Kanta Tsuneyama
Personal information
Country	Japan
Born	(1996-06-21)21 June 1996 (age 29) Kusatsu,Shiga Prefecture, Japan
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Retired	22 August 2024[1]
Handedness	Right
Men's singles
Career record	195 wins, 130 losses (60.00%)
Highest ranking	10 (26 November 2019)
Medal record Men'sbadminton Representing Japan Sudirman Cup 2023 Suzhou Mixed team Thomas Cup 2018 Bangkok Men's team 2020 Aarhus Men's team 2022 Bangkok Men's team Asian Games 2018 Jakarta–Palembang Men's team 2022 Hangzhou Men's team Asian Championships 2023 Dubai Men's singles Asia Mixed Team Championships 2019 Hong Kong Mixed team Asia Team Championships 2020 Manila Men's team World Junior Championships 2014 Alor Setar Mixed team Asian Junior Championships 2014 Taipei Boys' singles 2014 Taipei Boys' doubles 2014 Taipei Mixed team RepresentingMixed-NOCs Youth Olympic Games 2014 Nanjing Mixed doubles
BWF profile

Kanta Tsuneyama (常山 幹太,Tsuneyama Kanta; born 21 June 1996) is a Japanese former professionalbadminton player and current coach. A men's singles player fromKusatsu,Shiga Prefecture, he achieved a career-highworld ranking of No. 10.^[2][3] During his career, Tsuneyama won severalBWF World Tour titles, including the2018 Thailand Open, the2019 Korea Masters, and the2021 French Open. He also earned medals with theJapanese national team, securing a silver at the2018 Thomas Cup and bronze medals at the2018 and2022 Asian Games. After retiring from professional competition in August 2024, Tsuneyama was appointed coach of theHokuto Bank women's badminton team, beginning with the 2025 season.^[4]

Tsuneyama began playing badminton at the age of six, influenced by his parents, who were former corporate badminton players in Japan.^[5] He attendedKusatsu Elementary School andKusatsu Junior High School. In 2011, while in junior high, he was a semi-finalist at theAll Japan Junior High School Championships.

He later attendedHigashi Osaka University Kashiwara High School, known for its badminton program.^[6] While in high school, Tsuneyama secured several national titles: singles at the2013 Inter-High School Championships and the2014 National High School Invitational Badminton Championships; doubles at the 2014 Inter-High School Championships; and both singles and doubles at the2013 All Japan Junior Badminton Championships.^[7]

On the international junior circuit, at the2014 Asian Junior Championships in Taipei, he won medals in three events: a silver medal in the boys' singles (defeatingAnthony Sinisuka Ginting in the quarterfinals before losing toShi Yuqi in the final),^[8][9][10] a bronze medal in the boys' doubles (partneringHashiru Shimono),^[11][12] and a bronze medal as part of the Japanese mixed team.^[13][14] In the same year, he competed in the2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China. He won a silver medal in mixed doubles partneringLee Chia-hsin of Chinese Taipei (competing under theMixed-NOCs banner) and reached the quarterfinals in the boys' singles, losing to Ginting.^[15][16][17] He also helped Japan win a bronze medal in the mixed team event at theWorld Junior Championships in Alor Setar, Malaysia.^[18]

While still a high school student, Tsuneyama competed against senior players at theAll Japan Badminton Championships, reaching the quarterfinals in 2013 and the semifinals in 2014.^[19] After graduating from high school in 2015, he joined theTonami Transportation badminton team, citing his ambition to compete in the Olympics as his motivation.^[20]

In 2016, Tsuneyama won his first senior international title at theFinnish Open in April, defeatingNguyễn Tiến Minh of Vietnam in the final.^[21] He also reached the finals of theAustrian Open in February and theSpanish International in June, where he was runner-up toAnders Antonsen of Denmark on both occasions.^[22][23] Additionally, Tsuneyama advanced to his firstBWF Grand Prix Gold final at theU.S. Open in July, where he lost toLee Hyun-il of South Korea.^[24] Starting the season with a world ranking of No. 140, Tsuneyama entered the top 50 and reached a career-high of world No. 45 by 28 August 2016.

In 2017, Tsuneyama won two international titles, beginning with theAustrian Open in February.^[25] He followed this by winning his first Grand Prix Gold title at theCanada Open in July, defeating his compatriot,Kento Momota, in the final.^[26] Momota was competing in his first international tournament following a suspension.^[27] By the end of the year, Tsuneyama had broken into the top 30, reaching a new career-high ranking of world No. 27.

In 2018, Tsuneyama won his firstBWF World Tour title at theThailand Open, defeatingTommy Sugiarto in the final.^[28] He was the first Japanese men's singles player to win the title in the tournament's 34-year history.^[29] At theWorld Championships in Nanjing, Tsuneyama reached the quarterfinals for the first time. He defeated the 12th seed, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, before being eliminated byLiew Daren of Malaysia.^[30][31][32]

In team competitions, Tsuneyama contributed to theJapanese team's silver medal at theThomas Cup in Bangkok.^[33] During the semifinal against defending championDenmark, with the tie at 2–2, he won the decisive fifth match againstJan Ø. Jørgensen to secure a 3–2 victory and advance the team to the final.^[34][35] Later that year, he was part of the team that won a bronze medal at theAsian Games in Jakarta.^[36]

Tsuneyama won his second World Tour title at theKorea Masters. Entering the tournament unseeded, his path to the final included a victory over sixth seedSrikanth Kidambi, before he defeated two-time Olympic championLin Dan 24–22, 21–12 in the final.^[37][38] Earlier that year at theJapan Open, he upset reigning Olympic championChen Long 21–14, 21–17 in the first round.^[39] He reached a career-high world ranking of No. 10 as of 26 November 2019.

In team competition, Tsuneyama was part of theJapanese squad that finished as runner-up at theAsian Mixed Team Championships.^[40] Individually, he reached the third round at theWorld Championships in Basel, where he was defeated by Denmark's Anders Antonsen, the eventual runner-up.^[41] Tsuneyama concluded the year by reaching the semifinals of the All Japan Badminton Championships, where he lost toKenta Nishimoto, securing a bronze medal for the third consecutive year.^[42]

In early 2020, Tsuneyama was a member of the Japanese team that won the bronze medal at the2020 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Manila.^[43] Later that year, he finished as the runner-up at the All Japan Badminton Championships, losing to Kento Momota in the final.^[44]

Tsuneyama made his Olympic debut at the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, held in 2021. In themen's singles event, he advanced from his group stage by defeatingJulien Paul of Mauritius andYgor Coelho of Brazil. He was subsequently eliminated in the round of 16 by Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.^[45][46][47]

In team competitions later in 2021, Tsuneyama contributed to Japan winning a silver medal at the2021 Sudirman Cup in Vantaa and a bronze medal at the2020 Thomas Cup in Aarhus.^[48][49] In October, Tsuneyama won his first Super 750 title at the2021 French Open, defeatingChou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei in the final.^[50] He advanced to the final after his compatriot, Kento Momota, retired from their semifinal match due to injury.^[51]

In 2022, Tsuneyama began the season by reaching the quarterfinals of theAsian Championships, where he lost toLee Zii Jia. In May, he earned a bronze medal with the Japanese men's team at theThomas Cup in Bangkok. Later that year, he advanced to the quarterfinals at theMalaysia Masters in July, defeating compatriot Kento Momota before falling toPrannoy H. S. He also reached the quarterfinals at theJapan Open, where he beat Srikanth Kidambi before losing to Anders Antonsen. However, his participation in theWorld Championships ended in the opening round.

Tsuneyama began the 2023 season in January by reaching the semifinals of the Super 1000Malaysia Open. His run included a quarterfinal victory over Anthony Sinisuka Ginting before he was defeated by world No. 1Viktor Axelsen. In March, he finished as the runner-up at theSpain Masters, losing to compatriot Kenta Nishimoto in the final. The following month, he secured a bronze medal at theAsian Championships after losing his semifinal match to the eventual champion, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. At theWorld Championships in August, his campaign concluded in the third round with a defeat by Nishimoto. Later in the season, Tsuneyama reached the semifinals of theArctic Open in October. In November, he also advanced to the semifinals of theChina Masters, where he was defeated by the eventual champion,Kodai Naraoka. In team competitions, he contributed to Japan's bronze medal wins at both theSudirman Cup and theAsian Games.

In 2024, Tsuneyama concluded his professional career. He participated in nine tournaments, with his best result being a second-round finish at theJapan Open in August. Following this tournament, on 22 August 2024, he announced his retirement from international badminton and withdrew from the Japanese national team.

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2023	Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall,Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Anthony Sinisuka Ginting	13–21, 16–21	Bronze

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2014	Nanjing Sport Institute, Nanjing, China	Lee Chia-hsin	Cheam June Wei Ng Tsz Yau	14–21, 21–23	Silver	[15]

Boys' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2014	Taipei Gymnasium,Taipei, Taiwan	Shi Yuqi	21–19, 16–21, 16–21	Silver	[9][10]

Boys' doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2014	Taipei Gymnasium, Taipei, Taiwan	Hashiru Shimono	Kim Jae-hwan Kim Jung-ho	16–21, 17–21	Bronze	[11][12]

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,^[52] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by theBadminton 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.^[53]

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Level	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2018	Thailand Open	Super 500	Tommy Sugiarto	21–16, 13–21, 21–9	Winner	[54]
2019	Korea Masters	Super 300	Lin Dan	24–22, 21–12	Winner	[38]
2021	French Open	Super 750	Chou Tien-chen	15–21, 21–8, 21–17	Winner	[50]
2023	Spain Masters	Super 300	Kenta Nishimoto	21–15, 18–21, 19–21	Runner-up

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, theGrand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by theBadminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2016	U.S. Open	Lee Hyun-il	22–24, 8–21	Runner-up	[24]
2017	Canada Open	Kento Momota	22–20, 14–21, 21–14	Winner	[26][27]

 BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

 BWF Grand Prix tournament

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2016	Austrian Open	Anders Antonsen	9–21, 17–21	Runner-up	[22]
2016	Finnish Open	Nguyễn Tiến Minh	21–10, 21–14	Winner	[21]
2016	Spanish International	Anders Antonsen	21–14, 20–22, 18–21	Runner-up	[23][55]
2017	Austrian Open	Pablo Abián	21–10, 12–21, 21–11	Winner	[25]

 BWF International Challenge tournament

Key

• Junior level

• Senior level

• Junior level

• Senior level

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of22 August 2024.^[56]

Player Matches Win Lost Diff. Chen Long 2 1 1 0 Lin Dan 5 2 3 –1 Shi Yuqi 6 0 6 –6 Tian Houwei 1 1 0 +1 Zhao Junpeng 3 3 0 +3 Chou Tien-chen 10 3 7 –4 Anders Antonsen 9 2 7 –5 Viktor Axelsen 7 1 6 –5 Jan Ø. Jørgensen 2 2 0 +2 Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 5 0 5 –5 Rajiv Ouseph 2 0 2 –2 Kevin Cordón 1 1 0 +1 Srikanth Kidambi 3 3 0 +3 Parupalli Kashyap 1 1 0 +1 Prannoy H. S. 6 3 3 0 B. Sai Praneeth 2 1 1 0

Player Matches Win Lost Diff. Lakshya Sen 4 0 4 –4 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 9 5 4 +1 Sony Dwi Kuncoro 1 1 0 +1 Tommy Sugiarto 1 1 0 +1 Kento Momota 7 3 4 –1 Kodai Naraoka 2 1 1 0 Lee Zii Jia 3 0 3 –3 Liew Daren 7 5 2 +3 Loh Kean Yew 3 1 2 –2 Heo Kwang-hee 2 2 0 +2 Lee Hyun-il 2 1 1 0 Son Wan-ho 2 0 2 –2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn 1 0 1 –1 Kantaphon Wangcharoen 2 0 2 –2 Nguyễn Tiến Minh 3 3 0 +3

• Kanta Tsuneyama atBWFBadminton.com
• Kanta Tsuneyama atBWF.TournamentSoftware.com (archived)
• Kanta Tsuneyama atOlympics.com
• Kanta Tsuneyama atOlympedia
• Kanta Tsuneyama – Jakarta Palembang 2018 atTeam Japan(in Japanese) (in English)
• Kanta Tsuneyama – Tokyo 2020 atTeam Japan(in Japanese) (in English)
• Kanta Tsuneyama – Hangzhou 2022 atTeam Japan(in Japanese) (in English)

• 1996 births
• Living people
• Badminton players from Shiga Prefecture
• Japanese male badminton players
• Badminton players at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics
• Badminton players at the 2020 Summer Olympics
• Olympic badminton players for Japan
• Badminton players at the 2018 Asian Games
• Badminton players at the 2022 Asian Games
• Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan
• Asian Games bronze medalists in badminton
• Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games
• Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games
• Asian Games badminton players for Japan
• 21st-century Japanese sportsmen

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