is a Japanese

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

player. She won bronze in the mixed team event at the Asian Junior Championships in 2013 and 2014, and competed at the 2014 World Junior Championships, winning two bronzes in the mixed doubles and team event. Higashino won her maiden Super 1000 tournament at the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2021 All England Open The 2021 All England Open (officially known as the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2021 for sponsorship reasons) was a badminton tournament which took place at Utilita Arena Birmingham in England from 17 to 21 March 2021. It had a ...

in the mixed doubles event, partnering with

Yuta Watanabe is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Chiba Jets Funabashi of the B.League. He played college basketball in the United States for the George Washington Colonials (now Revolutionaries), becoming the first Japanese-born studen ...

, and had also won 2 consecutive bronze medals in mixed doubles at the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Career

Higashino was born in

Iwamizawa is a city in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sorachi Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2023, the city had an estimated population of 75,949 and the density of 158 persons per km2. The total area is . On March 27, 2006 ...

, graduated from the Tomioka Senior High School, and joined the Unisys team in 2015. Higashino was selected to join national junior team, competed at the 2014 Asian Junior Championships, and helped the team win the bronze medal. At the World Junior Championships in Alor Setar, Malaysia, she won the bronze medals in the mixed doubles event with

and in the mixed team event. In June 2014, she made her first appearance in the senior international event at the Japan Open, competed in the mixed doubles with Watanabe, but the duo was defeated in the first round. She reached her first final in the senior international event at the 2015 Russian Open a BWF Grand Prix tournament, where she and her partner Watanabe were defeated by Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying. In 2016, Higashino won her first senior title at

Vietnam International The Vietnam International Challenge, formerly Vietnam Satellite and Hanoi International, is an international badminton tournament held in Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edg ...

Challenge in the mixed doubles paired-up with Watanabe. In 2017, Higashino and Watanabe have sufficient ranking points to entered the Superseries stage, and able to reached the semi-finals in the

All England Open The All England Open Badminton Championships is the world's oldest badminton tournament, held annually in England. With the introduction of the BWF's latest grading system, it was given Super Series status in 2007, upgraded to Super Series Premie ...

2018: Break to top 5 BWF rankings, All England Open title

Significant progress occurs in 2018 season. Higashino with her partner Watanabe in the mixed doubles are able to break the international doubles stage by reaching third in the BWF rankings. Higashino and Watanabe became the first mixed doubles from Japan to win the

since the tournament was first contested in 1899. En route to the finals, they beating the top three seeds, and then clinched the title after defeating the fifth seeded pair

Zheng Siwei Zheng Siwei (; born 26 February 1997) is a Chinese badminton player specializing in doubles. He is an Olympic gold medalist, a three-time World Champion and two-time Asian Games gold medalist in the mixed doubles with his current partner Huang ...

and

Huang Yaqiong Huang Yaqiong (, born 28 February 1994) is a Chinese badminton player who specializes in doubles. She is an Olympic gold medalist, three-time World Champion, two-time Asian Games gold medalist, and two-time Asian Champion. She also won a silv ...

in the rubber game. Both also won the Hong Kong Open after beating Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping in the finals. It was their first win over the world silver medallists in six meetings. Besides that, the duo finished in the semi-finals at the

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, and

Fuzhou China Open The China Masters (), formerly known as Fuzhou China Open, is an annual badminton tournament held in China. It became part of the BWF Super Series tournaments in 2007. In 2014 the level of the tournament was downgraded to BWF Grand Prix Gold beca ...

s; as well in the year-end tournament

BWF World Tour Finals The BWF World Tour Finals, officially HSBC BWF World Tour Finals, which succeeds BWF Super Series Finals, is an annual season finale badminton tournament which is held every December of a year where the players with the most points from that cale ...

. Higashino also part of the Japanese national team that won the gold medal in the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

2019–2020: World Championships bronze

In the first half of the 2019 season, Higashino and Watanabe has won a title in the

Malaysia Masters The Malaysia Masters () is an annual badminton tournament held in Malaysia that began in 2009. The total prize money is currently US$475,000. Until 2017, the tournament was part of the Grand Prix Gold series. BWF categorised Malaysia Masters ...

. She reached the finals in the

, losing to Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong. Together with the National team, she won the silver medal at the Asia Mixed Team Championships and at the

Sudirman Cup The Sudirman Cup is an international badminton mixed team competition contested by member countries of the Badminton World Federation, the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every two years since the inaugural tourn ...

. In the second half of 2019 season, Higashino added a cap by defending the Hong Kong Open title, and became a finalists in the Thailand Open. Their journey in the remainder of the season does look quite difficult. In four meetings against Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, they only managed to win once, in the group stage of the World Tour Finals; the rest were losses in the semi-finals of the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...

and World Tour Finals. The head-to-head record between the pairs stood at 2–8. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, numerous tournaments on the

2020 BWF World Tour The 2020 BWF World Tour (officially known as 2020 HSBC BWF World Tour for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the BWF World Tour of badminton, a circuit of 27 tournaments which led up to the World Tour Finals tournament. The 28 tourname ...

were either cancelled or rescheduled for later in the year. Higashino competed in the national events in December, and managed to claim his fourth mixed doubles consecutive title at the Japanese National Championships with Watanabe.

2021: Second All England title, Olympic bronze, and World Championships silver

In March, Higashino and Watanabe won the mixed doubles title in the

. In July, she competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the

mixed doubles Mixed doubles or mixed pairs is a form of mixed-sex sports that consists of teams of one man and one woman. This variation of competition is prominent in curling and racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis, and badminton (where it is known ...

with Watanabe, and clinched a bronze medal after winning the bronze medal game against

Tang Chun Man Jordan Tang Chun Man (, born 20 March 1995) is a Hong Kong badminton player. He started playing badminton at the age of seven, and joined the national team when he was 18. He was a 2025 Asian Championships gold medalist, 2018 Asian Games silve ...

and

Tse Ying Suet Tse Ying Suet (, born 9 November 1991) is a Hong Kong badminton player. She was a gold medalist in the 2025 Asian Championships, a silver medalist in the 2018 Asian Games, and two-time bronze medalists in the World Championships. Tse is a four ...

in straight games. After the Olympics, Watanabe and Higashino reached five finals, winning the

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

s, and became a finalist in the Indonesia Open, World Tour Finals, and also at the

2022–2023: World #1, third All England title, and first Japanese mixed doubles to win the Japan Open

In 2022, Higashino only won a title, where she and her partner, Watanabe, successfully to defend the

in March. Furthermore, she and her partner won the silver medal in the

defeating by Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong in the finals, and a bronze medal in the

Asian Championships An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics and wate ...

defeating by Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping in the semi-finals. Another results that they achieved in 2022 were the finalists in the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and Japan Opens. Higashino and Watanabe then reached their career high as world number 1 in the BWF mixed doubles ranking on 8 November 2022. Higashino started the 2023 season by competing in the Malaysia Open, where she and her partner, Watanabe, finished as the finalists. In the following week, they emerged as a champion in the

India Open The India Open is an annual badminton event which has been held in India since 2008 and is a BWF World Tour Super 750 international badminton tournament. Its first three editions were designated as Grand Prix Gold events. In 2011, it was upgr ...

, after their opponent Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping withdrawn from the final match. In March, they unable to defend their

title, since Watanabe struggling with injury in the second round against Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun. Higashino helps the national team advanced to the knocked out stage in the

, where the team finished in the semi-finals. In June, Higashino and Watanabe reached the finals in the

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and Indonesia Opens. In the next tournaments, they stopped in the quarter-finals of the

Canada Open The Canada Open () in badminton is an international open held in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Oce ...

to Taiwanese pairing Lee Jhe-huei and Hsu Ya-ching, and then in the semi-finals of the Korea Open to Chinese rising star Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin. The duo then won the Japan Open, becoming the first ever Japanaese pairing to claimed the Japan Open title since it was first contested in 1982. They clinched the bronze medal in the

defeating by Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yoo-jung in the semi-finals. She competed in the

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially the 19th Asian Games () and also known as Hangzhou 2022 ( zh, c=, s=杭州2022, labels=no), were a continental multi-sport event which was held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The ...

, won a silver in the mixed doubles and a gold in the women's team event. In the rest of the season, Higashino and Watanabe finished as the semi-finalists in the

, Japan Masters, as well in the year-end finals tournament the World Tour Finals.

2024

Higashino and Watanabe began the 2024 season by winning the Malaysia Open. In the first half of the season, they reached the final of the

, and the quarterfinals of the

, and

. Leading up to the Paris Olympics, the pair experienced early-round losses at the

and Indonesia Opens. Higashino then made her second Olympic appearance at

2024 Paris Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, where she and Watanabe won another bronze medal, defeating South Korea's Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yoo-jung in the bronze medal match. Following a quarterfinal loss at the Japan Open shortly after the Olympics, Higashino ended her 13-year partnership with Watanabe. Following the Olympics, Higashino married and began competing under her married name, Arisa Igarashi. She announced a focus on women's doubles and formed a new partnership with

Ayako Sakuramoto is a Japanese badminton player. She is a member of the Yonex team. 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 Intern ...

. The pair debuted on the BWF World Tour at the Japan Masters in November, losing in the second round to Olympic bronze medalists

Nami Matsuyama is a Japanese badminton player affiliated with the Saishunkan team. She is the bronze medalist at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Matsuyama helps the national team won the 2020 Asia Team Championships. She reached a career high as world number 2 in ...

and

Chiharu Shida is a Japanese badminton player affiliated with the Saishunkan team. She is the bronze medalist at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Shida was part of the Japan winning team in the 2020 Asia Team Championships. She reached a career high as world number ...

. Concluding the year, they reached the final of the All Japan Badminton Championships in December, where they were again defeated by Matsuyama and Shida; this performance secured their selection to the Japanese National Team for 2025.

2025

In January, Igarashi and Sakuramoto won their first title as a pair at the

(Super 750), defeating Olympic silver medalists

Liu Shengshu Liu Shengshu (; born 8 April 2004) is a Chinese badminton player. She won the women's doubles silver medal at the 2024 Olympic Games and a gold medal at the 2025 Asian Championships. She also helped the national team win the 2023 Asia Mixed Te ...

and Tan Ning in the quarterfinals and South Korea's

Kim Hye-jeong Kim Hye-jeong (; born 3 January 1998) is a South Korean badminton player. She has shown her potential as a badminton player since she was young. Kim entered the regular training in the second grade of elementary school in Wanwol-dong, Masan, and ...

and

Kong Hee-yong Kong Hee-yong (; born 11 December 1996) is a South Korean badminton player. In 2013, she won the mixed team gold at the BWF World Junior Championships. In 2014, Kong who was educated at the Daesung girls' high school competed at the Asian Junio ...

in the final. At the Asian Mixed Team Championships in February, their final tournament together, they secured a win for Japan in their women's doubles match by defeating China's

Chen Qingchen Chen Qingchen (; born 23 June 1997) is a Chinese badminton player who specializes in doubles. She is an Olympic champion, four-time World Champion, two-time Asian Games gold medalist, and two-time Asian Champion. With partner Jia Yifan, Che ...

and Wang Tingge. The partnership ended after about six months, with the players deciding to part ways in March; their team officially announced the decision in April. Igarashi stated she would continue to compete in women's doubles with a new partner.

Personal life

On 28 August 2024, she announced her marriage to former badminton player,

Yu Igarashi is a Japanese badminton player. He won his first international title at the 2017 Osaka International tournament. Personal life On 28 August 2024, he announced his marriage to national badminton player, Arisa Higashino. Achievements Summe ...

Achievements

Olympic Games

''Mixed doubles''

World Championships

''Mixed doubles''

Asian Games

''Mixed doubles''

Asian Championships

''Mixed doubles''

World Junior Championships

''Mixed doubles''

BWF World Tour (12 titles, 10 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the

Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation, aka BWF, is the international governing body for the sport of badminton approved by the International Olympic Committee. It was founded on 5 July 1934 as the International Badminton Federation with nine member ...

(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. ''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

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

(BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017. ''Mixed doubles'' : BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title)

''Mixed doubles'' :

BWF International Challenge The BWF International Challenge is a grade 3 and level 1 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Series (level 2) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament

References

External links

* * * *
Arisa Higashino
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Igarashi, Arisa 1996 births Living people People from Iwamizawa Badminton players from Hokkaido Japanese female badminton players Badminton players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players for Japan Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2018 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Asian Games medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games World No. 1 badminton players 21st-century Japanese sportswomen