USA’s Time to Shine?

With five pairs making steady gains on the circuit, USA have never had it so good across disciplines. As the BWF World Championships 2026 approaches, there are signs that USA could cause flutters in each of the paired events.

For long, it was Beiwen Zhang who kept USA’s flag fluttering at major championships. And while Zhang is still a strong contender in women’s singles, it is in doubles that the country has made rapid strides in recent months.

Their improved performances are reflected in the seedings. Two pairs are seeded – Presley Smith/Jennie Gai (No.14 in mixed doubles) and Lauren Lam/Allison Lee (No.16 in women’s doubles). And while the other three pairs (Chen Zhi Yi/Presley Smith in men’s doubles; Francesca Corbett/Jennie Gai in women’s, and Chen Zhi Yi/Francesca Corbett in mixed) aren’t seeded, they aren’t too far behind in terms of the ability to create an impact. A quarterfinal or two isn’t beyond reach.

What marks out USA’s performances is how much they have troubled top-tier opposition. While they have yet to string several wins over the course of a tournament, they are now consistently pushing top 10 opponents. The most recent example of this was at the DAIHATSU Japan Open, where Lam/Lee took down world No.3 Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee in the second round. At the same tournament, Chen/Smith strung up two impressive wins – over Junaidi Arif/Yap Roy King and Daniel Lundgaard/Mads Vestergaard.

Smith/Gai started the year well at the Malaysia Open, beating Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Lai Jemie on their way to a Super 1000 quarterfinal; subsequently, they have challenged top pairs like Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin and Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui in close matches. The world No.17 duo made three straight semifinals on the World Tour mid-season, and they are getting harder to beat.

Corbett/Gai’s big moment was at the Indonesia Open, when they beat Jia Yi Fan/Zhang Shu Xian in the first round. Victories over, among other pairs, Rui Hirokami/Sayaka Hobara and Hsu Yin-Hui/Lin Jhih Yun, and close results against Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan and Benyapa Aimsaard/Nuntakarn Aimsaard during the season show they are on the verge of a big breakthrough.

These performances have taken time to fall into place, but there’s also a nice coincidence of this cohort of young talented doubles players coming up at the same time. Each individual has had a unique story – some, like Lee and Corbett, excelled even as juniors, making the final of the BWF World Junior Championships at home in Spokane three years ago. Lam started as a singles player before pairing up with Paula Lynn Obanana, who is now her coach. Smith had an altogether different route as his pro career took off once he moved to Taipei in his teens. Chen was born in a badminton family; his father Chen Kang was a former Chinese player who later coached Hong Kong China; his brother Chen Zhi Ray plays for Chinese Taipei.

USA’s rise couldn’t be better timed, with LA 2028 two years away. The players will head to the World Championships without the pressure of expectations, while believing they now have what it takes to go deep in the draw.

Of their recent win over Baek/Lee, Lam said: “It sort of gave us a little taste of what could happen, if we continue this. And it just made us want more. We were really happy, but when we won, I didn’t even remember what happened. Like whatever it was the hour before that, everything was so in the moment.

“But it definitely does give us an idea of what could happen in the future and what we are working towards. So I thought it was really good for us, and a lot of people approach us too, so it does make us feel a lot better.”

The uptick in performances, Lee says, is because they’re getting better at the mental game. Having played on the Tour for two years or more, the experience is beginning to show.

“I do believe that enjoying the game does play a big factor… because if you’re constantly overthinking about things and stressing about things that probably didn’t even happen yet… You just have to be in the moment. Because there’s not so much else you can do when you’re in the match.”

Lee and Lam will arrive in New Delhi having trained with a university team in Korea.

As Smith said at the Indonesia Open, where he and Chen nearly tripped home favourites Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani: “It’s coming together, I think, and we have a lot of help, too, with the coaches in the US and Yonex USA. They want us to achieve what was thought to be impossible a few years back. Now we have some strong contenders, and we still have some more years to try and get at an even higher level for LA 28.”

Despite the rising graph, the players prefer to be circumspect about their chances in New Delhi. For now, they’re taking pride in how far they’ve come, with the seedings reflecting their status as contenders, rather than just participants.

“At first it was very unexpected to see that,” Lam says, of the 16th seeding. “A few people sent me this on Instagram, and I’m like, oh, I had no idea. It’s such an odd feeling to see our names up on there. But it does make us feel a little bit proud to see that the training and the competing have had an impact.”