Kyohei Yamashita

Kyohei Yamashita (山下 恭平, Yamashita Kyōhei; born 12 October 1998) is a Japanese badminton player who specializes in doubles.^[2] He is a member of the Japanese national team and is affiliated with the NTT East team.^[3] Competing in mixed doubles with partner Naru Shinoya, he achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 13 in the discipline. Yamashita won a bronze medal in the mixed doubles at the 2021 BWF World Championships in Huelva with Shinoya. He has also earned team bronze medals representing Japan at the 2023 Sudirman Cup and the 2022 Asian Games.

Kyōhei Yamashita
Yamashita at the 2025 Taipei Open
Personal information
Country	Japan
Born	(1998-10-12) October 12, 1998 (age 26) Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight	69 kg (152 lb)[1]
Handedness	Right
Coach	Lee Wan Wah Hiroyuki Endo
Men's & mixed doubles
Highest ranking	27 (MD with Hiroki Midorikawa, 22 July 2025) 13 (XD with Naru Shinoya, 27 December 2022)
Current ranking	27 (MD with Hiroki Midorikawa, 22 July 2025)
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  Japan World Championships 2021 Huelva Mixed doubles Sudirman Cup 2023 Suzhou Mixed team 2025 Xiamen Mixed team Asian Games 2022 Hangzhou Men's team Asian Junior Championships 2016 Bangkok Mixed team
BWF profile

Following Shinoya's retirement in 2024, Yamashita shifted his focus to men's doubles, reuniting with partner Hiroki Midorikawa. The pair has secured multiple International Challenge titles and reached a career-high men's doubles world ranking of No. 27.

Career

2021

Kyohei Yamashita won the mixed doubles bronze medal at the 2021 BWF World Championships after losing in the semifinals to compatriots Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino, 13–21, 8–21.^[4]

2024

In the first half of 2024, Yamashita partnered with Naru Shinoya in mixed doubles, pursuing qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics. On the BWF World Tour, their highest finish was a quarterfinal at the Thailand Masters. Despite competing in several high-level tournaments, including the All England Open, the pair did not qualify for the Olympics.^[5][6] Their partnership concluded on April 2024, following Shinoya's retirement from the national team.^[7]

Yamashita then shifted his focus to men's doubles with Hiroki Midorikawa. As their world ranking had fallen due to the earlier focus on mixed doubles, they returned to the international circuit in August. The pair won two consecutive titles at the International Challenge level, the Sydney International and the North Harbour International.^[8][9] These results led to a climb in their ranking, reaching a career high of No. 104 as of 28 October 2024. In domestic competitions, Yamashita and Midorikawa swept Japan's three major men's doubles titles in 2024: the Japan Ranking Circuit, the All Japan Members Badminton Championships, and the All Japan Badminton Championships.^[10][11][12]

2025

Yamashita continued his men's doubles partnership with Midorikawa into 2025 season. In March, they reached the semifinals of the Swiss Open. In the first round, they upset the world No. 2 ranked Malaysian pair, Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin, before losing to the eventual champions, Kittinupong Kedren and Dechapol Puavaranukroh of Thailand.^[13][14] In May, they also reached the semifinals of the Taipei Open. Yamashita was part of the Japanese team that won a bronze medal at the Sudirman Cup held in Xiamen.^[15] On 22 July 2025, Yamashita and Midorikawa reached a career-high men's doubles world ranking of No. 27.

Achievements

BWF World Championships

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2021	Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain	Naru Shinoya	Yuta Watanabe Arisa Higashino	13–21, 8–21	Bronze	[4]

BWF World Tour (1 runner-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,^[16] 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.^[17]

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Level	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2019	Akita Masters	Super 100	Naru Shinoya	Ko Sung-hyun Eom Hye-won	10–21, 17–21	Runner-up	[18]

BWF International Challenge/Series (4 titles)

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2019	Malaysia International	Hiroki Midorikawa	Liang Weikeng Shang Yichen	18–21, 21–10, 21–16	Winner	[19]
2023	Osaka International	Hiroki Midorikawa	Wei Chun-wei Wu Guan-xun	21–14, 21–14	Winner	[20]
2024	Sydney International	Hiroki Midorikawa	Lai Po-yu Tsai Fu-cheng	21–14, 21–16	Winner	[8]
2024	North Harbour International	Hiroki Midorikawa	Lai Po-yu Tsai Fu-cheng	16–21, 21–14, 21–14	Winner	[9]

  BWF International Challenge tournament

BWF Junior International (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Boys' doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2016	Dutch Junior International	Naoki Yamazawa	Hiroki Okamura Masayuki Onodera	21–17, 11–21, 20–22	Runner-up
2016	German Junior International	Naoki Yamazawa	Hiroki Okamura Masayuki Onodera	21–14, 21–19	Winner

  BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament

Performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

A

G

S

B

NH

N/A

DNQ

(W) won; (F) finalist; (SF) semi-finalist; (QF) quarter-finalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze medal; (NH) not held; (N/A) not applicable; (DNQ) did not qualify.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

National team

• Junior level

Team events	2016	Ref
Asian Junior Championships	B	[21]

• Senior level

Team events	2022	2023	2024	2025	Ref
Asian Games	B	NH
Sudirman Cup	NH	B	NH	B	[22]

Individual competitions

Senior level

Men's doubles

Tournament	BWF World Tour					Best	Ref
	2018	2019	2023	2024	2025
Indonesia Masters	A				QF	QF ('25)
Orléans Masters	A				2R	2R ('25)
Swiss Open	A				SF	SF ('25)	[13]
Taipei Open	A				SF	SF ('25)
Thailand Open	A				2R	2R ('25)	[23]
Malaysia Masters	A				2R	2R ('25)	[24]
Singapore Open	A				1R	1R ('25)
Indonesia Open	A				1R	1R ('25)
Japan Open	A				2R	2R ('25)
Baoji China Masters	N/A			QF	A	QF ('24)
Hong Kong Open	A				Q	('25)
China Masters	A				Q	('25)
Korea Open	A				Q	('25)
Arctic Open	N/A		A		Q	('25)
Syed Modi International	A		1R	A		1R ('23)
Indonesia Masters Super 100	A	1R	A			1R ('19)
Akita Masters	QF	A	N/A			QF ('18)
Year-end ranking	265	214	211	131		27
Tournament	2018	2019	2023	2024	2025	Best	Ref

Mixed doubles

Event	2021	2022	2023	2024	Ref
Asian Championships	NH	QF	1R	1R
Asian Games	NH	1R	NH
World Championships	B	3R	2R	NH	[4]

Tournament	BWF World Tour						Best	Ref
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Malaysia Open	A	NH		1R	1R	2R	2R ('24)
India Open	A	NH		A	QF	1R	QF ('23)
Indonesia Masters	A		1R	A	2R	2R	2R ('23,'24)
Thailand Masters	A	2R	NH		A	QF	QF ('24)	[5]
German Open	A	NH		1R	SF	A	SF ('23)
French Open	A	NH	A	2R	2R	1R	2R ('22,'23)
All England Open	A			1R	QF	1R	QF ('23)	[6][25]
Swiss Open	A	NH	A	1R	2R	A	2R ('23)
Thailand Open	A		NH	QF	A		QF ('22)
Malaysia Masters	A		NH	1R	QF	A	QF ('23)
Singapore Open	A	NH		A	1R	A	1R ('23)
Indonesia Open	A		2R	1R	1R	A	2R ('21)
Australian Open	A	NH		QF	QF	A	QF ('22,'23)
Canada Open	A	NH		A	SF	A	SF ('23)
Japan Open	A	NH		1R	1R	A	1R ('22,'23)
Korea Open	A	NH		A	1R	A	1R ('23)
Hong Kong Open	A	NH			1R	A	1R ('23)
Vietnam Open	2R	NH		A			2R ('19)
China Open	A	NH			2R	A	2R ('23)
Denmark Open	A			QF	1R	A	QF ('22)
Kumamoto Masters	N/A				QF	A	QF ('23)
China Masters	A	NH			2R	A	2R ('23)
Syed Modi International	A	NH		A	QF	A	QF ('23)
Indonesia Masters Super 100	1R	NH		A			1R ('19)
Akita Masters	F	NH			N/A		F ('19)	[18]
Year-end ranking	73	73	42	13	17	60	13
Tournament	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	Best	Ref