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Nao Yamakita

Nao Yamakita
Yamakita at the 2025 Kaohsiung Masters
Personal information
Born (2005-10-30) 30 October 2005
Tsurugashima, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Height1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Sport
CountryJapan
SportBadminton
HandednessRight
Coached byMizuki Fujii
Naru Shinoya
Women's doubles
Career record78 wins, 17 losses (82.11%)
Highest ranking34 (with Hinata Suzuki, 10 February 2026)
Current ranking34 (with Hinata Suzuki, 10 February 2026)
BWF profile
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  Japan
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Santander Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Spokane Girls' doubles
Asian Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Yogyakarta Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2023 Yogyakarta Girls' doubles

Nao Yamakita (山北 奈緒, Yamakita Nao; born 30 October 2005) is a Japanese badminton player who specializes in women's doubles.[1] She is a member of the Japanese national team and plays for the NTT East team.[2] She was the gold medalist at the 2023 Asian Junior Championships and a bronze medalist at the 2023 World Junior Championships. In 2025, Yamakita won her maiden World Tour title at the 2025 Korea Masters Super 300.

Career

2019–2023: Junior career and first senior title

Yamakita won the U17 mixed doubles title at the 2019 Asian Junior Championships with partner Yudai Okimoto.[3] In 2022, she and Maya Taguchi reached the finals of three European junior tournaments, including the Croatia Valamar and Bulgaria Junior Opens.[4][5] Partnering with Mei Sudo in 2023, Yamakita won the German Junior title before claiming gold at the Asian Junior Championships, where they defeated South Korea's Park Seul and Yeon Seo-yeon in the final.[6][7] The pair also won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in Spokane.[8] In team events, Yamakita helped Japan secure its first mixed team gold medal in 11 years at the Asian Junior Championships and a bronze at the World Junior Championships. She made her senior international debut in June 2023 at the Guatemala Future Series, winning the women's doubles title with Sudo and finishing as runner-up in mixed doubles with Kenta Matsukawa.[9]

2024–2025: First World Tour title and world top 40

After joining the NTT East badminton team, Yamakita partnered with Naru Shinoya to win the 2024 Malaysia International.[10] In 2025, she began a partnership with Hinata Suzuki. The duo won the Saipan International and finished as runners-up at the Northern Marianas Open.[11][12] On the World Tour, they reached the final of the Super 100 Kaohsiung Masters.[13] In November 2025, Yamakita won her first World Tour title at the Super 300 Korea Masters, defeating Kim So-yeong and Lee Seo-jin in straight games.[14] Following this victory, she reached a career-high world ranking of 37 in women's doubles.

Achievements

World Junior Championships

Girls' doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2023 The Podium, Spokane, United States Japan Mei Sudo United States Francesca Corbett
United States Allison Lee 		21–18, 16–21, 13–21 Gold Bronze [8]

Asian Junior Championships

Girls' doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2023 Among Rogo Sports Hall, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Japan Mei Sudo South Korea Park Seul
South Korea Yeon Seo-yeon 		21–19, 14–21, 23–21 Gold Gold [7]

BWF World Tour (1 title, 1 runner-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[15] 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, and the BWF Tour Super 100.[16]

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2025 Kaohsiung Masters Super 100 Japan Hinata Suzuki Japan Ririna Hiramoto
Japan Kokona Ishikawa 		16–21, 17–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [13]
2025 Korea Masters Super 300 Japan Hinata Suzuki South Korea Kim So-yeong
South Korea Lee Seo-jin 		21–18, 25–23 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [14]

BWF International Challenge/Series (3 titles, 2 runners-up)

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2023 Guatemala Future Series Japan Mei Sudo Japan Tomoka Miyazaki
Japan Maya Taguchi 		16–21, 21–14, 25–23 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [9]
2024 Malaysia International Japan Naru Shinoya Japan Hinata Suzuki
Japan An Uesugi 		21–13, 12–21, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [10]
2025 Northern Marianas Open Japan Hinata Suzuki Japan Ririna Hiramoto
Japan Kokona Ishikawa 		17–21, 15–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [12][17]
2025 Saipan International Japan Hinata Suzuki Japan Nanako Hara
Japan Riko Kiyose 		15–13, 8–15, 15–11 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [11][18]

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2023 Guatemala Future Series Japan Kenta Matsukawa Japan Daigo Tanioka
Japan Maya Taguchi 		18–21, 19–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [9]
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

BWF Junior International (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

Girls' doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 Croatia Junior Open Japan Maya Taguchi Japan Rui Kiyama
Japan Kanano Muroya 		19–21, 19–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [4]
2022 Bulgaria Junior Open Japan Maya Taguchi Japan Rui Kiyama
Japan Kanano Muroya 		14–21, 21–19, 17–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [5]
2022 Malaysia Junior International Japan Maya Taguchi Japan Rui Kiyama
Japan Kanano Muroya 		19–21, 17–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [19]
2023 German Junior Japan Mei Sudo China Li Huazhou
China Zhang Yuhan 		21–11, 19–21, 21–18 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [6]
2023 Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior Japan Mei Sudo Indonesia Ariella Naqiyyah
Indonesia Rachel Agnesia Sabatini 		21–17, 21–9 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [20]
  BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament
  BWF Junior International Challenge tournament
  BWF Junior International Series tournament

References

  1. ^ "Nao YAMAKITA | Profile". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  2. ^ "Nao YAMAKITA | Profile" (in Japanese). NTT East. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  3. ^ "Indonesia's Rahmat big winner in Badminton Asia Under-17 & Under-15 Junior Championships". Badminton Asia. 16 December 2019. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b Galjer, Ratko (21 June 2022). "New talents at the Croatia VALAMAR Junior Open 2022". Badminton Europe. Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  5. ^ a b Honda, Hiroki (27 June 2022). "Bulgaria Junior Open 2022 | Results". Badminton Association of Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  6. ^ a b "YONEX German Junior: Japan, China and Korea win" (in German). 14 March 2023. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  7. ^ a b "A Special Day for Indonesia in Yogyakarta". Badminton Asia. 16 July 2023. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Corbett and Lee Chase Gold Medal for USA at BWF World Junior Championships 2023". USA Badminton. 8 October 2023. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  9. ^ a b c "Champions in Guatemala – Pan Am Circuit 2023". Badminton Pan America. 26 June 2023. Archived from the original on 18 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Men's Doubles Pair Miss Out On Title At Petronas Malaysia International Badminton Challenge 2024". Bernama. 22 September 2024. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Champions Crowned at CENTURY INSURANCE Saipan International 2025 – Finals Recap". Badminton Oceania. 16 August 2025. Archived from the original on 16 August 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Japan Dominates Finals at CROWNE PLAZA Northern Marianas Open". Badminton Oceania. 11 August 2025. Archived from the original on 10 August 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Kaohsiung Masters 2025 [Super 100] | Results". NTT East (in Japanese). 29 September 2025. Archived from the original on 3 October 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  14. ^ a b "【韓国マスターズ Super 300】女子複：鈴木 陽向／山北 奈緒が優勝！！". SMASH and NET. TV - バドミントン情報＆動画 SMASH and NET. TV (in Japanese). TMONY Japan Corporation. 9 November 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  15. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  16. ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  17. ^ Sablan Jr., James (12 August 2025). "Japan sweeps Crowne Plaza badminton titles". Marianas Variety. Archived from the original on 12 August 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  18. ^ Sablan Jr., James (18 August 2025). "Japan, Korea, and India claim badminton titles in Century Insurance tourney". Marianas Variety. Archived from the original on 18 August 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  19. ^ Peter, Fabian (10 September 2022). "Juniors need a booster shot". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 25 May 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  20. ^ "Jonatan/Adrian Win 2023 Jaya Raya Junior International Grand Prix" (in Indonesian). Media Indonesia. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
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