is a Japanese badminton player who competes in singles. He reached a career-high ranking of world No. 39. He is a former member of the Japanese national team (2021-2024) and has been a member of the Tonami Transportation team since 1 April 2020. Hatano won his first international title at the 2022 Slovak Open and was part of the Japanese squad that won a bronze medal at the 2022 Thomas Cup.
Early career Riku Hatano began playing badminton at the age of seven in Memuro, Hokkaido. He attended Obihiro Daiichi Junior High School and Saitama Sakae High School. While at Saitama Sakae High School, he won the boys' singles title at the 2018 All Japan Junior Badminton Championships (JOC Junior Olympic Cup). He was also the singles runner-up at the National High School Invitational Tournament in both 2018 and 2019.
On the international junior circuit, Hatano was a member of the Japanese team that won a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Junior Championships. In individual competition that year, he reached the fourth round of the World Junior Championships and was a boys' doubles runner-up at the Banthongyord Junior International with Takuma Kawamoto.
Career Hatano began competing in senior-level tournaments in late 2019 while still in high school. He joined the Tonami Transportation badminton team in April 2020 and was selected for the Japanese national B team for the first time in 2021.
In 2022, Hatano won his first senior international titles at the Slovak Open by defeating Chi Yu-jen in the final. He then won the 2022 Réunion Open over his compatriot, Yushi Tanaka. He also finished as the runner-up to Tanaka at the North Harbour International. He was also a member of the Japanese squad that secured a bronze medal at the 2022 Thomas Cup.
He made his BWF World Tour debut at the 2023 Thailand Masters. In 2024, Hatano was selected as a sparring partner for the Japanese team for the Paris Olympics. He later finished as the runner-up in two International Challenge tournaments: the Malaysia International, where he was defeated by Minoru Koga, and the Indonesia International, where he lost to Koo Takahashi. On 8 July 2025, he achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 39.
In August 2026, Hatano won the Singapore International, defeating South Korea's Park Sang-yong in the final.
Achievements BWF International Challenge/Series (3 titles, 3 runners-up) Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2022 Slovak Open Chi Yu-jen 21–17, 21–15 Winner 2022 Réunion Open Yushi Tanaka 21–16, 21–17 Winner 2022 North Harbour International Yushi Tanaka 13–21, 18–21 Runner-up 2024 Malaysia International Minoru Koga 19–21, 21–15, 11–21 Runner-up 2024 (II) Indonesia International Koo Takahashi 18–21, 11–21 Runner-up 2026 Singapore International Park Sang-yong 21–16, 14–21, 21–8 Winner BWF International Challenge tournament BWF Future Series tournament
BWF Junior International (1 runner-up) Boys' doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2018 Banthongyord Junior International Takuma Kawamoto Liang Weikeng Shang Yichen 21–18, 16–21, 11–21 Runner-up BWF Junior International Challenge tournament
Performance timeline
National team Junior level Team events 2018 Ref Asian Junior Championships S
Senior level Team events 2022 Ref Asia Team Championships RR Thomas Cup B
Individual competitions Junior level Events 2018 Ref Asian Junior Championships 3R World Junior Championships 4R Senior level Tournament BWF World Tour Best Ref 2023 2024 2025 2026 Thailand Masters 1R A 1R ('23) German Open A 1R A 1R ('25) Swiss Open A 2R A 2R ('25) Orléans Masters A Q1 A Q1('25) Ruichang China MastersA 2R 2R ('26) Baoji China Masters A SF SF ('26) Thailand OpenA Q2 A Q2('25) Macau Open NH QFA QF ('24) U.S. Open 1R A 1R ('23) Canada Open A QF QF QF ('25, '26) Taipei Open A 1R A 1R ('25) Korea Masters 2R QF 1R A QF ('24) Indonesia Masters Super 100 1R SF 1R A SF ('24) QF A Q Vietnam Open 2R A 3R A 3R ('25) Malaysia Super 100 A SF A SF ('24) Japan Masters Q2 Q1 Q2 A Q2 ('23, '25) Kaohsiung Masters 1R A 1R ('23) Year-end ranking 86 49 116 49 Tournament 2023 2024 2025 2026 Best Ref
Record against selected opponents Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 5 July 2025.
Player Matches Win Lost Viktor Axelsen 1 0 1 –1 Alex Lanier 1 1 0 +1 Lakshya Sen 1 0 1 –1 Kodai Naraoka 2 0 2 –2
Player Matches Win Lost Lee Zii Jia 1 0 1 –1 Loh Kean Yew 1 0 1 –1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn 1 0 1 –1
References
External links
Riku Hatano at TONAMI Riku Hatano at Smash and Net TV