Her Career
Yamaguchi is one of the Japanese teenage prodigies whom many people predict to be future elite women's singles competitors. She reached the finals of the BWF World Junior Championships three years in a row, winning silver at the 2012 BWF World Junior Championships in Chiba, Japan and winning the gold twice, once at the 2013 BWF World Junior Championships in Bangkok, Thailand and once at the 2014 BWF World Junior Championships in Alor Setar, Malaysia.
At the age of 16 years and 3 months, Yamaguchi became the youngest player ever to win the BWF Super Series tournament by beating her compatriot Shizuka Uchida in the final of 2013 Japan Super Series. This was also the first time that a Japanese woman won the home event in the ladies' singles at the Japan Open. This was a historic first ever Japan Open victory for the home country.
In 2016, Yamaguchi won her second Super Series title at the Korea Open, beating Sung Ji Hyun, the 5th seed.. She followed this with a win at the Denmark Open held at Odense, making her only the third non-Chinese women's singles player to win two consecutive super series. The only other non-Chinese players to do so were Tai Tzu Ying, Ratchnok Intanon and Tine Baun.
On her way to victory at Denmark, she also beat double world champion and olympic gold medallist Carolina Marin in a close three set match as well as her teammate Nozomi Okuhara, whom she had never beaten prior to the Olympic games.
