Xie Xingfang

Xie Xingfang (born September 8, 1981) is a retired Chinese badminton player from Guangzhou, Guangdong. She is a former two-time world champion for women's singles, and former women's singles World No. 1.^[1]

Born (1981-09-08) September 8, 1981 (age 44)

Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)

Weight60 kg (132 lb; 9 st 6 lb)

Spouse

Lin Dan

​

(m. 2010)​

Quick facts Personal information, Born ...

Xie Xingfang
谢杏芳

Personal information
Born	(1981-09-08) September 8, 1981 (age 44) Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb; 9 st 6 lb)
Spouse	Lin Dan ​ (m. 2010)​
Sport
Country	China
Sport	Badminton
Handedness	Right
Women's singles
Highest ranking	1
BWF profile
Medal record Women's badminton Representing  China Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Women's singles World Championships 2005 Anaheim Women's singles 2006 Madrid Women's singles 2009 Hyderabad Women's singles World Cup 2005 Yiyang Women's singles 2006 Yiyang Women's singles Sudirman Cup 2005 Beijing Mixed team 2007 Glasgow Mixed team 2009 Guangzhou Mixed team Uber Cup 2004 Jakarta Women's team 2006 Sendai/Tokyo Women's team 2008 Jakarta Women's team Asian Games 2006 Doha Women's team 2006 Doha Women's singles Asian Championships 2000 Jakarta Women's singles 2009 Suwon Women's singles World Junior Championships 1998 Melbourne Girls' doubles 1998 Melbourne Mixed doubles Asian Junior Championships 1999 Yangon Girls' doubles 1999 Yangon Girls' team 1998 Kuala Lumpur Girls' team 1998 Kuala Lumpur Girls' doubles

Close

Her first big title was in girls' doubles, with her provincial teammate Zhang Jiewen, at the World Junior Championships in 1998. She has also won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in mixed doubles with Cai Yun. However, once she entered the Chinese national team, she switched to singles. 2004 was her "break-out" year, as she won several top tier titles on the world circuit. Xie and her senior compatriot and rival Zhang Ning were the most dominant international women's singles players of the middle and late parts of the decade, though they were pressed by younger teammates such as Zhu Lin, Lu Lan, Jiang Yanjiao and Wang Yihan. Due to her height and slender figure, she is regarded to have elegant movement. Xie's strengths were her reach, quickness, consistency, and court sense. She was a member of China's world champion Uber Cup teams of 2004, 2006, and 2008.

Her last appearance as a player in a major badminton competition came at the National Games of China in October 2009.

During most of her badminton career Xie was romantically involved with fellow Chinese badminton star Lin Dan. In 2006 Xie and Lin won their respective women's and men's singles titles at the IBF World Championships in Madrid. Xie had also won the world title in 2005 when Lin finished second to Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat. Xie Xingfang and Lin Dan were married in Guangzhou, China, on 13 December 2010, after seven years of dating. She is also a mother of a son, Lin Xiao Yu, who was born on 5 November 2016.