herttrich
Carla Nelte
21–13, 21–15 Winner
2018 Singapore Open Super 500 Yukiko Takahata Nami Matsuyama
Chiharu Shida
16–21, 24–22, 21–13 Winner
2018 Akita Masters Super 100 Yukiko Takahata Nami Matsuyama
Chiharu Shida
23–21, 21–11 Winner
2018 Spain Masters Super 300 Yukiko Takahata Mayu Matsumoto
Wakana Nagahara
17–21, 13–21 Runner-up
2018 Indonesia Masters Super 100 Yukiko Takahata Nami Matsuyama
Chiharu Shida
11–21, 21–19, 22–20 Winner
2019 Akita Masters Super 100 Yukiko Takahata Nita Violina Marwah
Putri Syaikah
21–17, 14–21, 21–15 Winner
2022 Canada Open Super 100 Rena Miyaura Rui Hirokami
Yuna Kato
21–13, 21–8 Winner
2022 Indonesia Masters Super 100 Rena Miyaura Rui Hirokami
Yuna Kato
21–23, 18–21 Runner-up
2023 Swiss Open Super 300 Rena Miyaura Yuki Fukushima
Sayaka Hirota
Walkover Winner
2023 Orléans Masters Super 300 Rena Miyaura Liu Shengshu
Tan Ning
21–19, 16–21, 21–12 Winner [11]
2025 India Open Super 750 Arisa Igarashi Kim Hye-jeong
Kong Hee-yong
21–15, 21–13 Winner [12]

BWF Grand Prix (1 runner-up)

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
2017 New Zealand Open Yukiko Takahata Vivian Hoo
Woon Khe Wei
21–18, 16–21, 19–21 Runner-up
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 3 runners-up)

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2017 Osaka International Yukiko Takahata Kim So-yeong
Yoo Hae-won
21–16, 17–21, 19–21 Runner-up
2017 Spanish International Yukiko Takahata Misato Aratama
Akane Watanabe
21–10, 21–15 Winner
2018 Osaka International Yukiko Takahata Naoko Fukuman
Kurumi Yonao
21–17, 19–21, 16–21 Runner-up
2022 Mexican International Hinata Suzuki Rui Hirokami
Yuna Kato
21–15, 19–21, 17–21 Runner-up
  BWF International Challenge tournament

References

  1. ^ "Yonex Badminton Team Coach" (in Japanese). Yonex. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  2. ^ "Players: Ayako Sakuramoto". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  3. ^ "ヨネックス バドミントンチーム 選手紹介" (in Japanese). Yonex. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  4. ^ "China bags 5-gold again while Japan defends 1-bronze only" (in Japanese). BadPaL. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  5. ^ "Asian Juniors 2012 Team Final – Japan wins first team title". Badzine.net. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  6. ^ "China regains No.1 in Asia, recovers from last year's loss to Japan" (in Japanese). BadPaL. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  7. ^ "ヨネックス大阪インターナショナルチャレンジ2017" (in Japanese). Yonex. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  8. ^ "バドミントンスペインインターナショナル2017" (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  9. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (March 19, 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  10. ^ Sukumar, Dev (January 10, 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on January 13, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  11. ^ "3rd women's doubles title for Japan". Orléans Masters Badminton. April 9, 2023. Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  12. ^ "[Badminton] "Sakugashi" Ayako Sakuramoto and Arisa Igarashi win India Open after only four and a half months together" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 19, 2025.