Two Olympic bronze medals, three All England crowns and a run to world number one tell the outline. The fuller story of Arisa Higashino is in how she got there: a small, quick right-hander from Hokkaido who became one of the most distinctive mixed doubles players of her generation, in part because of a shot rarely associated with elite women’s badminton, the jump smash.
From Hokkaido courts to Japan’s elite pathway
Higashino was born on August 1, 1996, in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, and started playing badminton at six after encouragement from her mother. Like many top Japanese players, she came through a structured school system, later attending Tomioka Senior High School, long known as a production line for national-level talent.
The partnership that shaped her career began early. She teamed up with Yuta Watanabe in 2012, and the pair quickly stood out in junior events for their speed and instinctive understanding. At the Asian Junior Championships, they helped Japan to mixed team bronze in 2013 and 2014. At the 2014 BWF World Junior Championships, Higashino left with two bronze medals, one in mixed doubles and one in the team event.
Those results did not make her a star overnight, but they showed the basic shape of her game. She was sharp around the net, quick into flat exchanges and unusually explosive when she had a chance to attack from the back court.
After school, she joined Nihon Unisys, later renamed Biprogy, in 2015, a key step in the usual Japanese transition from junior prospect to senior professional.
The Watanabe partnership starts to bite
Their first senior final came in 2015 at the Russia Open, an early sign that the junior chemistry would carry into the international game. The bigger shift arrived a few seasons later, when the pair stopped looking like promising outsiders and started winning the biggest tournaments on the calendar.
At the 2018 All England Open, Higashino and Watanabe became the first Japanese mixed doubles pair to win the title. That mattered beyond one week in Birmingham. Japan had produced world-class players in other disciplines, but mixed doubles had not offered the same history. This win changed that.
The same season also brought a medal at the Asian Games, where she was part of Japan’s bronze-medal-winning women’s team in Jakarta. In team events, she was also involved in Japan’s Sudirman Cup campaigns, with bronze in 2017 and silver in 2019, and in the Asia Mixed Team Championships, where Japan took silver in 2019.
World medals, Olympic bronze and the climb to No. 1
There was a brief interruption in 2019 when a twisted ankle at the Asian Championships disrupted her momentum. She recovered in time for a more significant milestone later that year. At the World Championships in Basel, Higashino and Watanabe won bronze, becoming the first Japanese mixed doubles pair to reach the podium at the event.
That period also sharpened one of the defining matchups of their era. China’s Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong were the pair to beat, and for long stretches they were a difficult problem for the Japanese duo to solve. Their rivalry helped define the top end of mixed doubles in those years: relentless pace, fast interceptions and very little room to breathe.
Then came the Olympic breakthrough. At the Tokyo Games, staged in 2021 after the pandemic delay, Higashino and Watanabe won bronze in mixed doubles. It was the first Olympic medal ever won by a Japanese pair in that discipline.
They backed it up the same year at the World Championships in Huelva, where they reached the final and took silver. Far from being a one-tournament peak, it became part of a sustained run near the top of the sport.
The titles kept coming. Higashino and Watanabe won the All England again in 2021 and 2022, taking their total there to three. They also won the Denmark Open and French Open in 2021, then the Japan Open in 2022. At the 2022 World Championships in Tokyo, they reached another final and collected a second silver medal.
On November 8, 2022, they rose to world number one in mixed doubles. For a pair that had already broken several Japanese barriers, it was another clear marker: they were no longer just historic at home, but the top-ranked combination in the world.
A long partnership closes with another Olympic podium
Even after reaching number one, Higashino and Watanabe remained regular contenders at the biggest events. At the 2023 World Championships in Copenhagen, they added another bronze medal.
Their final full season together still had weight. They won the Malaysia Open in early 2024 and then returned to the Olympic podium in Paris, taking another bronze in mixed doubles. That gave Higashino two Olympic bronze medals, both won with the same partner, and underlined the durability of a partnership that had started back in 2012.
After the Paris Games, Watanabe and Higashino ended their long-running mixed doubles pairing. By then, they had become the most accomplished Japanese mixed doubles team of their time: three All England titles, two Olympic bronzes, two World Championship silvers, two World Championship bronzes and a spell at the top of the rankings.
A different chapter in women’s doubles
Higashino has also competed in women’s doubles, though mixed doubles remains the center of her career story. Later in her career, she moved more seriously into that discipline and showed she could still adapt at a high level.
She partnered Ayako Sakuramoto and won the India Open in women’s doubles, a useful reminder that her speed and attacking instincts were not limited to mixed. She later formed a partnership with Chiharu Shida as she entered a new phase on tour.
Because rankings and pairings change quickly, those later women’s doubles details are best read as part of an evolving chapter rather than a settled final act. What is clear is that she remained active at top level while representing Biprogy in Japan.
Why Arisa Higashino stood out on court
Speed was always the first thing opponents had to deal with. Higashino played mixed doubles with the urgency the discipline demands: quick first steps, fast hands at the tape and the confidence to take the shuttle early.
What made her unusual was the power layered on top of that speed. In women’s badminton, the jump smash exists, but very few players have made it such a recognizable part of their game. Higashino did. It gave her a different profile from the more conventional front-court mixed doubles specialist. She could pressure at the net, then suddenly rotate and hit with real force from the back.
That made her especially valuable in modern mixed doubles, where fixed roles often blur under pressure. She was not just there to set up rallies. She could finish them.
Off court: quiet habits, clear influences
Away from competition, some of the smaller details around Higashino help fill out the portrait. She has named Indonesian great Liliyana Natsir as a player she admired, which makes sense given her own path in mixed doubles. Her hobbies have been listed as listening to music and watching films.
One often-cited match habit is that she mutters to herself, “I’m tired,” during play so her partner will not hear it. Whether taken as a joke, a routine or a coping mechanism, it fits the image of a player who managed stress internally while keeping the rally moving.
Japanese media and player profiles have also described her as someone who enjoys staying home on days off and watching movies. That kind of detail is harmless enough, but it belongs in the category of light personal reporting rather than anything more revealing. Another widely repeated biographical note is that she cannot swim.
As for her private life, Higashino announced her marriage to Yu Igarashi in 2024. After that, some outlets also referred to her as Arisa Igarashi. That is a matter of public record, not rumor.
Fans interested in Arisa Higashino badminton equipment often note her association with Yonex gear. Specific racket, string and shoe setups can change, so those details should be treated as period-specific rather than permanent identifiers.
Her place in Japanese badminton
The numbers matter here because they mark genuine firsts. Higashino and Watanabe were the first Japanese mixed doubles pair to win the All England. They were the first from Japan to win an Olympic medal in mixed doubles. They were also the first Japanese pair to reach the World Championships podium in the discipline.
That is why Arisa Higashino remains such an important figure in Japanese badminton. Not because of inflated labels, but because the record shows a player who helped move an event forward for her country, while doing it with a style that was easy to recognize.
FAQ
Is Arisa Higashino married?
Yes. She announced her marriage to Yu Igarashi in 2024.
Who was Arisa Higashino’s mixed doubles partner?
Her main mixed doubles partner was Yuta Watanabe. They played together from 2012 until after the Paris Olympics.
How many Olympic medals has Arisa Higashino won?
She has won two Olympic bronze medals in mixed doubles, at Tokyo and Paris.
When did Arisa Higashino become world number one?
She reached world number one in mixed doubles with Yuta Watanabe on November 8, 2022.
What is Arisa Higashino known for on court?
She is known for her speed, quick net play and an explosive jump smash.
What is Arisa Higashino’s height?
She is 160 cm tall.
