The BWF tour once again made its annual stop in America for the US Open 2025! This marked the 60th edition of the US Open, America’s top competition, which returned to the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Top athletes from the US, India, and Chinese Taipei dominated the competition for the $240,000 prize purse, giving the fans some great matches and better stories.
Ayush Shetty – India’s New Star on the Rise at the US Open 2025
India’s 20‑year‑old sensation, Ayush Shetty, clinched his first BWF World Tour title in stunning fashion. Ayush comfortably overcame a tricky first-round match against Denmark’s Magnus Johanessen to proceed relatively smoothly through the early rounds. The fourth seed met the respected veteran Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, ranked 9th in the world, in the semi-final. It would turn out to be his toughest test in the competition, narrowly losing a competitive first set but confidently clinching the last two 21-23 21-15 21-14.
The Indian prodigy clashed with Canada’s best in the final, 4th seed Brian Yang. The Indian oosed calm and confidence as he took to his first final of the BWF World Tour, taking down Yang 21‑18, 21‑13 in just 47 minutes to secure the men’s singles crown. Shetty is now in pole position to be India’s next singles star, with compatriots Prannoy and Lakshya Sen failing to perform on the world tour. How many titles can Shetty claim this season?
The Chasing pack!
Unfortunately, no American players made it out of the first round in Iowa. In fact, 17-year-old Garrett Tan was the only American to make it through qualifying into the main draw. He has a bright future, but is still off the pace for titles at this level. Elsewhere, Harry Huang of England was the last standing European. He fell in the QF to eventual finalist Brian Yang. Young Canadian Victor Lai continued his elevated form since claiming the PanAm title in April by taking out 5th seed Su Li Yang of Taipei.
American glory for Beiwan Zhang in Women’s Singles at the US Open 2025
At 34 years old, Beiwan Zhang showed she still had the fire to compete on the tour. Her dominating performance gave the home crowd a reason to cheer as she swept the competition aside. The former top 10 had an easy time until the semi-final. Against Denmark’s Line Christophersen, Zhang took her time to find her rhythm and the right game plan to take the victory in 3 sets.
The American met the young rising star, 16-year-old Tanvi Sharma of India, in the final. A battle between the oldest and youngest player in the competition. The Indian has already had wins at International Challenge and 100 level. This was her first notable result at 300 level, and she competed impressively. Only ranked at 66 in the world, the plucky Indian pushed Beiwan in the final, not deterred by the occasion. Zhang took the first set using her superior experience. Sharma pushed back in the second to force a deciding set. Again, Beiwan showed why she is an elite player, calmly exerting herself on the match, controlling the pace, and dictating play, easing to victory 21-11 16-21 21-10.
Alternative stories
Unlike the Men’s singles, two Europeans fell in the semi-finals. Dane Line Christophersen, who has stagnated in her progression over the past 2 years, and Polina Buhrova of Ukraine. Could this be a sign of some stronger European women’s singles players, or is it due to the lack of Asian women in the competition? Malaysian Letshanaa will be disappointed about her outcome as she continues to push to overtake Goh Jin Wei as the Malaysian number one; she fell to Sharma in the QF.
Absolute massacre in Men’s Doubles at the US Open 2025
The men’s doubles at the Yonex US Open 2025 was unusually one-sided. Strangely, not by any of the seeded players, as none of them even made it to the semi-final. Young Chinese Taipei pair Lai Po Yu and Tsai Fu Cheng claimed the crown on American soil at just 19 years old after taking out 4 other compatriots! The first round was perhaps the most nervous, going ot three sets with Geiss and Jansen of Germany.
The final was played out between the young Chinese Taipei pair and their equally young compatriots Zhi-Wei He (21) and Huang Jui-Hsuan (20). These familiar foes fought for the glory, pushing for a 3 set finale. Eventually, the younger pair took the title, but could this be a glimpse into the badminton future? From the 9 pairs that entered, they locked out the podium with 4 reaching the semi-final.
The Outsiders
All of the seeded pairs fell short at the Yonex US Open 2025, the most surprising of which was the second seeds. Americans Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith have shown a great level over the past year, rising to the top 50. This was a great opportunity for them to break through to the next level of their development and careers on home ground. Danes Espersen and Sondergaard beat high-flying compatriots Boe and Kjaer in the first round. Quite a surprise considering Boe and Kjaer previously reached a 500 final only a few months ago!
The seeds dominate the womens doubles at the Yonex US Open 2025
A somewhat familiar story in the women’s doubles to the men’s doubles. Chinese Taipei once again came to the win with 5 of their 8 pairs making it to the QF. The only difference here, they were mostly seeded pairs with experience and past success. The pick of the Taipei pairs was Hsu Ya Ching and Sung Yu-Hsuan, who made it to the final after beating the first seeds, and compatriots, in the Semi-final. They actually did not even drop a set on their way to the final.
It was unfortunate for them that they were not able to break the Thai sisters in the final. The Aimsaard sisters came in as 3rd seeds, destroying the competition from Chinese Taipei and England in the first two rounds. The sisters overcame a tricky QF match against the 5th seed Taipei pair, Hu Ling Fang and Jheng Yu Chieh. The 3 set match was competitive ending 21-18 in the third set. This seemed to be the toughest test of their competition. They progressed to the title with confidence 21-13 21-12 in the semis and 21-15 21-15 in the final. A great confident performance from the Thai top pair.
Under the radar stories
The USA got two pairs to the QF successfully. Lauren Lam and Alisson Lee continued their positive performances, taking out the indian 8th seeds and losing in three to the first seeds. Youngsters Chang and Yeung, at only 16 and 17, made it to the US Open 2025 QF! A great effort by the pair who took out England’s top women’s doubles pair and the 4th seed Ukrainians. Another great talent to add to the new generation of American players. Again, the Europeans struggled to get past the second round of the competition, with PANAM and Asia dominating.
European success in Mixed doubles at Yonex US Open 2025
One of the strongest narratives in badminton currently is the poor performance of European players. Especially when compared to Asian and even PANAM players currently. The mixed doubles is really the only discipline in which European players perform well. That was the case in Iowa. Rasmus Espersen and Amalie Kudsk did the business for Denmark and Europe. The 5th seeds stumbled unnecessarily in the first round going to 3 when it was avoidable. They secured the win and bounced back, breezing through to the final without dropping another set.
The Thai pair Oupthong and Sudjaipraparat met the Danes in the final. The second seeds were utterly professional in their performances, controlling all their matches, ensuring to dispatch every opponent as efficiently as possible. They didn’t drop a single set in their run to the final. It was a tense fight for the title, especially in the first set, with the Danes taking the lead 21-17. The Thai opponents fought back to make it even 13-21. Eventually, the Danes overpowered the higher seeds, sweeping them aside 21-10 in the final set. A good win and much-needed points for the Danes!
Alternative stories…
Presley Smith and Jennie Gai were the pick of the local players. The 6th-seeded American took out the 4th-seeded English pair in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals, where they lost out to the Thai finalists. This marks their best-ever finish as a pair, which will promote them up the rankings next week. This also adds to the competition between the US and English players. Although they weren’t as dominant, Chinese Taipei still claimed a semi-final spot and two quarter-final spots, showing their strength across the doubles categories. Two German pairs performed well in the competition. The experienced Marvin Seidel, with a new partner, Thuc Phuong Nguyen, and Bourakkadi partnered with Michalski, both pairs reaching the QF. Could these two pairs give Germany some hope to turn around its current poor results?
What was your favourite story from the US Open 2025?
