Home » Watanabe Yūta and Higashino Arisa player profile

Watanabe Yūta and Higashino Arisa player profile

Watanabe Yūta and Higashino Arisa are Japan’s highest-ranked mixed doubles teams. Also, teammates at Nihon Unisys, have been badminton partners since high school.

The long-time tandem has garnered a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics and a runner-up finishes at the 2021 BWF World Championships. They have also won eight BWF World Tour titles and a BWF International Challenge tournament. Their last diadem was at 2022 All England Open, upending Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping in the final, 21-19, 21-19.

Not to be mistaken with the basketball player of the same name, Watanabe has also joined forces with retired shuttler Endō Hiroyuki. The former is part of the Japanese contingent that would compete at the BWF Thomas Cup Finals 2022. It would be interesting to see who he would link up with as he’s the only ranked doubles specialist in the squad without a partner.