Yuki Kaneko (badminton)
Japanese former badminton player and coach (born 1994)
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Yuki Kaneko (金子 祐樹, Kaneko Yūki; born 22 July 1994) is a Japanese former badminton player who is currently a doubles coach for the BIPROGY (formerly Unisys).[1][2] Primarily competing in men's doubles with Takuto Inoue, Kaneko reached a career-high ranking of world No. 7 on 12 July 2018. Together, they won a BWF Grand Prix Gold title at the 2017 U.S. Open and a BWF World Tour Super 300 title at the 2018 German Open. They also became the first Japanese men's doubles pair since 1982 to reach the final of their home tournament, the 2017 Japan Open Super Series, and were runners-up at the 2018 Indonesia Open Super 1000.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 22 July 1994 Koshigaya, Saitama, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Badminton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Left | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Jeremy Gan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 31 March 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's & mixed doubles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 7 (MD with Takuto Inoue 12 July 2018) 12 (XD with Misaki Matsutomo 27 December 2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BWF profile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kaneko later transitioned to mixed doubles, partnering Misaki Matsutomo, with whom he achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 12 on 27 December 2022. Their achievements include being runners-up at the 2021 All England Open Super 1000 and the 2023 Syed Modi International Super 300. In team competitions, Kaneko earned silver medals at the 2021 Sudirman Cup, the 2018 Thomas Cup and the 2019 Asia Mixed Team Championships, and a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games men's team event.
Career
Junior career
During his junior career, Kaneko secured two silver medals at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Chiba: one in boys' doubles with Takuto Inoue, finishing runners-up to Hong Kong's Lee Chun Hei and Ng Ka Long, and another in the mixed team event.[3][4][5] He also contributed to Japan's mixed team gold medal at the 2012 Asian Junior Championships in Gimcheon.[6]
Senior career
Kaneko began his senior career in men's doubles with Takuto Inoue. On the International Challenge circuit, they won their first senior international title at the 2013 Romanian International.[7] They also won the 2017 Austrian Open and were runners-up at the 2015 Osaka International.[8][9]
On the BWF Grand Prix circuit, Kaneko and Inoue secured their first Grand Prix Gold title at the 2017 U.S. Open, defeating top-seeded Chinese Taipei pair Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han.[10][11] They were also runners-up at four other Grand Prix events: the 2014 Russia Open, 2016 Thailand Open, 2017 China Masters, and 2017 Dutch Open.[12][13][14][15] During the 2016 Thailand Open, they upset the top-seeded Malaysian pair Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong in the opening round.[16]
At the BWF Super Series level, Kaneko and Inoue became the first Japanese men's doubles pair since 1982 to reach the final of their home tournament, the 2017 Japan Open. They defeated 2016 All England Open champions Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov in the semifinals before finishing as runners-up to Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.[17][18][19]
With the introduction of the BWF World Tour in 2018, Kaneko and Inoue won their first BWF World Tour title at the 2018 German Open Super 300 by defeating Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.[20][21] That same year, they were runners-up at the Super 1000 Indonesia Open, once again losing to Gideon and Sukamuljo.[22][23] The pair achieved their career-high ranking of world No. 7 on 12 July 2018.
Kaneko later transitioned to mixed doubles with Misaki Matsutomo. They finished as runner-up at the 2021 All England Open Super 1000, losing to compatriots Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino.[24] They were also runners-up at the 2023 Syed Modi International Super 300.[25] They reached a career-high ranking of world No. 12 on 27 December 2022.
In team competitions, Kaneko earned silver medals at the 2021 Sudirman Cup, the 2018 Thomas Cup and the 2019 Asia Mixed Team Championships, and a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games men's team event.[26][27][28]
Kaneko retired from his playing career on 31 March 2025, and subsequently became a doubles coach for his longtime team, BIPROGY.[29]
Personal life
In 2020, Kaneko married retired badminton player Ayaka Takahashi, a former teammate on both the Japanese national team and the BIPROGY (formerly Unisys) team. His mixed doubles partner, Misaki Matsutomo, was Takahashi's longtime women's doubles partner.[30]
Achievements
World Junior Championships
Boys' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Chiba Port Arena, Chiba, Japan |  Takuto Inoue |
 Lee Chun Hei Ng Ka Long |
16–21, 17–21 |  Silver |
[4][3] |
BWF World Tour (1 title, 3 runners-up)
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[31] 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 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[32]
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | German Open | Super 300 | Takuto Inoue |
 Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto |
21–16, 21–18 |  Winner |
[20][21] |
| 2018 | Indonesia Open | Super 1000 | Takuto Inoue |
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo |
13–21, 16–21 |  Runner-up |
[22][23] |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | All England Open | Super 1000 | Misaki Matsutomo |
Yuta Watanabe Arisa Higashino |
14–21, 13–21 | Runner-up |
[24] |
| 2023 | Syed Modi International | Super 300 | Misaki Matsutomo |
Dejan Ferdinansyah Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja |
22–20, 19–21, 23–25 | Runner-up |
[25] |
BWF Superseries (1 runner-up)
The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,[33] was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011.[34] Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Japan Open | Takuto Inoue |
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo |
12–21, 15–21 | Runner-up |
[18][19] |
- BWF Superseries tournament
BWF Grand Prix (1 title, 4 runners-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.
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Russian Open | Takuto Inoue |
Kenta Kazuno Kazushi Yamada |
21–19, 20–22, 13–21 | Runner-up |
[12] |
| 2016 | Thailand Open | Takuto Inoue |
Berry Angriawan Rian Agung Saputro |
21–17, 14–21, 18–21 | Runner-up |
[13] |
| 2017 | China Masters | Takuto Inoue |
 Chen Hung-ling Wang Chi-lin |
14–21, 6–21 | Runner-up |
[14] |
| 2017 | U.S. Open | Takuto Inoue |
Lu Ching-yao Yang Po-han |
15–21, 21–13, 21–13 | Winner |
[10][11] |
| 2017 | Dutch Open | Takuto Inoue |
Liao Min-chun Su Cheng-heng |
22–24, 18–21 | Runner-up |
[15] |
- BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
- BWF Grand Prix tournament
BWF International Challenge/Series (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Romanian International | Takuto Inoue |
 Quentin Vincent Sebastien Vincent |
21–10, 21–10 | Winner |
[7] |
| 2015 | Osaka International | Takuto Inoue |
Kenta Kazuno Kazushi Yamada |
9–21, 19–21 | Runner-up |
[9] |
| 2017 | Austrian Open | Takuto Inoue |
 Frederik Colberg Rasmus Fladberg |
21–19, 21–17 | Winner |
[8] |
- BWF International Challenge tournament
- BWF International Series tournament