is a Japanese badminton player affiliated with the BIPROGY team. Specializing in women's doubles with partner Kie Nakanishi, she has won six BWF World Tour titles and achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 4 in March 2025.
Uesaka's major achievements include a bronze medal at the 2025 World Championships in Paris and a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Championships in Manila. She and Nakanishi won their first BWF World Tour title at the 2023 Syed Modi International, and captured their first Super 750 title at the 2024 Denmark Open. The duo had a particularly successful 2024 season, winning five consecutive tournament finals. Iwanaga has also represented Japan in team competitions, winning bronze medals at the 2025 Asia Mixed Team Championships and Sudirman Cup.
Career 2021 In 2021, Uesaka and Nakanishi reached their first Super 500 final at the Hylo Open in November. They were defeated by their compatriots, Chisato Hoshi and Aoi Matsuda, securing runner-up position. Earlier that year, the pair won the Belgian International. They also competed in the Indonesia Masters (Super 750) and the Indonesia Open (Super 1000) at the Indonesia Badminton Festival in Bali but were eliminated in the early rounds of both tournaments. In December, they made their World Championship debut held in Huelva, reaching the quarterfinals. By the end of the year, they entered the top 30 world rankings, reaching world No. 26.
2022 In 2022, Uesaka and Nakanishi won a silver medal at the Asian Championships held in Manila, losing to the then-World No. 1 pair Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan of China in the final. In August, they participated in the World Championships held in Tokyo, where they were eliminated in the third round. Throughout their 2022 World Tour campaign, Iwanaga and Nakanishi experienced early-round losses for all tournaments they competed. They reached a then-new career-high ranking of world No. 15 as of 24 October 2022.
2023: First BWF World Tour title, world No. 15 In 2023, Uesaka and Nakanishi won their first BWF World Tour title together at the Syed Modi International (Super 300) in November. They also reached the semifinals of the Arctic Open and the Denmark Open. At the Denmark Open, they defeated two Chinese pairs, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning in the second round and Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu in the quarterfinals, before they were defeated by another Chinese pair Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan in the semifinals. Their 2023 season also included reaching the quarterfinals in five other tournaments: the India Open, the Thailand Open, the Singapore Open, the Korea Open, and the Australia Open. They finished the year by returning to a world ranking of No. 15, after their ranking had dropped to No. 26 earlier in the year.
2024 In 2024, Uesaka and Nakanishi reached the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open in January by defeating third seeds, Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong, marking their first quarterfinal appearance at a Super 1000 tournament. They won their first Super 750 title at the Denmark Open in October. This win was their fifth consecutive tournament final victory in 2024, following titles at the Spain Masters, Malaysia Masters, U.S. Open, and Canada Open. En route to the Denmark Open title, they defeated Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee in the semifinals, achieving their first win against that pair. In the final, they beat the Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalists and then-world No. 1 pair Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning (21–18, 21–14). This victory solidified their position as the second-ranked pair in the BWF World Tour Finals rankings and was their second win over Liu and Tan in three encounters. They also competed in the BWF World Tour Finals in December but were eliminated in the round-robin stage. They reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 5 as of 4 November.
2025 Uesaka began the 2025 season recovering from injuries suffered in late 2024. She injured her right shoulder in November 2024, followed by a torn abdominal muscle. Despite these injuries, Iwanaga and Nakanishi reached the final of the Singapore Open (Super 750) in June, finishing as runners-up to Kim Hye-jeong and Kong Hee-yong of South Korea. They also reached the quarterfinals at the All England Open in March, the Asian Championships in April, and the Indonesia Open in June. Iwanaga and Nakanishi reached a new career-high ranking of World No. 4 on 11 March. Additionally, Iwanaga was also part of the Japanese teams that won bronze medals at the Asia Mixed Team Championships in February and the Sudirman Cup in April.
Personal life Uesaka married on 5 February 2026.
Achievements World Championships Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2025 Adidas Arena, Paris, France Kie Nakanishi Liu Shengshu Tan Ning 15–21, 4–21 Bronze
Asian Games Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2026 Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium, Ichinomiya, Japan Kie Nakanishi Baek Ha-na Lee So-hee 13–21, 12–21 Bronze
Asian Championships Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2022 Muntinlupa Sports Complex,Metro Manila, Philippines Kie Nakanishi Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan 11–21, 15–21 Silver
BWF World Tour (6 titles, 8 runners-up) The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, 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 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Women's doubles Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2019 Dutch Open Super 100 Kie Nakanishi Gabriela Stoeva Stefani Stoeva 10–21, 20–22 Runner-up 2021 Hylo Open Super 500 Kie Nakanishi Chisato Hoshi Aoi Matsuda 20–22, 18–21 Runner-up 2023 Syed Modi International Super 300 Kie Nakanishi Tanisha Crasto Ashwini Ponnappa 21–14, 17–21, 21–15 Winner 2024 Spain Masters Super 300 Kie Nakanishi Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi 12–21, 21–8, 21–16 Winner 2024 Malaysia Masters Super 500 Kie Nakanishi Lee Yu-lim Shin Seung-chan 17–21, 21–19, 21–18 Winner 2024 U.S. Open Super 300 Kie Nakanishi Laksika Kanlaha Phataimas Muenwong 21–19, 21–15 Winner 2024 Canada Open Super 500 Kie Nakanishi Hsu Yin-hui Lin Jhih-yun 21–13, 21–13 Winner 2024 Denmark Open Super 750 Kie Nakanishi Liu Shengshu Tan Ning 21–18, 21–14 Winner 2025 Singapore Open Super 750 Kie Nakanishi Kim Hye-jeong Kong Hee-yong 16–21, 14–21 Runner-up 2025 Hong Kong Open Super 500 Kie Nakanishi Jia Yifan Zhang Shuxian 15–21, 17–21 Runner-up 2025 Korea Open Super 500 Kie Nakanishi Kim Hye-jeong Kong Hee-yong 19–21, 12–21 Runner-up 2025 Arctic Open Super 500 Kie Nakanishi Pearly Tan Thinaah Muralitharan 7–21, 9–21 Runner-up 2025 Japan Masters Super 500 Kie Nakanishi Pearly Tan Thinaah Muralitharan 20–22, 19–21 Runner-up 2026 Thailand Open Super 500 Kie Nakanishi Bao Lijing Cao Zihan 21–19, 16–21, 19–21 Runner-up
BWF International Challenge/Series (3 titles) Women's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2019 South Australia International Kie Nakanishi Setyana Mapasa Gronya Somerville 21–15, 19–21, 21–9 Winner 2019 Dubai International Kie Nakanishi Alexandra Bøje Mette Poulsen 18–21, 21–15, 21–17 Winner 2021 Belgian International Kie Nakanishi Julie MacPherson Ciara Torrance 21–12, 21–15 Winner BWF International Challenge tournament
BWF Junior International (3 runners-up) Girls' doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2017 German Junior Natsu Saito Kim Min-ji Seong Ah-yeong 16–21, 14–21 Runner-up
Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2017 Dutch Junior Yunosuke Kubota Na Sung-seung Seong Ah-yeong 21–19, 19–21, 14–21 Runner-up 2017 German Junior Yunosuke Kubota Chang Yee Jun Pearly Tan 16–21, 16–21 Runner-up BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament
References
External links
Rin Iwanaga at Badminton Association of Japan
Rin Iwanaga at BIPROGY Rin Iwanaga at J Sports Rin Iwanaga at Smash and Net TV