Anders Antonsen

Anders Antonsen (born 27 April 1997) is a Danish badminton player. He is a three-time World Championships medalist, two-time European Champion, and former World's No. 1 in BWF rankings for the men's singles discipline.

Anders Antonsen
Personal information
Country	Denmark
Born	(1997-04-27) 27 April 1997 (age 27) Aarhus, Denmark
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Weight	80 kg (176 lb)[1]
Years active	2013–present
Handedness	Right
Coach	Kasper Antonsen
Men's singles
Career record	343 wins, 115 losses
Highest ranking	2 (27 September 2022)
Current ranking	2 (10 December 2024)
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  Denmark World Championships 2019 Basel Men's singles 2021 Huelva Men's singles 2023 Copenhagen Men's singles Thomas Cup 2018 Bangkok Men's team 2020 Aarhus Men's team 2022 Bangkok Men's team European Games 2019 Minsk Men's singles European Championships 2021 Kyiv Men's singles 2024 Saarbrücken Men's singles 2017 Kolding Men's singles 2022 Madrid Men's singles European Mixed Team Championships 2017 Lubin Mixed team 2019 Copenhagen Mixed team 2021 Vantaa Mixed team 2023 Aire-sur-la-Lys Mixed team 2025 Baku Mixed team European Men's Team Championships 2016 Kazan Men's team 2018 Kazan Men's team 2020 Liévin Men's team 2024 Łódź Men's team European Junior Championships 2015 Lubin Boys' singles 2015 Lubin Mixed team
BWF profile

He won the gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships in the boys singles event, and at the same year was awarded the European Young Player of the Year. Together with the national team, he won the European Men's Team Championships in 2016 and 2018; also European Mixed Team Championships in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. Antonsen was the champion at the 2019 Minsk European Games, 2021 European Championships, the silver medalist at the 2017 European Championships, and the 2019 World Championships, and the bronze medalist at the 2021 and the 2023 World Championships.

Career

Antonsen started his career in badminton at six years of age in Kastanievej, Viby. Together with his brother Kasper Antonsen, they learned from his father who worked at one of the badminton clubs in Aarhus called AB.^[2]

He made his international debut at the 2013 Forza Denmark International tournament. In 2015, he won the European Junior Championship, defeating German player Max Weißkirchen with a score of 21–9, 15–21, 21–9 in the final.^[3] In the same year, he also won several tournaments such as Dutch International, Belgian International, and Irish Open, and awarded the 2015 European Young Player of the Year.^[4]

In 2016, he won his first Grand Prix, the Scottish Open Grand Prix.^[5] In the same year, he also won several other tournaments such as the Spanish International, Austrian Open, and Swedish Master.^[6][7]

In 2017, he won the silver medal at the European Championship after being defeated by Rajiv Ouseph of England with a tight score of 19–21, 19–21.^[8] He also reached the semifinals in two Superseries tournaments, the 2017 French Open where he lost to Kenta Nishimoto from Japan with a score of 17–21, 15–21,^[9] and later the Hong Kong Open where he was defeated by 2016 Rio Olympics gold medal winner Chen Long from China with a score of 14–21, 21–19, 17–21.^[10]

In 2018, Antonsen was chosen to be part of the Danish Thomas Cup team and won a bronze medal.^[11] At the Denmark Open Super 750 tournament, he managed to reach the semifinals but was defeated at that stage by Chinese Taipei player Chou Tien-chen with a score of 21–19, 11–21, 12–21.^[12]

Play for the Aarhus AB, Antonsen won the National Championships title three times in a row from 2017–2019.^[13] He won the BWF World Tour title at the 2019 Indonesia Masters, defeating 2018 World Champion and then World number 1 Kento Momota from Japan in the final with a score of 21–16, 14–21, 21–16.^[14] He emerged as the men's singles champion and took the gold medal at the 2019 Minsk European Games beat Brice Leverdez of France in the final with the score 21–19, 14–21, 21–10.^[15] At the 2019 Indonesia Open a Super 1000 tournament, Antonsen managed to step into the final round but he had to be satisfied as runner-up after losing to Chou Tien-chen with a score of 18–21, 26–24, 15–21.^[16] Antonsen captured the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, lost to the first seeded, the reigning champion Kento Momota in straight games 9–21, 3–21.^[17]

Antonsen won the end of the season 2020 BWF World Tour Finals beating Viktor Axelsen in the finals.^[18]

In 2021, Antonsen participated at the European Mixed Team Championships in Finland, and helped the team win the gold medal.^[19] At the May European Championships, he was crowned as the men's singles champion, after organizers decided to cancel the finals, due to his opponent, Viktor Axelsen, tested positive for COVID-19.^[20]

Antonsen clinched a bronze medal after he lost in the semifinals of the 2021 World Championships to Loh Kean Yew, the eventual World Champion, in straight games, 21–23, 14–21.^[21]

Starting off the season in 2022, Antonsen managed to avenge his loss to Loh Kean Yew in the World Championships semi finals, winning against the reigning world champion in the first round of the All England Open, in rubber games, 21–15, 18–21, 21–13.^[22] He then lost in the next round to Lakshya Sen, in straight games, 16–21, 18–21.^[23]

On 30 April, Antonsen won silver at the European Championships losing to compatriot Viktor Axelsen (17–21, 15–21) in the finals in Madrid, Spain.^[24] Antonsen was very upset over the quality of his own play, saying audiences nearly deserved an apology.^[25]

Antonsen then pulled out of the Asian leg of tournaments, the Indonesia Masters, the Indonesia Open, the Malaysian Open, the Malaysian Masters and the Singapore Open, citing injuries.^[26]

Antonsen opened the 2024 season by winning his first ever BWF World Tour Super 1000 event, in the Malaysia Open, beating Shi Yuqi in the final.^[27]

On 24 August 2024, Antonsen announced on his social media that his coaching agreement with Joachim Persson had been terminated as Persson was seen placing bets on matches. Since then, he appointed his brother Kasper Antonsen, as his new head coach starting from October.^[28]

Antonsen opened the 2025 season by competing in the Malaysia Open. As a title holder, he unable to defend his title to last year finalist Shi Yuqi, losing the final match in straight games.^[29]

Personal life

Antonsen has an older brother, Kasper Antonsen. He is a former Danish badminton national player, and has trained with his brother since young.^[2]

Antonsen co-hosts a podcast together with fellow Danish badminton player Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, called The Badminton Experience, where they cover many different topics on badminton, ranging from players and technical aspects of the game. They also host Q&A sessions from time to time,^[30][31] and sometimes, they invite other badminton players to come on the podcasts as guests, to share their experience and answer questions from the hosts. Notable players that have been on the podcast include Lee Zii Jia,^[32] Greysia Polli,^[33] Anthony Sinisuka Ginting^[34] and former Danish Men's singles player Peter Gade.^[35]

Besides recording podcast episodes with Vittinghus, Antonsen also has a YouTube channel, where he uploads his vlogs, mainly about his training and tour life on the BWF circuit. His YouTube channel has 101,000 subscribers as of July 2022.^[36]

Achievements

World Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2019	St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland	Kento Momota	9–21, 3–21	Silver
2021	Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain	Loh Kean Yew	21–23, 14–21	Bronze
2023	Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark	Kodai Naraoka	23–25, 12–21	Bronze

European Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2019	Falcon Club, Minsk, Belarus	Brice Leverdez	21–19, 14–21, 21–10	Gold

European Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2017	Sydbank Arena, Kolding, Denmark	Rajiv Ouseph	19–21, 19–21	Silver
2021	Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine	Viktor Axelsen	Walkover	Gold
2022	Polideportivo Municipal Gallur, Madrid, Spain	Viktor Axelsen	17–21, 15–21	Silver
2024	Saarlandhalle, Saarbrücken, Germany	Toma Junior Popov	21–18, 21–13	Gold

European Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2015	Regional Sport Centrum Hall, Lubin, Poland	Max Weißkirchen	21–9, 15–21, 21–9	Gold

BWF World Tour (8 titles, 8 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,^[37] 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.^[38]

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Level	Opponent	Score	Result
2019	Indonesia Masters	Super 500	Kento Momota	21–16, 14–21, 21–16	Winner
2019	Spain Masters	Super 300	Viktor Axelsen	14–21, 11–21	Runner-up
2019	Indonesia Open	Super 1000	Chou Tien-chen	18–21, 26–24, 15–21	Runner-up
2020	Indonesia Masters	Super 500	Anthony Sinisuka Ginting	21–17, 15–21, 9–21	Runner-up
2020	Denmark Open	Super 750	Rasmus Gemke	18–21, 21–19, 21–12	Winner
2020	BWF World Tour Finals	World Tour Finals	Viktor Axelsen	21–16, 5–21, 21–17	Winner
2021	Indonesia Masters	Super 750	Kento Momota	17–21, 11–21	Runner-up
2023	Singapore Open	Super 750	Anthony Sinisuka Ginting	16–21, 13–21	Runner-up
2023	Korea Open	Super 500	Loh Kean Yew	11–21, 21–11, 21–19	Winner
2024	Malaysia Open	Super 1000	Shi Yuqi	21–14, 21–13	Winner
2024	Indonesia Masters	Super 500	Brian Yang	18–21, 21–13, 21–18	Winner
2024	Indonesia Open	Super 1000	Shi Yuqi	9–21, 21–12, 14–21	Runner-up
2024	Denmark Open	Super 750	Koki Watanabe	21–15, 21–16	Winner
2024	China Masters	Super 750	Jonatan Christie	21–15, 21–13	Winner
2024	BWF World Tour Finals	World Tour Finals	Shi Yuqi	18–21, 14–21	Runner-up
2025	Malaysia Open	Super 1000	Shi Yuqi	8–21, 15–21	Runner-up

BWF Grand Prix (1 title)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2016	Scottish Open	Soong Joo Ven	22–20, 21–15	Winner

  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (6 titles, 1 runner-up)

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2015	Dutch International	Yuhan Tan	21–11, 22–20	Winner
2015	Belgian International	Christian Lind Thomsen	21–18, 21–17	Winner
2015	Polish International	Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin	12–21, 18–21	Runner-up
2015	Irish Open	Lucas Claerbout	21–18, 22–20	Winner
2016	Swedish Masters	Mattias Borg	21–12, 21–10	Winner
2016	Austrian Open	Kanta Tsuneyama	21–9, 21–17	Winner
2016	Spanish International	Kanta Tsuneyama	14–21, 22–20, 21–18	Winner

  BWF International Challenge tournament

  BWF International Series tournament

  BWF Future Series tournament

Record against selected opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 1 October 2024.^[39]

Player Matches Win Lost Diff. Chen Long 7 2 5 –3 Lin Dan 1 1 0 +1 Shi Yuqi 8 3 5 –2 Zhao Junpeng 1 1 0 +1 Chou Tien-chen 11 4 7 –3 Viktor Axelsen 9 3 6 –3 Jan Ø. Jørgensen 1 1 0 +1 Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 3 2 1 +1 Rajiv Ouseph 4 3 1 +2 Parupalli Kashyap 1 0 1 –1 Srikanth Kidambi 6 3 3 0 B. Sai Praneeth 4 3 1 +2 Prannoy H. S. 3 1 2 –1 Lakshya Sen 6 4 2 +2

Player Matches Win Lost Diff. Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 8 2 6 –4 Tommy Sugiarto 1 1 0 +1 Kento Momota 7 1 6 –5 Kodai Naraoka 8 4 4 0 Lee Chong Wei 1 0 1 –1 Lee Zii Jia 9 5 4 +1 Liew Daren 2 1 1 0 Loh Kean Yew 7 3 4 –1 Heo Kwang-hee 1 0 1 –1 Son Wan-ho 5 3 2 +1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn 6 5 1 +4 Kantaphon Wangcharoen 4 4 0 +4 Nguyễn Tiến Minh 2 2 0 +2

References

1. "Antonsen Anders". Minsk 2019. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
2. Jørgensen, Martin (9 February 2018). "Far Antonsen laver pølsemix, mens sønnerne spiller DM-semifinaler". Lokalavisen Aarhus (in Danish). Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
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4. Røsler, Manuel (17 April 2016). "Europe's top players and officials acknowledged in Slovenia". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
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External links

• Anders Antonsen at BWF.TournamentSoftware.com (alternate link) (archived)
• Anders Antonsen at BWFBadminton.com
• Anders Antonsen at Olympedia
• Anders Antonsen at Olympics.com
• Anders Antonsen at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics
• Anders Antonsen on YouTube