The United States national badminton team represents the United States in international badminton team competitions. The national team is controlled by the governing body for badminton in the country, USA Badminton. The United States is one of the five founding members of the Badminton Pan America. The team varies from tournament to tournament and is not a consistent body like most countries. Each tournament has different members and selection criteria. After the team plays the event, the team disbands and a new team is formed each time. This varies from countries such as China, India, Japan, etc. where a national team is formed that represents the country in all events, including individual events.

The United States achieved immense success from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1952, the men's team were runners-up at the 1952 edition of the Thomas Cup where they lost to Malaya. The woman's team achieved a title hat-trick in the Uber Cup, winning the title three consecutive times from 1957 to 1963.

In individual events, the United States has won 1 gold medal in the BWF World Championships. It was won by Howard Bach and Tony Gunawan in the 2005 edition held in Anaheim, California.

History

Badminton in the United States dates back to the late 19th century. The first American badminton club was formed in New York in 1878. During the 1930s, badminton had become a popular sport in the United States. Establishments such as the YMCA, universities and more all formed badminton clubs and the popularity of the sport began to take growth. The sport was also aided by the support of celebrity participation.

Celebrities such as Bette Davis, Douglas Fairbanks, Dick Powell, and others all participated in the sport, helping badminton gain popularity during the mid-half of the 20th century.

Men's team The United States competed in the first edition of the Thomas Cup in 1949. The team won bronze after losing 6–3 in the knockout stages to Malaya. American badminton legends Joe Alston and Wynn Rogers helped the team to advanced one step further and reach the final of the 1952 Thomas Cup when they defeated the Indian doubles pair and earned the winning point for the team. In the final of the 1952 Thomas Cup, the team lost to Malaya. After their participation in the 1967 Thomas Cup, the men's team started to show a decline in quality after failing to qualify for the Thomas Cup for almost 4 decades.BWF: Thomas Cup

In 2004, the team qualified for the 2004 Thomas Cup again after they won the 2004 Pan American Men's Team Championships. The team were eliminated in the wild-card knockout stage thrice in 2004, 2006 and 2010. In 2022, the team finished in 4th place at the 2022 Pan Am Male Badminton Cup. The team however still qualified for the 2022 Thomas Cup after the withdrawal of New Zealand. They were placed in Group D with Malaysia, Japan and England. The team finished on the bottom of the group and did not advance to the knockout stage.

In the 2024 Pan Am Male Badminton Cup, the team were eliminated in the group stages after losing to Brazil and Mexico in their group.

Women's team The American women's team triumphed between the 1950s and the 1960s. They were the first to be crowned as Uber Cup champions in 1957. The team, led by stalwarts such as Judy Devlin and Margaret Varner first defeated Canada 7–0 in the qualifying round, then beat India 7–0 in the knockout round. In the final stage, they overcame their Danish opponents and defeated them 6–1 in the final. The team won their second Uber Cup by beating Denmark for a second time. In 1963, the American team won the Uber Cup title for a third time after winning 4–3 against England. In 1966, the team's Uber Cup reign came to an end when they lost 5–2 to Japan in the 1966 Uber Cup final. The women's team also suffered a massive decline after the 1960s and failed to qualify for the Uber Cup for a few years. The team finished third in the 1978 Uber Cup.BWF: Uber Cup

In 2006, the team qualified for the Uber Cup once again after failing to qualify for almost 30 years. The team were eliminated in the first round of the knockout stages. In 2022, the women's team won the 2022 Pan Am Female Badminton Cup and qualified for the 2022 Uber Cup. The team finished last in the group. In 2024, the team were runners-up at the 2024 Pan Am Female Badminton Cup. The team lost 3–0 to Canada in the final.

Mixed team The United States first competed in the 1989 Sudirman Cup. The team were grouped with New Zealand, Finland and Austria in the Group 5 classification group. The team lost 5–0 to New Zealand, then beat Finland and Austria 5–0 to finish in 21st place.BWF: Sudirman Cup In 2001, the team made history by winning their first mixed team title at the 2001 Pan Am Mixed Team Championships after beating Canada in the final. In the 2019 Sudirman Cup, the United States finished in 19th place after defeating Israel in the 19th place tie.

In 2023, the United States reached the final of the 2023 Pan Am Mixed Team Championships but lost 3–0 to Canada.

Competitive record

Thomas Cup YearRound1949First round inter-zone3rd1952Runners-up2nd1955First round inter-zone4th1958First round inter-zone5th1961First round inter-zone4th1964Did not qualify1967First round inter-zone5th1970Did not qualify197319761979198219841986198819901992199419961998200020022004Round of 1612th2006Round of 169th2008Did not qualify20102012Group stage10th2014Did not qualify2016201820202022Group stage15th2024Did not qualify20262028To be determined2030

Uber Cup YearRound1957Champions1st1960Champions1st1963Champions1st1966Runners-up2nd1969First round inter-zone4th1972Did not qualify19751978Second round inter-zone3rd1981Did not qualify198419861988199019921994199619982000200220042006Round of 1610th2008Round of 1611th2010Group stage11th2012Group stage11th2014Did not qualify2016Group stage11th2018Did not qualify20202022Group stage13th2024Group stage11th2026Did not qualify2028To be determined2030

Sudirman Cup YearRound1989Group stage21st1991Group stage22nd1993Group stage25th1995Group stage25th1997Group stage24th1999Group stage28th2001Group stage24th2003Group stage20th2005Group stage20th2007Group stage20th2009Group stage20th2011Group stage18th2013Group stage19th2015Group stage18th2017Group stage18th2019Group stage19th2021Did not qualify202320252027To be determined2029

Pan American Team Championships

Men's team YearRound2016Fourth place4th2018Runners-up2nd2020Third place3rd2022Fourth place4th2024 Group stage 5th2026Runners-up2nd2028To be determined2030

Women's team YearRound2016Champions1st2018Runners-up2nd2020Runners-up2nd2022Champions1st2024Runners-up2nd2026Runners-up2nd2028To be determined2030

Mixed team YearRound1977Runners-up2nd1978Did not enter1979Runners-up2nd1980Runners-up2nd1987Third place3rd1989Runners-up2nd1991Runners-up2nd1993Did not enter1997Runners-up2nd2001Champions1st2004Third place3rd2005Runners-up2nd2007Runners-up2nd2008Third place3rd2009Group stage5th2010Runners-up2nd2012Runners-up2nd2013Runners-up2nd2014Runners-up2nd2016Group stage5th2017Third place3rd2019Runners-up2nd2023Runners-up2nd2025Runners-up2nd2027To be determined2029

FISU World University Games

Mixed team YearRound2007Did not enter20112013Group stage18th2015Group stage20th2017Group stage12th2021Quarter-finals8th2025Round of 1611th

World University Team Championships

Mixed team YearRound2008Did not enter201020122014Group stage15th2016Did not enter2018Group stage14th **Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Junior competitive record Suhandinata Cup

YearRound2000Did not enter20022004Group stage20th2006Group stage20th2007Group stage16th2008Did not enter20092010Group stage20th2011Group stage21st2012Group stage20th2013Group stage27th2014Group stage20th2015Group stage19th2016Group stage14th2017Group stage22nd2018Group stage18th2019Group stage18th2020Cancelled because of COVID-19 pandemic20212022Quarter-finals6th2023Group stage10th2024Quarter-finals7th2025Quarter-finals7th of 362026 Qualified

Pan American Junior Team Championships

Mixed team YearRound1977Runners-up2nd1978Runners-up2nd1979Runners-up2nd1980Runners-up2nd1981Third place3rd1988Runners-up2nd1990Runners-up2nd1991Did not enter199219941996Champions1st1998Runners-up2nd2000Runners-up2nd2002Champions1st2004Champions1st2006Third place3rd2007Champions1st2008Third place3rd2009Champions1st2010Champions1st2011Fourth place4th2012Champions1st2013Third place3rd2014Champions1st2015Champions1st2016Third place3rd2017Champions1st2018Third place3rd2019Runners-up2nd2021Champions1st2022Champions1st2023Champions1st2024Champions1st2025Champions1st2026Champions1st **Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Players

Current squad

Men's team NameDoB/AgeRanking of eventMSMDXDEnrico Asuncion182228 –Adrian Mar416228736Vinson Chiu –5031Joshua Yuan – 50 539Howard Shu76 – –Patrick Chi 811 – 494Jacob Zhang1057383 –William Hu386383 –Chen Zhi-yi –65 238Presley Smith –65 54

Women's team NameDoB/AgeRanking of eventWSWDXDBeiwen Zhang9 – –Iris Wang44 – –Lauren Lam4944 –Natalie Chi350 – 494Francesca Corbett30336 238Allison Lee –3654Annie Xu – 31 –Kerry Xu –31 –Esther Shi182 –241Jennie Gai94 –31

Previous squads

Thomas Cup

1949, 1952, 2012, 2022

Uber Cup

1957, 1960, 1963, 1966, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2022

References