# Tomoka Miyazaki (宮崎友花)
**Tomoka Miyazaki** (宮崎友花; born 2006) is a Japanese badminton player who competes in women's singles. A world junior champion at 16 and national champion of Japan at 18, she reached the top ten of the BWF world ranking while still a teenager and joined the professional team ACT SAIKYO after graduating from high school in 2025.[1](https://www.badspi.jp/players/%E5%AE%AE%E5%B4%8E%E5%8F%8B%E8%8A%B1/) • [2](https://www.idntimes.com/sport/arena/profil-tomoka-miyazaki-atlet-badminton-asal-jepang-q9t03-00-qftxr-1dzhh5)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2006, Osaka, Japan; 165 cm, right-handed[1](https://www.badspi.jp/players/%E5%AE%AE%E5%B4%8E%E5%8F%8B%E8%8A%B1/) |
| Team | ACT SAIKYO (Yamaguchi Prefecture), joined after graduating from Yanai Shoko High School in 2025[1](https://www.badspi.jp/players/%E5%AE%AE%E5%B4%8E%E5%8F%8B%E8%8A%B1/) • [2](https://www.idntimes.com/sport/arena/profil-tomoka-miyazaki-atlet-badminton-asal-jepang-q9t03-00-qftxr-1dzhh5) |
| Junior peak | 2022 World Junior Championships women's singles champion, Santander, Spain, in her first year of high school[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html) |
| National title | 2024 All Japan General Badminton Championships champion, the fifth high school student to win and the first since Akane Yamaguchi in 2014[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html) |
| World Tour | Runner-up at the 2024 China Open (Super 1000); winner of the 2024 Orleans Masters (Super 300) and 2025 Taipei Open[1](https://www.badspi.jp/players/%E5%AE%AE%E5%B4%8E%E5%8F%8B%E8%8A%B1/) |
| Ranking | BWF world No. 7 in women's singles with 71,456 points per her official site[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html) |
| Team medals | Uber Cup 2026 bronze; Asian Games 2026 women's team silver[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html) |
## Early life and junior career
Miyazaki was born in Osaka in 2006 and came up through Yanai Junior High School and Yanai Shoko High School in Yamaguchi Prefecture.[1](https://www.badspi.jp/players/%E5%AE%AE%E5%B4%8E%E5%8F%8B%E8%8A%B1/) In 2022, her first year of high school, she competed internationally at the Malaysia Junior International, the World Junior Championships in Spain, and the Slovenia Future Series, winning all three.[2](https://www.idntimes.com/sport/arena/profil-tomoka-miyazaki-atlet-badminton-asal-jepang-q9t03-00-qftxr-1dzhh5)
The World Junior title, won at [Santander](https://www.edgepedia.org/santander) in late October 2022, made her the fourth Japanese player to hold the women's singles world junior crown.[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html) The same year she contributed to Japan's team gold at the Asian Junior Championships.[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html) In 2023 she was selected for Japan's B national team, won the Saipan International, Guatemala Future Series, and Indonesia Masters, and reached first place in the BWF junior world ranking.[2](https://www.idntimes.com/sport/arena/profil-tomoka-miyazaki-atlet-badminton-asal-jepang-q9t03-00-qftxr-1dzhh5) That year she also took the national high school select tournament double, winning both women's singles and the team event in her second year of high school.[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html)
## Senior breakthrough, 2024
**2024 was her breakout season.** Promoted to Japan's A national team, she won her first World Tour title at the Orleans Masters (Super 300) and reached her first Super 1000 final at the China Open, finishing runner-up; she also reached the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open, Arctic Open, Korea Masters, and China Masters.[2](https://www.idntimes.com/sport/arena/profil-tomoka-miyazaki-atlet-badminton-asal-jepang-q9t03-00-qftxr-1dzhh5) • [1](https://www.badspi.jp/players/%E5%AE%AE%E5%B4%8E%E5%8F%8B%E8%8A%B1/) At the [Uber Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/uber-cup) she represented Japan and took a team bronze.[2](https://www.idntimes.com/sport/arena/profil-tomoka-miyazaki-atlet-badminton-asal-jepang-q9t03-00-qftxr-1dzhh5)
In December 2024, at the 78th All Japan General Badminton Championships held at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, the third-year high school student beat Natsuki Nidaira (Yonex) 2-0 (21-18, 21-14) in the final to become national champion. She was the fifth high school student to win the women's singles title, and the first in ten years since [Akane Yamaguchi](https://www.edgepedia.org/akane-yamaguchi) in 2014.[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html) "There was pressure and my play often did not go well. Even so, I made it to the top of the tournament without giving up," she said after the final.[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html)
## Professional career, 2025 onward
After graduating from high school, Miyazaki joined the professional team ACT SAIKYO in 2025 and reached world No. 7 on 21 January that year.[2](https://www.idntimes.com/sport/arena/profil-tomoka-miyazaki-atlet-badminton-asal-jepang-q9t03-00-qftxr-1dzhh5) She won the Taipei Open 2025 and reached the quarterfinals of the All England Open (Super 1000) and India Open (Super 750).[1](https://www.badspi.jp/players/%E5%AE%AE%E5%B4%8E%E5%8F%8B%E8%8A%B1/) • [2](https://www.idntimes.com/sport/arena/profil-tomoka-miyazaki-atlet-badminton-asal-jepang-q9t03-00-qftxr-1dzhh5)
Her 2026 season brought consistent deep runs at the top of the World Tour: quarterfinals at the All England Open and Indonesia Open (Super 1000), a semifinal at the China Open (Super 1000), a quarterfinal at the Asian Championships in Ningbo, where she lost to the world champion An Se-young of South Korea, and a round of 16 at the 2026 World Championships in New Delhi.[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html) At the China Masters (Super 750) she beat Wang Zhiyi of China 2-0 in the semifinal to reach the final of a top-tier tour event, finishing runner-up.[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html) In team competition she won a bronze medal at the 2026 Uber Cup and a silver medal in the women's team event at the 20th [Asian Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/asian-games) in Aichi and Nagoya, where Japan lost the final to China for the second consecutive Games.[3](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html)
## Rivalry with An Se-young
[An Se-young](https://www.edgepedia.org/an-se-young) has been the defining obstacle of Miyazaki's senior career. Match records show An winning all of their meetings: the AiScore head-to-head lists 7 matches to 0 in An's favor, with wins at the Denmark Open, Korea Open, Asia Championships, World Tour Finals, Orleans Masters, Indonesia Open, and China Masters,[4](https://m.aiscore.com/head-to-head/badminton/an-se-young-vs-tomoka-miyazaki) while the French statistics site lebadiste lists the record as 8-0 after the 2026 Asia Championships quarterfinal, which An won 21-16, 21-10.[5](https://lebadiste.fr/h2h/tomoka-miyazaki-82070-vs-an-se-young-87442) Their most one-sided meeting came at the 2025 BWF World Tour Finals, which An won 21-9, 21-6.[6](https://www.toccofinalehome.com/en/caulong/player/3b8e06c6a592c663/)
## Playing style
Miyazaki is described as an all-court player whose strongest asset is her court coverage, with a scrappy, energy-draining style built on retrieving and extending rallies.[7](https://www.getgoodatbadminton.com/blog/whats-stopping-japans-tomoka-miyazaki-from-becoming-world-number-one) Analysts identify her racket preparation as the main technical weakness: raising the racket late makes her movements unstable and lets opponents punish her around-the-head side with fast pushes and punch clears that force weak lifts.[7](https://www.getgoodatbadminton.com/blog/whats-stopping-japans-tomoka-miyazaki-from-becoming-world-number-one) Her official profile notes that after graduating she has aimed for a first World Tour title at the tour's higher tiers.[1](https://www.badspi.jp/players/%E5%AE%AE%E5%B4%8E%E5%8F%8B%E8%8A%B1/)
## References
1. [宮崎友花 選手プロフィール, BADMINTON SPIRIT](https://www.badspi.jp/players/%E5%AE%AE%E5%B4%8E%E5%8F%8B%E8%8A%B1/)
2. [Profil Tomoka Miyazaki, Atlet Badminton Muda Asal Jepang, IDN Times (10 June 2025)](https://www.idntimes.com/sport/arena/profil-tomoka-miyazaki-atlet-badminton-asal-jepang-q9t03-00-qftxr-1dzhh5)
3. [実績 | 宮崎友花 Tomoka Miyazaki, official site](https://www.tomoka-miyazaki.com/achievements.html)
4. [An Se-young vs Tomoka Miyazaki head-to-head history, AiScore](https://m.aiscore.com/head-to-head/badminton/an-se-young-vs-tomoka-miyazaki)
5. [AN Se Young vs Tomoka MIYAZAKI: face-à-face, lebadiste.fr](https://lebadiste.fr/h2h/tomoka-miyazaki-82070-vs-an-se-young-87442)
6. [Tomoka MIYAZAKI, Tocco Finale data center](https://www.toccofinalehome.com/en/caulong/player/3b8e06c6a592c663/)
7. [What's Stopping Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki From Becoming World Number One, Get Good At Badminton](https://www.getgoodatbadminton.com/blog/whats-stopping-japans-tomoka-miyazaki-from-becoming-world-number-one)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Other individual sports and outdoor recreation › Badminton and table tennis*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license