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Misaki Matsutomo

Jayce September 6, 2024 3 0

Character Introduction

Matsutomo Misaki (Japanese:まつとも みさき, February 8, 1992), born in Ranzumachi, Itano-gun, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese women’s badminton player, and an active member of the Japan national badminton team (A team). Her duo with Reika Takahashi debuted at No. 1 in the women’s doubles world rankings on October 30, 2014, becoming the first Japanese duo to reach No. 1 in the world rankings, and were dubbed the “Twinkie Duo” by the media and fans. The pair won the 2016 Olympic Games, defeating the Danish pair of Kristina Petersen/Camilla Rütter Juhl, winning Japan’s first Olympic gold medal in badminton.

Misaki Matsutomo, who had already fallen in love with badminton at an early age by her mother, began competing in badminton at the age of six, winning several women’s singles titles at national competitions during her elementary and junior high school years. After graduating from Tokushima City Tokushima Junior High School, Matsutomo moved to St. Ursula’s College Eiji High School in Miyagi Prefecture, where she helped her school win the girls’ singles, girls’ doubles, and team championships at the National High School Competition in her second year.

Misaki Matsutomo began playing with fellow senior Reika Takahashi in her freshman year of high school, and the pair made their debut in the adult category at the 2008 All-Japan Badminton Championships, where they reached the semifinals and won third place, and then went on to win their first adult event, the Osaka International Challenge in April 2009, defeating the two national pairs of Shizuka Matsuo / Makoto Naito and Ruihei Fujii / Rinka Gaki in the rounds of eight and semifinals. Rinka Iwaki, winning their first adult international title. In the same year, Misaki Matsutomo made her debut as a national player, playing in the Belgium International Badminton Championships, where she was runner-up in the women’s singles and won the women’s doubles title.

In the same year, Misaki Matsutomo failed to defend her women’s singles title at the National High School Championships, but reached the women’s singles semifinals of the All-Japan Badminton Championships in December, losing only to Eriko Hirose, the Olympic representative of the national team, and finishing third.

In 2010, Misaki Matsutomo and Reika Takahashi were both selected for the Japan National Badminton Team, and after graduating from high school, they joined the Unisys Badminton Team. They won the Women’s Doubles title at the All Japan Socialist Badminton Championships and placed third at the All Japan Comprehensive Badminton Championships, and reached the quarterfinals of the Korean Badminton Premier Tournament in the same year.

In April 2010, Misaki Matsutomo competed in the World Junior Badminton Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she lost 1-2 (13-21, 21-16, 10-21) in the women’s singles final against Thailand’s Rachano Indanon.

In 2011, Misaki Matsutomo decided to give up singles and concentrate on doubles in order to qualify for the following year’s Olympic Games in London. However, her results in this year were mediocre, and she only reached the final of the Russian Grand Prix of Badminton with Regina Takahashi, losing to the Russian team of Valeria Sorokina and Nina Veslova 0-2 (20-22, 18-21) and coming in second place.

In August of the same year, Misaki Matsutomo participated in the Women’s Doubles event at the World Badminton Championships in London, England. She and Takahashi were seeded 15th, but lost to Japanese teammates Misun Maeda / Satoko Suezuna, seeded 3rd, 1-2 (21-18, 15-21, 17-21) in the round of 16. In December of the same year, they won their first ever Women’s Doubles title at the All Japan Integrated Badminton Championships.

In 2012, Misaki Matsutomo and Reika Takahashi made a big breakthrough in the international arena, winning the US Grand Prix Gold, the Canadian Grand Prix and the Indonesian Grand Prix Gold, and helping their national team to a third place finish in the Uber Cup in Wuhan. However, they were unable to qualify for the London Olympics due to national quota restrictions.

Misaki Matsutomo and Reika Takahashi reached a new high of No. 2 in the world rankings on March 20, 2013; they reached the quarterfinals of several Super Series events during the year, including India, Japan, Denmark, and Hong Kong, and were runners-up in Malaysia and Singapore.

In June 2014, Misaki Matsutomo competed in the Japan Badminton Superseries with Reika Takahashi and Kenichi Hayakawa, respectively, and won the first Superseries women’s doubles title of her badminton career by defeating the tournament’s No. 4 seeds and teammates, Rinka Kakiiwa/Misun Maeda, 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) in the women’s doubles final, while the mixed doubles semifinalists fell to the tournament’s top seed, China’s Zhang Nan, 0-2 (14-21, 13-21) in the mixed doubles quasi-finals. top seeds, Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei of China.

In December 2014, Misaki Matsutomo and Reika Takahashi played in the BWF Super Series Finals, and in the final, they played very well, sweeping China’s Tian Qing/Zhao Yunlei in straight sets, 2-0 (21-17, 21-14), to win their first women’s doubles title in the BWF Year-End Finals, and also the first Japanese duo to win the event.

In March 2016, Misaki Matsutomo and Reika Takahashi competed in the All England Badminton Premier Superseries, defeating the tournament’s No. 6 seed Tang Yuanli/Yu Yang of China 2-0 (21-10, 21-12) in the women’s doubles final to win their first All England Women’s Doubles Championships title, and the first Japanese women’s doubles pair to win the event. In April of the same year, she competed in the Asian Badminton Championships in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, with Reika Takahashi. In the final, she defeated teammate Shoko Fukumi/Yutaka Walnut in straight sets, 2-0 (21-13, 21-15), to win the Asian Championships women’s doubles title for the first time, and was the first Japanese women’s doubles team to win the event.

In August 2016, Misaki Matsutomo represented Japan for the first time in the women’s doubles event at the Olympic Games badminton tournament held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, playing with Reika Takahashi as the No. 1 seed. In the final, facing Denmark’s Kristina Petersen/Camilla Rütter Juhl, after a 3-set thriller, Misaki Matsutomo and Reika Takahashi recovered two consecutive sets after falling in the first set to win 2-1 (18-21, 21-9, 21-19) and win the first badminton gold medal for Japan at the Olympics.

In April 2017, Misaki Matsutomo and Reika Takahashi participated in the Asian Badminton Championships held in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and in the final, they welcomed the current dark horse, Hye-Rin Kim/Hae-Won Ryu of South Korea, and defeated their opponents in three sets, 2-1 (21-19, 16-21, 21-10), which was also the first Japanese team to achieve a second consecutive title in the event.

In January 2018, Misaki Matsutomo and Reika Takahashi competed in the Indonesia Masters Badminton Championships and won the women’s doubles final, defeating the tournament’s eighth seed and Indonesian powerhouse, Gracia Poli/Apriliani Rahayu, 2-0 (21-17, 21-12).

World Ranking – Mixed Doubles 25,  Week 31, 2024

Olympic Points – Mixed  Doubles 27, 44710 points 

Finals Ranking – Mixed  Doubles 24, 34680 points

Equipment UsedWave Fang Pro 
BA31WAP/E EX;  10519YX/20716YX (Competition Model);  WAVE FANG SS;  FIERCE CX9000J CV;  10613YX/20822YX (Competition Model);  FIERCE CX9000J;  FIERCE CX9700;  FIERCE CX9000J CHERRY BLOSSOM;  20611/20612
 

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