Ratchanok Intanon

Ratchanok Intanon (Thai: รัชนก อินทนนท์, Ratchanok Inthanon, [rát.t͡ɕʰā.nók ʔīn.tʰā.nōn]; born 5 February 1995) is a Thai badminton player who became the first Thai to become No.1 in women's singles. She is known for her relaxed hitting motion and light footwork, which has been described as 'balletic' by commentators such as Gillian Clark. She became world champion in women's singles in 2013.

2009–2012

Intanon won her first individual International title in 2009, while she was only 14, by winning the Vietnam International Challenge. She made history by becoming the youngest-ever champion at the BWF World Junior Championships at 14 in Malaysia. She also reached the 2009 Southeast Asian Games women's singles final, but lost to her compatriot Salakjit Ponsana.

In 2010, at the age of 15, she successfully defended her title at the World Junior Championships in Mexico. She won back-to-back Grand Prix tournaments by winning the Vietnam Open Grand Prix and Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold. In the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, she won a silver medal as a member of the women's team. In the final, she lost to Wang Xin, at that time world number 1, 22-20, 17-21, 14-21.

In 2011, she became the most successful player ever in individual events at the BWF World Junior Championships, winning the women's singles title for the third straight time in Taiwan. She won the Syed Modi International and was also a member of the women's team that defeated Indonesia in the final of the 2011 Southeast Asian Games. At the BWF World Championships, she was the only player to take a game off of the eventual champion, Wang Yihan.

In 2012, Intanon, at 16 years of age, was awarded the Best Female Athlete Award in Thailand after winning the world junior title for three successive years. Intanon's biggest goal is to win the Olympic gold medal. However, at the 2012 London Olympics quarter-final match with Wang Xin, despite leading 21–17 and 16-9 in the second game, she failed to close the match and eventually lost 21–17, 18–21, 14–21. She reached the finals of the SCG Thailand Open 2012 but lost to Saina Nehwal 19–21, 21–15, 21–10 in the finals. She entered the finals of a Super Series tournament for the first time in the 2012 China Open Super Series Premier but lost to Li Xuerui 12–21, 9–21. She qualified for the Super Series Finals and lost in the semifinals. She finished the year as world number 9.

2013

2013 was one of Intanon's best years. She reached the finals of the 2013 All England Open Badminton Championships, losing to Tine Rasmussen 14–21, 21–16, 10–21. She was the youngest ever singles finalist at the All England tournament. She won her first Superseries tournament by beating Juliane Schenk 22–20, 21–14 in the 2013 Yonex Sunrise India Open to become the youngest-ever Superseries winner at the age of 18 years, 2 months and 22 days (she held this record for 6 months until Akane Yamaguchi won the 2013 Japan Open at the age of 16). She again reached the finals of the SCG Thailand Open 2013. This time she won the title, beating Busanan Ongbumrungpan 20–22, 21–19, 21–13 to become the first Thai ever to win the women's singles title at the Thailand Open since it was first held in 1984.

After the Thailand Open, she withdrew from both the Indonesia Open SSP and Singapore Open SS to recover from her foot injury and prepare for the BWF World Championships. In August, Intanon won the BWF World Championships, beating world number 1 and Olympic gold medalist Li Xuerui 22–20, 18–21, 21–14 in the final. She was the first-ever Thai player to be the World Champion. At the age of 18, she was also the youngest singles World Champion ever. She became the World Champion while still being eligible to play in the 2013 BWF Junior World Championships in Bangkok. After the World Championships, she injured her back, which forced her to withdraw from another two super series events, the Japan Open and China Master. Intanon did not qualify for the Super Series Final in Malaysia and finished 2013 as the World number 3. She was awarded the "2013 Best Females Athletes Award" from the Thailand Sports Authority.

2014

Intanon reached the final of the Korea Open for the first time but lost to Wang Yihan 13–21, 19–21, bringing her head-to-head record against Wang to 0–8. She was awarded "Best Asian Sporting Icon" by Fox Sports Asia, based on voting from internet fans on its website. She reached the semifinals of the All England 2014 to meet with Li Xuerui for the first time after beating her in the 2013 World Championships. However, this time she lost to Li in 2 sets. After the All England tournament, Intanon failed to pass the first round in both the 2014 Asian Championship and Japan Open. She reached the finals of the Indonesia Open but again lost to Li 13–21, 13–21. After the Indonesia Open, Intanon did not reach any finals for the rest of the year. She failed to defend her World Champion title by losing in the second round. She qualified for the Super Series Final in Dubai but failed to pass the round-robin. She finished the 2014 year as World number 6.

2015

At the age of 20, Intanon made a comeback by reaching the final of the India Open for the second time but lost to her opponent, Saina Nehwal, 16–21, 14–21. However, in the quarter-finals of the All England Championships, while playing Sun Yu, while 13–19 down in the decider, Intanon was forced to retire with a cramp. A month later, she became the first Thai singles player to win the Asia Championship by defeating Li Xuerui in the final match 20–22, 23–21, 21–12 in China. It was the first time that Intanon had beaten Li since the final of the 2013 World Championships. In June, she won her first Super Series Premier title by beating Yui Hashimoto of Japan in straight games, 21–11, 21–10, at the Indonesia Open. However, at the BWF World Championships, she had to retire from court when 8-5 up in the decider against Lindaweni Fanetri in the round of 16 from cramp yet again. She won a gold medal with the Thailand Women's team at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore. After the Indonesia Open, she did not reach the final of any tournaments but earned enough points to qualify for the Dubai Super Series Final tournament. She lost to Wang Yihan in the semifinal, which brought their head-to-head record to 0-12. She finished the 2015 season at world number 7.

2016

Intanon won the 2016 Princess Sirivannavari Thailand Masters, a second Grand Prix Gold tournament in Thailand, by beating Sun Yu of China in the final 21–19, 18–21, 21–17. She won the Indian Open Super Series for the second time by beating Li Xuerui in the final 21–17, 21–18. In the Malaysia Super Series Premier the week after, she finally won a match over Wang Yihan by beating her in the semifinal 21–11, 21–19. In the final, she beat Tai Tzu-ying 21–14, 21–15 to earn the Malaysia Open title for the first time. It was Intanon's first time to win two consecutive Superseries tournaments. Intanon then became the first singles player to win three Superseries in three consecutive weeks by winning the Singapore Super Series, defeating Sun Yu in the final. By winning three Superseries in a row, Intanon also rose to the No.1 spot in the world rankings, becoming the first Thai to achieve this feat. Intanon qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics and was the Thai flag bearer. At the Olympics she failed to pass the Round of 16, losing to the Japanese rising star, Akane Yamaguchi, in a close two-game match 19–21, 16–21. Intanon then withdrew from the Thailand Open, and she lost in the quarter-finals and the second round of the Japan Open and Korea Open, respectively. Following that, she withdrew from the Denmark Open as well as the French Open due to a knee injury that she picked up at the Olympics. After that, she played a couple of shots in China before retiring, and then she withdrew from the Hong Kong Open due to the same injury, knowing that she would have secured enough points to qualify for the Super Series Finals. Intanon had the goal of making it into the semifinals of the Superseries Finals but lost 21–19, 21–12 to Sung Ji-hyun, 21–13, 21–14 to Tai Tzu-ying, and 21–19, 11–10, retiring injured against He Bingjiao. She finished 2016 at a world ranking of 5.

2017

Intanon withdrew from her home event, the Thailand Masters, due to a knee injury. Following that, she played in her first tournament of 2017 in March, the Yonex All England Open. She made her way to the quarter-finals, where she faced off against world no. 2, Carolina Marin. Intanon won 22–20, 13–21, 21–18. She was 11–18 down in the rubber set but won 10 straight points to close out the match. In the semifinals, she faced Akane Yamaguchi. Intanon won 22–20, 21–16 in 48 minutes of play to secure a spot in the final against Tai Tzu-ying. Tai beat Intanon 16–21, 20–22. Intanon later in the year took the SCG Thailand Open beating compatriot Busanan Ongbumrungphan in the final, 21–18, 12–21, 21–16. She also won the Skycity New Zealand Open beating Saena Kawakami in the final 21–14, 16–21, 21–15. She participated in the Denmark Open Premier Series where she beat Sung Ji-hyun and Tai Tzu-ying. Intanon met Akane Yamaguchi in the final, and beat her in a three game match with 21–19 in the rubber set, to win the title. She said that she dedicated the title to Thailand's king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, who had died the year before.

2018

At the beginning of the year, Intanon participated in and won the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament, beating Akane Yamaguchi in the semifinals and Tai Tzu-ying in the finals, winning 24–22 in the third set. She then reached the semifinals of both the Indonesia Masters Super 500 and the India Open Super 500, losing out to Saina Nehwal and Pusarla V. Sindhu, respectively. At the Asian Games, Intanon made it to the quarter-final stage before losing out to Saina Nehwal. She then made the finals of the Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open, losing to Nozomi Okuhara 19–21, 22–24. She qualified for the HSBC World Tour Finals, where she lost in the semifinals to Pusarla Sindhu. She finished the year at world no. 8.

2019

Intanon participated in the Malaysia Masters Super 500, hoping to defend her title. She won her matches in straight sets, including beating Tai Tzu-ying, to set up a final against Carolina Marín. Intanon beat Marin 21–9, 22–20 to successfully defend her title. At the German Open Super 300, Intanon beat Nozomi Okuhara in the semifinals, but lost to Akane Yamaguchi in three games, losing 23–25 in the deciding game. After that, Intanon went to England for the All England Open but lost in the first round to a player she had never lost to before, Chen Xiaoxin of China, in three rubber games. This was her second consecutive first round exit at the All England Open.

Intanon then won her third Indian Open title by beating He Bingjiao of China 21–15, 21–14. This was Intanon's first-ever victory over He in their five encounters.

Records currently held

• Youngest ever singles champion at the BWF World Championships (2013, age of 18 years, 6 months and 6 days)
• Youngest ever champion of the BWF World Junior Championships (2009, age of 14)
• First ever three-time champion in a single discipline of the BWF World Junior Championships (2009, 2010, 2011)
• Youngest ever singles finalist of the All England Open Badminton Championships (2013, age of 18)
• First ever singles player to win three Superseries titles in three consecutive weeks
• First ever Thai badminton player ranked World #1

Honors and awards

Intanon has won many awards and honors in recognition of her achievements.

BWF World Championships

Women's singles

Asian Championships

Women's singles

Southeast Asian Games

Women's singles

BWF World Junior Championships

Girls' singles

Asian Junior Championships

Girls' doubles

BWF World Tour

The BWF World Tour, announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels: World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Level	Opponent	Score	Result
2020	Indonesia Masters	Super 500	Carolina Marín	21–19, 11–21, 21–18	Winner
2019	Hong Kong Open	Super 500	Chen Yufei	18–21, 21–13, 13–21	Runner-up
2019	Korea Open	Super 500	He Bingjiao	21–18, 22–24, 17–21	Runner-up
2019	Thailand Open	Super 500	Chen Yufei	20–22, 18–21	Runner-up
2019	India Open	Super 500	He Bingjiao	21–15, 21–14	Winner
2019	German Open	Super 300	Akane Yamaguchi	21–16, 14–21, 23–25	Runner-up
2019	Malaysia Masters	Super 500	Carolina Marín	21–9, 22–20	Winner
2018	Hong Kong Open	Super 500	Nozomi Okuhara	19–21, 22–24	Runner-up
2018	Malaysia Masters	Super 500	Tai Tzu-ying	21–16, 14–21, 24–22	Winner

BWF Superseries

The BWF Superseries, launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF Superseries has two levels: Superseries and Superseries Premier. Since 2011, each Superseries season has featured twelve tournaments around the world, with successful players invited to the Superseries Finals held at the end of the year.

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2017	Denmark Open	Akane Yamaguchi	14–21, 21–15, 21–19	Winner
2017	All England Open	Tai Tzu-ying	16–21, 20–22	Runner-up
2016	Singapore Open	Sun Yu	18–21, 21–11, 21–14	Winner
2016	Malaysia Open	Tai Tzu-ying	21–14, 21–15	Winner
2016	India Open	Li Xuerui	21–17, 21–18	Winner
2015	Indonesia Open	Yui Hashimoto	21–11, 21–10	Winner
2015	India Open	Saina Nehwal	16–21, 14–21	Runner-up
2014	Indonesia Open	Li Xuerui	13–21, 13–21	Runner-up
2014	Korea Open	Wang Yihan	13–21, 19–21	Runner-up
2013	India Open	Juliane Schenk	22–20, 21–14	Winner
2013	All England Open	Tine Baun	15–21, 21–16, 10–21	Runner-up
2012	China Open	Li Xuerui	12–21, 9–21	Runner-up

     BWF Superseries Premier tournament

     BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix

The BWF Grand Prix has two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2017	New Zealand Open	Saena Kawakami	21–14, 16–21, 21–15	Winner
2017	Thailand Open	Busanan Ongbumrungpan	21–18, 12–21, 21–16	Winner
2016	Thailand Masters	Sun Yu	21–19, 18–21, 21–17	Winner
2013	Thailand Open	Busanan Ongbumrungpan	20–22, 21–19, 21–13	Winner
2013	Swiss Open	Wang Shixian	16–14, 12–21	Runner-up
2012	Thailand Open	Saina Nehwal	21–19, 15–21, 10–21	Runner-up
2011	Syed Modi International	Porntip Buranaprasertsuk	Walkover	Winner
2011	Chinese Taipei Open	Sung Ji-hyun	20–22, 15–21	Runner-up
2010	Indonesian Masters	Cheng Shao-chieh	21–12, 19–21, 21–16	Winner
2010	Vietnam Open	Zhou Hui	21–17, 22–20	Winner

     BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

     BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	Smiling Fish International	Rawinda Prajongjai	21–10, 21–17	Winner
2009	Malaysia International	Sapsiree Taerattanachai	11–21, 21–19, 20–22	Runner-up
2009	Vietnam International	Maria Elfira Christina	21–18, 21–14	Winner
2008	Laos International	Lê Ngọc Nguyên Nhung	22–20, 14–21, 18–21	Runner-up

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	Smiling Fish International	Pijitjan Wangpaiboonkij	Rodjana Chuthabunditkul Wiranpatch Hongchookeat	20–22, 11–21	Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2008	Laos International	Pisit Poodchalat	Dương Bảo Đức Thái Thị Hồng Gấm	16–21, 21–18, 17–21	Runner-up

     BWF International Challenge tournament

     BWF International Series tournament

     BWF Future Series tournament

Intanon is the daughter of Winutchai Intanon and Kumpan Suvarsara. She also has a brother. She was born in Yasothon Province in the northeast of Thailand, but moved at the age of three months with her parents, who worked at the Banthongyord sweets factory in the Bang Khae District of Bangkok. As a child, Intanon would run around the factory floor. Factory owner Kamala Thongkorn, worried that she would be burned by boiling water and hot sugar, allowed Intanon to play at the factory's badminton courts. She started playing when she was six years old, and won her first championship at the age of seven.

Intanon used her prize money and endorsement fees to aid her parents and brother. Her father opened a food shop with her help. "I wanted to be a national player like my older friends and play for the country, because that was the only way I could help my parents to improve our status and leave poverty," she has said.

Intanon trains at the Banthongyord Badminton School. Her coach is Patapol Ngernsrisuk, former Olympian and son of Kamala Thongkorn.

Singles

Doubles

Prize money

Performance timeline

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semifinalists, and Olympic quarterfinalists. Accurate as of 21 January 2020.