Akane Yamaguchi will be ranked No. 1 in the world in the women's singles badminton rankings in the next official rankings, an informed source said Tuesday.
The 20-year-old Yamaguchi, who reached the quarterfinals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, will become the first Japanese to stand atop the world badminton singles rankings. Yamaguchi followed her first badminton Superseries Finals victory last year with strong performances in March.
Last month, she won the German Open and was runner-up in the prestigious All England Open. She joins Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsutomo as the only other Japanese to rank No. 1 in the world in Badminton. Takahashi and Matsutomo topped the women's doubles rankings in October 2014, before winning the Rio Olympics gold medal.
