Sapsiree Taerattanachai (; ; born 18 April 1992) is a Thai badminton player. She claimed titles in the mixed doubles with Dechapol Puavaranukroh at the 2017 SEA Games and at the 2021 World Championships. Sapsiree and Dechapol made history as the first ever Thai pair to win the year-end Finals tournaments, the World Championships title and rank first in the world ranking.
Sapsiree competed at the 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 Asian Games; as well at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. In 2009, she was a semi-finalist in girls' doubles at the World Junior Championships, and the following year, she was runner-up at the Asian Junior Championships. She won gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. By winning the women's doubles title at the 2012 India Open Grand Prix Gold, women's singles title at the 2013 U.S. Open, and mixed doubles title at the 2017 Swiss Open, she became the first player ever to become a Grand Prix Gold winner in all three disciplines.
Sapsiree and Dechapol won the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships, and a gold medal at the 2021 World Championships. The duo made a clean sweep of all three 2020 Asian Leg titles in Thailand, and all 2021 Bali leg titles and climbed to world number 1 in BWF ranking on 7 December 2021.
Personal life Her family is considered to be wealthy. Her parents owns a gold shop in Udon Thani city. For the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, her brother bought a large LED billboard in front of their house to broadcast her matches live so that Udon Thani people could cheer her on, along with free water and parking.
She graduated from Chulalongkorn University. Sapsiree is nicknamed "Popor". Her knee injury during the 2017 SEA Games Final was a minor speed bump to her long successful career. She has a made a very strong comeback in 2019 by producing extremely good results.
In addition, she is also close friends with famous actress Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul.
Career Early career Sapsiree began her badminton journey in Udon Thani at the age of nine, initially joining her university-level badminton player parents at the courts just for recreation. Her competitive drive was ignited after a crushing shutout defeat in her very first tournament, pushing her to practice seriously and eventually enter regional competitions by age 14. Her early dedication paid off remarkably in 2009 when, at just 17 years old, she teamed up with Rodjana Chuthabunditkul to secure third-place finishes in the girls' doubles at both the Asian and World Junior Championships. That same year, she grabbed the spotlight by stunning world junior champion Ratchanok Intanon to clinch the Malaysia International Challenge title. Partnered with Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, they won the Smiling Fish International tournament. She was then called up to the Thai national team at the 2009 Vientiane SEA Games, where her team won a bronze medal. Sapsiree's early career reached its first major peak in 2010 under the SCG Badminton Academy, where she made history by winning a gold medal in the girls' singles at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, and a silver medal at the Asian Junior Championships. She also won a silver medal in the women's team event at the Guangzhou Asian Games.
2011–2013: First Grand Prix title In 2011, Sapsiree reached the women's singles final at the Vietnam International Challenge, finishing as runner-up to Tee Jing Yi. Later that year, she helped the Thai women's team capture the gold medal at the 2011 SEA Games in Jakarta. Sapsiree was then part of the Thai 2012 Uber Cup team that won the bronze medal, after the team being defeated by China in the semi-finals. She won her first ever Grand Prix title at the 2012 India Open Grand Prix Gold in the women's doubles with partner Savitree Amitrapai. The duo later finished as runners-up at the 2013 Australian Open. In July 2013, she won the women's singles title at the U.S. Open Grand Prix Gold by defeating Japan's Yuka Kusunose. In December, Sapsiree concluded her season at the SEA Games in Naypyidaw, where she won a bronze medal in the women's doubles and a silver medal in the mixed doubles.
2014–2016: Third Grand Prix title In 2014, Sapsiree reached two finals at the U.S. Open, finishing as the runner-up in the women's doubles with Puttita Supajirakul and in the mixed doubles alongside Maneepong Jongjit. Later, with her partner Puttita, they became runners-up at both the 2015 USA International Challenge and the Mexico City Grand Prix. A major highlight of this period according to regional media was her tactical transition to a permanent mixed doubles partnership with Dechapol Puavaranukroh in late 2015, a structural move orchestrated by the Badminton Association of Thailand to build a new world-class combination. She then made her fourth appearance at the SEA Games in Singapore, where she anchored the Thai national squad to capture the gold medal in the women's team event before securing an individual bronze medal in the mixed doubles with Sudket Prapakamol.
Sapsiree experienced a competitive year in 2016, starting with a mixed doubles runner-up finish alongside Dechapol at the Syed Modi International. Shortly after, she also finished as the women's doubles runner-up at the German Open with partner Puttita. In February, Sapsiree helped the Thai national team to a bronze medal finish at the inaugural Asia Team Championships in Hyderabad. Her momentum continued into March as she and Puttita clinched the women's doubles crown at the Polish Open. She reached the women's doubles quarter-finals in the Asian Championships, and secured a spot to compete at the Rio Olympics. In her Olympic debut, Sapsiree and Puttita were eliminated in the women's doubles group stage. She later secured her third Grand Prix title on home soil at the Thailand Open. Finally, Sapsiree closed out her notable 2016 podium run in December with a mixed doubles runner-up finish at the Korea Masters in Jeju.
2017: First player to win Grand Prix Gold titles across three different disciplines In 2017, Sapsiree contributing to the national team by securing a bronze medal at the Sudirman Cup, and at the Asia Mixed Team Championships. Her dominance peaked at the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, where she captured 2 gold medals in the mixed doubles and women's team and an addition a silver in the women's doubles before suffering a knee injury in the final match. She and partner Dechapol upset world number 1 Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen to reach the final of the Asian Championships. Later in the final, they were defeated by world number two Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong. At the Singapore Open, they finished as runner-up. Earlier in February, on home soil Thailand Masters, she reaching two finals to finish as the runner-up in both the mixed and women's doubles. At the Swiss Open, where she clinching the mixed doubles crown officially made her the first player in history to win Grand Prix Gold titles across three different disciplines: singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
2018–2019: Silver medal in the World Championships and Uber Cup In 2018, Sapsiree helps the national team to reach the final of the Uber Cup, secured a silver medal. She competed at the Asian Games in Jakarta, contributing to the Thai women's national team's success in bringing home a bronze medal. Furthermore, in the mixed doubles with Dechapol, together they became finalists at the Denmark Open.
Starting the 2019 season as runners-up at both the Thailand and Malaysia Masters, Sapsiree and her mixed doubles partner, Dechapol, achieved a major breakthrough at the Singapore Open. There, they upset the world number one pair of Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong in the semi-finals, snapping their 18-match winning streak en route to capturing the title. The duo repeated this feat at the Korea Open, defeating them in a 34-minute straight-games final to claim the title. Sapsiree's resurgent season was further bolstered by a silver medal at the World Championships, a bronze at the Asian Championships, and a victory at the Macau Open.
2020–2021: World number 1 and World Championships gold The years 2020 and 2021 marked a golden era of Sapsiree and Dechapol. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted calendar, Sapsiree historic run began in March, reaching the final of the All England Open to claim the runner-up position. Moving into early 2021, the duo achieved an unprecedented feat during the "Asian Leg" in Bangkok, sweeping three consecutive titles in January: the Yonex Thailand Open, the Toyota Thailand Open, and at the 2020 BWF World Tour Finals. Their good performance during the Asian Leg took them to number 2 in the world ranking. Sapsiree made her second Olympic appearance at the rescheduled 2020 Summer Olympics in July, where she and Dechapol fought their way to the quarter-finals.
In October 2021, Sapsiree helped the Thai women's team secure a bronze medal at the Uber Cup in Aarhus. Partnered with Dechapol, they secured a runner-up finish at the Denmark Open, which served as a prelude to a stunning four-tournament winning streak. She first clinched the Hylo Open title in Germany in early November, before heading to the Indonesia Badminton Festival in Bali. There, she and her partner executed a flawless clean sweep of the three-week festival, capturing consecutive titles at the Indonesia Masters, Indonesia Open, and then defend their World Tour Finals title. This relentless run of dominance culminated on 7 December 2021, when Sapsiree and Dechapol officially ascended to the world number 1 spot in the BWF world rankings for the first time in their careers. She capped off her historic season just weeks later at the BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain, where she captured the elusive gold medal, making them the first-ever Thai mixed doubles pair to be crowned World Champions.
2022–2023: World Championships bronze Throughout 2022, Sapsiree opened her title account by winning the German Open mixed doubles crown alongside Dechapol. This victory was followed by a string of strong performances in Southeast Asia, where she secured consecutive runner-up finishes at the Thailand and Malaysia Open, before bouncing back to claim the Singapore Open title. In August, Sapsiree diversified her achievements by capturing a bronze medal in the women's doubles with Puttita at the BWF World Championships in Tokyo. Immediately following this campaign, she returned to mixed doubles to clinch the Japan Open title. Sapsiree concluded her eventful year at the BWF World Tour Finals in Bangkok, as she and Dechapol finished as the runner-up after a hard-fought defeat in the final match against Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong.
During the 2023 BWF season, Sapsiree, along with her longtime mixed doubles partner Dechapol, maintained a strong presence on the international circuit through several deep tournament runs. The duo secured their title of the year at the Malaysia Masters, bouncing back from a game down to defeat the Chinese pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping in a grueling 91-minute final. Shortly after her victory in Kuala Lumpur, she reached consecutive finals on home soil at the Thailand Open in June and later at the Japan Open in July. She then suffered an injury in the second round of the French Open. Reflecting her dedication to the sport, Sapsiree became a brand ambassador for Haier and took part in the "Haier Inspire Future Dreams" to nurture young badminton talent in Thailand.
2024–2025: Closing one era, building another