The women’s singles title at the BWF World Championships has been dominated by Chinese stars, but champions from Europe and Asia have also left their mark on the tournament. From Denmark’s Lene Koppen in 1977 to Akane Yamaguchi’s third world title in 2025, here is the complete list of women’s singles champions.

Women’s Singles

1977 – Lene Koppen (Denmark)

1980 – Verawaty Wiharjo (Indonesia)

1983 – Li Lingwei (China)

1985 – Han Aiping (China)

1987 – Han Aiping (China)

1989 – Li Lingwei (China)

1991 – Tang Jiuhong (China)

1993 – Susi Susanti (Indonesia)

1995 – Ye Zhaoying (China)

1997 – Ye Zhaoying (China)

1999 – Camilla Martin (Denmark)

2001 – Gong Ruina (China)

2003 – Zhang Ning (China)

2005 – Xie Xingfang (China)

2006 – Xie Xingfang (China)

2007 – Zhu Lin (China)

2009 – Lu Lan (China)

2010 – Wang Lin (China)

2011 – Wang Yihan (China)

2013 – Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand)

2014 – Carolina Marín (Spain)

2015 – Carolina Marín (Spain)

2017 – Nozomi Okuhara (Japan)

2018 – Carolina Marín (Spain)

2019 – P. V. Sindhu (India)

2021 – Akane Yamaguchi (Japan)

2022 – Akane Yamaguchi (Japan)

2023 – An Se-young (South Korea)

2025 – Akane Yamaguchi (Japan)

Published on Aug 14, 2026