Gail Emms

Gail Elizabeth Emms MBE (born 23 July 1977) is a retired English badminton player who has achieved international success in doubles tournaments. A badminton player since the age of four, Emms was first chosen to represent England in 1995 and regularly played for her country until her retirement from professional sport in 2008.

Gail Emms MBE
Emms in 2009
Personal information
Birth name	Gail Elizabeth Emms
Country	England
Born	(1977-07-23) 23 July 1977 (age 47) Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England
Height	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Handedness	Right
Coach	Andy Wood Julian Robertson
Women's & mixed doubles
Highest ranking	1 (XD with Nathan Robertson)
Medal record Women's badminton Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games 2004 Athens Mixed doubles Representing  England World Championships 2006 Madrid Mixed doubles Sudirman Cup 2007 Glasgow Mixed team Commonwealth Games 2002 Manchester Mixed team 2006 Melbourne Mixed doubles 2006 Melbourne Mixed team 2002 Manchester Women's doubles 2006 Melbourne Women's doubles European Championships 2004 Geneva Mixed doubles 2006 Den Bosch Women's doubles 2002 Malmö Mixed doubles 2008 Herning Women's doubles 2008 Herning Mixed doubles European Mixed Team Championships 2000 Glasgow Mixed team 2002 Malmö Mixed team 2008 Herning Mixed team 2006 Den Bosch Mixed team European Women's Team Championships 2006 Thessalonica Women's team World Junior Championships 1994 Kuala Lumpur Mixed doubles European Junior Championships 1995 Nitra Girls' doubles 1995 Nitra Mixed team
BWF profile

Her best results were winning gold at the 2006 World Championships in Madrid, 2004 European Championships in Geneva, and a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games, partnering Nathan Robertson in the mixed doubles. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester she won a bronze medal with Joanne Goode in the women's doubles and won gold as part of the England team in the mixed team event. In the English National Championships she won the mixed doubles three times and the women's doubles twice.

Early life and career

Emms attended the Dame Alice Harpur School in Bedford, a private girls' school. She and Nathan Robertson reached the semi-finals of 1994 World Junior Championships held in Kuala Lumpur.^[1] In 1998 she graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Sports Science from Kingston University.^[2] After graduating Emms became a full-time professional badminton player with the help of national lottery funded grants paid to her by UK Sport.^[3] Her father owned a building firm that collapsed in the recession of the late 1980s leading to a sudden decline in the family standard of living. Her mother, Janice Emms (née Barton), played for the unofficial England women's national football team. Her parents divorced while Emms was in her early teens.^[4]

2004 Athens Summer Olympics

Emms competed in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles with partner Donna Kellogg. They defeated Koon Wai Chee and Li Wing Mui of Hong Kong in the first round but were defeated by Zhao Tingting and Wei Yili of China in the second round.

She also competed in mixed doubles with Robertson. They had a bye in the first round and defeated Björn Siegemund and Nicol Pitro of Germany in the second. In the quarterfinals, Emms and Robertson beat Chen Qiqiu and Zhao Tingting of China 15–8, 17–15 to advance to the semifinals. There, they beat Jonas Rasmussen and Rikke Olsen of Denmark 15–6, 15–12. In the final, they lost to the Chinese pair Zhang Jun and Gao Ling 1–15, 15–12, 12–15 to finish with the silver medal.

2006 Commonwealth Games

The 2006 Commonwealth Games brought Emms a silver in the team event, a bronze in the women's doubles (with Donna Kellogg) and a gold in the mixed doubles (with Nathan Robertson). An additional gold together with Robertson followed at the 2006 IBF World Championships.

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics

Emms participated in the women's doubles with partner Donna Kellogg only to be knocked out in the first round by the Chinese pair Wei Yili and Zhang Yawen. Emms then went on to win her first match in the mixed doubles with Nathan Robertson against the Chinese world number 2 pair. Emms and Robertson won the first game 21–16 before Gao Ling and her new partner Zheng Bo hit back to win the second 21–16. The British duo found themselves 12–17 down in the decider only to recover to win 21–19. Emms and Robertson lost out on a medal at the quarter final stage against the world number 10 pair and eventual gold medalist Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung of South Korea.

Emms retired after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.^[5]

Later career

After 2008 Emms started a portfolio career and has engaged in badminton coaching, motivational speaking, media activities, TV commentary and product endorsements. The latter includes work for SKODA cars and Adidas. Emms has worked as a TV presenter and commentator for the BBC, Sky and BT Sport.^[6] She has delivered talks on performance, teamwork and gender issues at events held by many prominent clients including the Ashridge Business School, Sainsbury's and the Thames Valley Police.

In 2013 she was appointed to the Badminton England coaching staff with a remit to develop young female prospects and mixed doubles pairs.^[7] But loss of financial support for badminton from UK Sport in 2017 resulted in cutbacks to the coaching programmes which impacted on Emms' position.^[8] She has subsequently been critical of UK Sport's strategy in allocating funds, suggesting that its emphasis on elite level players and Olympic medal results is inappropriate.

Emms has appeared on the sports-based panel show A Question of Sport and is a regular guest on Fighting Talk. On 6 March 2014, she appeared on Sport Relief's Top Dog with her dog Raffa, a Westie. They won their heat, and went on to win the semi-final against Jenni Falconer on 20 March and the final, where they competed against Sally Gunnell.

Personal life

Emms was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours for services to badminton.^[9]

She gave birth to her first child, Harry, in March 2010 and to her second child, Oliver, in May 2013. In 2015 she was living in Milton Keynes with her partner. After retiring as a badminton player in 2008 Emms has periodically suffered from depression.^[10][11] She has spoken about the difficulty many professional athletes have in adjusting to life after retiring from their sport while still young.^[12]

Emms is a passionate supporter of Tottenham Hotspur.^[13] She participated in the 2017 Great North Run half marathon in order to raise money for SportsAid, finishing in a time of 1 hour and 48 minutes.^[14]

Achievements

Olympic Games

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2004	Goudi Olympic Hall, Athens, Greece	Nathan Robertson	Zhang Jun Gao Ling	1–15, 15–12, 12–15	Silver

World Championships

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2006	Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad, Madrid, Spain	Nathan Robertson	Anthony Clark Donna Kellogg	21–15, 21–12	Gold

Commonwealth Games

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2002	Bolton Arena, Manchester, England	Joanne Goode	Ang Li Peng Lim Pek Siah	4–7, 8–6, 6–8, 4–7	Bronze
2006	Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia	Donna Kellogg	Trupti Murgunde Saina Nehwal	21–14, 21–9	Bronze

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2006	Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia	Nathan Robertson	Daniel Shirley Sara Petersen	21–17, 21–10	Gold

European Championships

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2006	Maaspoort Sports and Events, Den Bosch, Netherlands	Donna Kellogg	Nicole Grether Juliane Schenk	21–12, 21–10	Gold
2008	Messecenter, Herning, Denmark	Donna Kellogg	Lena Frier Kristiansen Kamilla Rytter Juhl	18–21, 18–21	Silver

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2002	Baltiska Hallen, Malmö, Sweden	Nathan Robertson	Jens Eriksen Mette Schjoldager	5–7, 3–7, 1–7	Silver
2004	Queue d’Arve Sport Center, Geneva, Switzerland	Nathan Robertson	Jonas Rasmussen Rikke Olsen	15–3, 8–15, 15–5	Gold
2008	Messecenter, Herning, Denmark	Nathan Robertson	Robert Mateusiak Nadieżda Kostiuczyk	21–14, 10–21, 6–21	Bronze

World University Championships

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1996	Strasbourg, France	Tracey Hallam	Chen Li-chin Tsai Hui-min	12–15, 17–15, 11–15	Bronze
1998	Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey	Sara Hardaker	Chen Li-chin Tsai Hui-min		Bronze

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1996	Strasbourg, France	Richard Doling	Kim Young-gil Choi Ma-ree	7–15, 15–12, 7–15	Silver
1998	Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey	Lee Clapham	Liang Yongping Liu Lu		Bronze

World Junior Championships

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1994	Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Nathan Robertson	Zhang Wei Qiang Hong	14–17, 5–15	Bronze

European Junior Championships

Girls' doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1995	Športová hala Olympia, Nitra, Slovakia	Ella Miles	Natalia Djachkova Ella Karachkova		Bronze

BWF Superseries

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,^[15] is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). Successful players are invited to the Superseries Finals, which are held at the end of each year.

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2007	Malaysia Open	Nathan Robertson	Zheng Bo Gao Ling	12–21, 21–14, 15–21	Runner-up
2007	Denmark Open	Nathan Robertson	He Hanbin Yu Yang	17–21, 21–19, 17–21	Runner-up

  BWF Superseries Finals tournament

  BWF Superseries tournament

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix has been sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2000	U.S. Open	Joanne Wright	Emma Constable Suzanne Rayappan	15–7, 15–1	Winner
2002	Swiss Open	Lotte Jonathans	Lee Kyung-won Ra Kyung-min	1–7, 1–7, 1–7	Runner-up
2005	Korea Open	Donna Kellogg	Lee Hyo-jung Lee Kyung-won	Walkover	Runner-up
2005	Thessaloniki Grand Prix	Donna Kellogg	Chor Hooi Yee Lim Pek Siah	17–14, 15–8	Winner
2005	Denmark Open	Donna Kellogg	Kumiko Ogura Reiko Shiota	6–15, 9–15	Runner-up
2006	Denmark Open	Donna Kellogg	Kamila Augustyn Nadieżda Kostiuczyk	20–22, 10–21	Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2000	U.S. Open	Ian Sullivan	Jonas Rasmussen Jane F. Bramsen	15–8, 11–15, 13–15	Runner-up
2000	German Open	Ian Sullivan	Jonas Rasmussen Jane F. Bramsen	3–15, 15–7, 4–15	Runner-up
2001	Dutch Open	Nathan Robertson	Chris Bruil Lotte Jonathans	7–5, 3–7, 7–3, 7–4	Winner
2001	Denmark Open	Nathan Robertson	Tri Kusharjanto Emma Ermawati	5–7, 1–7, 4–7	Runner-up
2002	Malaysia Open	Nathan Robertson	Wang Wei Zhang Yawen	11–9, 11–4	Winner
2002	Singapore Open	Nathan Robertson	Kim Dong-moon Ra Kyung-min	2–11, 10–13	Runner-up
2003	Thailand Open	Nathan Robertson	Chen Qiqiu Zhao Tingting	4–11, 11–8, 0–11	Runner-up
2003	Malaysia Open	Nathan Robertson	Kim Dong-moon Ra Kyung-min	6–15, 5–15	Runner-up
2004	Thailand Open	Nathan Robertson	Sudket Prapakamol Saralee Thungthongkam	8–15, 15–12, 15–11	Winner
2004	Denmark Open	Nathan Robertson	Chen Qiqiu Zhao Tingting	4–15, 11–15	Runner-up
2005	German Open	Nathan Robertson	Lee Jae-jin Lee Hyo-jung	12–15, 14–17	Runner-up
2005	All England Open	Nathan Robertson	Thomas Laybourn Kamilla Rytter Juhl	15–10, 15–12	Winner
2005	Swiss Open	Nathan Robertson	Nova Widianto Liliyana Natsir	17–14, 15–6	Winner
2005	Hong Kong Open	Nathan Robertson	Xie Zhongbo Zhang Yawen	8–15, 5–15	Runner-up
2005	China Open	Nathan Robertson	Lee Jae-jin Lee Hyo-jung	15–10, 15–10	Winner
2006	Swiss Open	Nathan Robertson	Robert Blair Natalie Munt	14–17, 15–7, 15–2	Winner
2006	All England Open	Nathan Robertson	Zhang Jun Gao Ling	15–12, 14–17, 1–15	Runner-up
2006	Singapore Open	Nathan Robertson	Nova Widianto Liliyana Natsir	16–21, 22–20, 21–23	Runner-up

IBF International

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1995	Welsh International	Lotte Jonathans	Elena Rybkina Marina Yakusheva	8–15, 4–15	Runner-up
1997	Austrian International	Joanne Wright	Karen Neumann Nicol Pitro	3–15, 15–10, 8–15	Runner-up
1997	Czech International	Rebecca Pantaney	Judith Baumeyer Santi Wibowo	9–2, 9–5, 9–1	Winner
1997	Norwegian International	Rebecca Pantaney	Jane F. Bramsen Christina Sørensen	5–9, 6–9, 2–9	Runner-up
1998	Czech International	Joanne Wright	Lorraine Cole Tracy Dineen	7–15, 6–15	Runner-up
1998	Irish International	Joanne Wright	Keelin Fox Sonya McGinn	17–16, 15–10	Winner
1999	Spanish International	Joanne Davies	Takae Masumo Chikako Nakayama	12–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1999	Welsh International	Joanne Wright	Irina Ruslyakova Marina Yakusheva	14–17, 14–17	Runner-up
2000	Welsh International	Joanne Wright	Ella Miles Sara Sankey	6–8, 4–7, 8–6, –	Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1995	Hungarian International	Nathan Robertson	Jürgen Koch Irina Serova	6–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1995	Irish International	Nathan Robertson	Julian Robertson Lorraine Cole	4–15, 4–15	Runner-up
1996	Portugal International	Nathan Robertson	James Anderson Emma Constable	12–15, 15–13, 18–13	Winner
1996	Norwegian International	Julian Robertson	Jonas Rasmussen Ann-Lou Jørgensen	9–6, 2–9, 9–5, 9–5	Winner
1997	Czech International	Ian Sullivan	Henrik Andersson Johanna Persson	11–8, 9–4, 9–3	Winner
1997	Welsh International	Ian Sullivan	James Anderson Sara Sankey	6–15, 14–17	Runner-up
1998	Czech International	Ian Sullivan	Anthony Clark Lorraine Cole	4–15, 13–15	Runner-up
1998	Scottish International	Ian Sullivan	Michael Lamp Mette Schjoldager	10–15, 15–11, 12–15	Runner-up
1999	Portugal International	Ian Sullivan	Björn Siegemund Karen Neumann	11–15, 15–12, 8–15	Runner-up
1999	French Open	Ian Sullivan	Chen Gang Qin Yiyuan	12–15, 12–15	Runner-up
1999	Australian International	Chris Hunt	Michael Keck Erica van den Heuvel	9–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1999	Spanish International	Ian Sullivan	Fredrik Bergström Jenny Karlsson	7–15, 15–13, 15–10	Winner
2000	Welsh International	Anthony Clark	Henrik Andersson Johanna Persson	7–4, 7–1, 7–0	Winner
2002	BMW Open International	Nathan Robertson	Mathias Boe Rikke Olsen	11–9, 3–11, 11–9	Winner

Record against selected opponents

Mixed doubles results with former partner Nathan Robertson against Superseries finalists, World Championships Semi-finalists, and Olympic quarterfinalists.^[16]

• Chen Qiqiu & Zhao Tingting 3–4
• Zhang Jun & Gao Ling 4–4
• Zheng Bo & Gao Ling 0–3
• He Hanbin & Yu Yang 2–1
• Xie Zhongbo & Zhang Yawen 3–3
• Jens Eriksen & Mette Schjoldager 1–2
• Joachim Fischer Nielsen & Christinna Pedersen 1–0
• Thomas Laybourn & Kamilla Rytter Juhl 4–3
• Jonas Rasmussen & Rikke Olsen 4–1
• Michael Søgaard & Rikke Olsen 3–1
• Simon Archer & Joanne Goode 1–0
• Anthony Clark & Donna Kellogg 3–1
• Flandy Limpele & Vita Marissa 2–1
• Nova Widianto & Vita Marissa 2–3
• Nova Widianto & Liliyana Natsir 4–5
• Kim Dong-moon & Ra Kyung-min 0–5
• Lee Yong-dae & Lee Hyo-jung 1–2
• Robert Mateusiak & Nadieżda Zięba 2–1
• Fredrik Bergström & Johanna Persson 1–0
• Sudket Prapakamol & Saralee Thungthongkam 6–2