Men’s Singles
Favourite: Viktor Axelsen
Viktor Axelsen is the overwhelming favourite for this year’s men’s singles, having won gold at the All England in 2022 and 2020, finished second in 2021 and 2019. He is currently ranked No.1 in the world and is reigning Olympic, World, and European champion. The only active player that has a positive record against him is Kento Momota, but Axelsen has reigned victorious in their last two battles. It is hard to look beyond the Dane in his current form - players need to have the tournament of their lives’ to even challenge him.
Racket: Yonex Astrox 100 zz
Shoes: Yonex Power Cushion 65 Z Men
Challengers
Jonathan Christie
The Current world No.2 enters the tournament off the back of a win in the Indonesia Masters. He has never medalled at the All England before so will be hungry for success, and despite a negative record against Axelsen (2-7), he is guaranteed to not face him before the final because of his impressive seeding.
Racket: Li Ning Aeronaut 7000B
Shoes: Li Ning Ranger Four Drive
Kunlavut Vitidsarn
Another possible challenger for the top spot, having won the India Open and finished joint 3rd in Malaysia, he is on an upward curve of improvement and has proven he has the game to beat Axelsen. At 21 years old he is one of the youngest players in the top 10, but that is not a factor that has been an issue in his rapid rise to the higher ranks.
Racket: Yonex Nanoflare 800
Shoes: Yonex Power Cushion 65Z3
Outside chance
Shi Yu Qui
Shi Yu Qi has had good form coming into this tournament, medalling in the Indonesia and Thailand Masters us proof that he is able to challenge the highest ranked players in the world. In 2018, he won the All England, beating Lin Dan in the final. Despite dropping to No.19 in the world, this is a player that continues to test the best players and has the experience to win on this stage.
Racket: Yonex Astrox 100 ZZ
String: Yonex BG80 Power
Women’s Singles
Favourite: Akane Yamaguchi
Currently leading the pack alongside An Se Young, Yamaguchi has the edge when it comes to experience, making her our favourite this year. She is the reigning champion, with previous silver and bronzes on the mantlepiece alongside the most recent World and World Tour Finals titles. An explosive player that always brings fighting spirit to the court, we can’t wait to watch her again this year.
Shoes: Yonex 65Z3
Grips: Yonex Super Grap
Challengers
Chen Yu Fei
Having won gold, silver and bronze at previous All England Championships, Chen Yu Fei has the game to beat any player she comes up against. She is the reigning Olympic champion and is currently ranked 4th in the world for women’s singles, with hopes to climb even higher with her second win in the All England since 2019.
Racket: Li-Ning N80 II
Tai Tzu Ying
A crowd favourite, she is known for her racket skills, a huge collection of tournament wins and holding the record for the longest reigning women’s singles No.1 with a whopping 213 weeks at the top. She will be looking to add to her collection of YAE wins, having taken home gold from the competition three times since 2020.
Racket: Victor Thruster F Claw II
Shoes: Victor P9200II
Outside chance
Carolina Marin
Without a doubt, one of the most remarkable players in the sport of badminton, she has competed at the very top for a long time with a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics and Rio and multiple World Championships titles to show for it. Her career has been challenged by serious injuries, with two ACL tears having threatened to put an end to her playing days. Despite the bumps in the road, she has bounced back to regain and defend her European Championship crown and could very well go on to claim her second All England title.
Racket: Yonex Nanoflare 700
String: Yonex Aerobite
Men’s Doubles
Favourites: Liu Yuchen and Ou Xuanyi – Team China
They can beat every pair in the tournament and have beaten the 1st seeds, Alfian/Ardianto, the last two times they’ve played. This pair is still relatively inexperienced together, but if they can keep form throughout the tournament, they certainly could win as they proved in the World Tour Finals.
Liu Yuchen
Racket: Li Ning 7000B
Ou Xuanyi
Racket: Yonex 88s Pro
Challengers
Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik – Team Malaysia
These keen challengers have taken home silver at multiple elite tournaments and even managed a win at last year’s World Championships. The Yonex All England Championship is where they won their first high-ranking super series medal in 2019, and since then they have remained hot on the heels of the best pairs in the world, having proven their abilities on the toughest stages.
Aaron Chia
Racket: Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro
Soh Wooi Yik
Shoes: Yonex Power Cushion Infinity
Outside chance
Ben Lane and Sean Vendy – Team England
The home favourites who have demonstrated they possess the tools to dismantle any of the top pairs in the world, having brought home silver from the 2022 Commonwealth games with victory over Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the semi-finals. Winning an All England title remains a huge task, but the pair will enter the tournament with the mindset that they can beat anyone on the day and with the support of the home crowd, they could go all the way.
Ben Lane
Shoes: Yonex Power Cushion 65z3
Sean Vendy
Racket: Yonex Astrox 100ZZ
Women’s Doubles
Favourites: Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan – Team China
For this event, it is hard to ignore the No.1 seeds. Having successfully defended their World Championship title and gone on to win the Malaysia Open Super 1000 in the last year, their recent run of form has been impressive. Between them, they bring skill and power to the court are a force to be reckoned with, even for the best of challengers.
Racket: Yonex Astrox 100ZZ
Jia Yi Fan
Age: 25
WD Ranking: No.1
Racket: Li Ning Aeronaut 7000I
Challengers
Chiharu Shida and Nami Matsuyama – Team Japan
Japanese pairs have dominated the women’s doubles podium in the last five years, with 12 of the 20 available medals having gone to Team Japan. Shida amd Matsuyama look destined to at least continue that trend and could even walk away with the gold. They have proven they are capable of winning, having done so at the India Super 750 this year and last year’s All England.
Chiharu Shida
String: Nanogy 95
Nami Matsuyama
Racket: Yonex Nanoflare 700
Outside chance
Nuntakarn and Benyapa Aimsaard – Team Thailand
The sister pairing from Thailand are on a run of good form, having claimed silver at the 2022 World Tour Finals and gold at this year’s Thailand Masters. Over the last two years they have shown that they can beat the top pairs in the world but they still have a lot of aspects of their game to improve. A good result at the All England could be a springboard for future success.
Mixed Doubles
Favourites: Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino – Team Japan
The reigning champions are our pick to win again, having taken home three previous YAE titles in 2018, 2021 and 2022. Another victory this time around would make it 3 in a row for the No.2 mixed pair in the world who beat Zheng Si Wei and Huang Yaqiong at the India Open Super 750 earlier this year to stake their claim on the top spot. They are lightning fast around court and always provide fantastic entertainment.
Yuta Watanabe
Racket: Li Ning 9000C
Arisa Higashino
String: Exbolt 63
Challengers
Zheng Si Wei and Huang Yaqiong – Team China
Having won a whopping eight World Tour titles. The most recent Malaysia Open Super 1000 and All England back in 2019, the current world No.1s are an obvious pair to watch out for at this year’s tournament. They made it to the semi-finals of last years’ event, narrowly losing to their compatriots, Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping, so will be looking to go all the way this year.
Shoe: Power Cushion 65Z
Huang Yaqiong
Age: 29
Nationality: China
XD Ranking: No.1
Racket: Yonex Astrox 77 Pro
Outside chance
Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue – Team France
Having consistently reached the later stages of the tournament, the French pairing enter as the 7th seeds this time around. They will be hoping for a good run of form to carry them to the quarter finals where they can look to cause an upset and make their way to their first All England medal position.
Thom Gicquel
Racket: Yonex Nanoflare 800
