is a Japanese badminton player who competes in doubles events. A member of the Japanese national team, she plays for the BIPROGY badminton team and has reached a career-high women's doubles world ranking of No. 29. A graduate of Ryukoku University, she won a bronze medal in women's doubles at the 2025 World University Games.

In 2026, she partnered with Miyu Takahashi to win five BWF World Tour titles, including the Super 750 China Masters and Super 300 titles at the Orléans Masters, U.S. Open, and Taipei Open.

Early life and career Nakade was born in Toyama Prefecture and began playing badminton at the age of six. She attended Takaoka Seibu Junior High School and then Toyama University of International Studies Affiliated High School, before enrolling in the Faculty of Law at Ryukoku University.

During her collegiate career, Nakade won the women's doubles titles at the All Japan Inter-Collegiate Championships in 2023 and 2025, as well as the All Japan Student Mixed Doubles Championship in 2024.

Nakade made her international debut representing Japan at the 2025 World University Games in Mülheim, Germany. Competing in women's doubles with Yumi Tanabe, the pair secured a bronze medal.

Following her university graduation, Nakade joined the BIPROGY badminton team. In her debut professional season, she was named the Women's Rookie of the Year award at the 2025 Japan Badminton S/J League.

Career 2025–2026: Five World Tour titles

In 2026, Nakade formed a new partnership with Miyu Takahashi. Competing together for the first time, they won the Super 300 Orléans Masters, defeating Lin Chih-chun and Yang Chu-yun in the final to secure Nakade's maiden BWF World Tour title. This tournament marked Nakade's first appearance at both a World Tour event and an international Open, as her previous international experience was limited to the World University Games. They secured two more consecutive titles shortly afterwards: the Super 100 Baoji China Masters, where they defeated the Malaysian pair Low Zi Yu and Noraqilah Maisarah, and the Super 300 U.S. Open, where they once again defeated Lin and Yang in the final. In August, they claimed their fourth title at the Super 300 Taipei Open by defeating the top-seeded Malaysian pair, Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.

In September, Nakade made her Super 750 debut at the China Masters, where she and Takahashi defeated China's Bao Lijing and Cao Zihan in the final to win their first Super 750 title. En route to the title, they defeated 2026 World Championships bronze medallists Li Yijing and Luo Xumin in the first round. They also became the first unseeded women's doubles champions at the tournament since Bao Yixin and Yu Xiaohan in 2017.

Playing style During the 2026 China Masters, commentators Gillian Clark and Steen Pedersen praised Nakade's interceptions and sharp shots from the midcourt and forecourt, highlighting her speed and anticipation at the front of the court. They described her play in these areas as aggressive, emphasising her movement and pursuit of attacking opportunities rather than the power of her shots. During the final, they again highlighted her ability to intercept shots at the net, rapid movement, willingness to take risks, and proactive play in the forecourt.

Achievements World University Games Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2025 Westenergie Sporthalle,Mülheim, Germany Yumi Tanabe Jheng Yu-chieh Sung Yu-hsuan 9–15, 7–15 Bronze

BWF World Tour (5 titles) The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.

Women's doubles Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result 2026 Orléans Masters Super 300 Miyu Takahashi Lin Chih-chun Yang Chu-yun 22–20, 12–21, 21–18 Winner 2026 Baoji China Masters Super 100 Miyu Takahashi Low Zi Yu Noraqilah Maisarah 21–13, 21–17 Winner 2026 U.S. Open Super 300 Miyu Takahashi Lin Chih-chun Yang Chu-yun 21–16, 21–10 Winner 2026 Taipei Open Super 300 Miyu Takahashi Pearly Tan Thinaah Muralitharan 21–16, 21–18 Winner 2026 China Masters Super 750 Miyu Takahashi Bao Lijing Cao Zihan 21–18, 21–18 Winner

Performance timeline

National team Team events 2025 World University Games 5th

Individual competitions Women's doubles Events 2025 World University Games B

Tournament BWF World Tour Best 2026 Orléans Masters W W ('26) Baoji China Masters W W ('26) U.S. Open W W ('26) Canada Open 1R 1R ('26) Taipei Open W W ('26) Korea Masters QF QF ('26) China Masters W W ('26) Arctic Open Q ('26) Denmark Open Q ('26) French Open Q ('26) Japan Masters Q ('26) Year-end ranking Tournament 2026 Best

Mixed doubles Tournament BWF World Tour Best 2026 Korea Masters 1R 1R ('26) Year-end ranking 571 Tournament 2026 Best

Wins over top-10 ranked pairs Wins over pairs who were ranked in the world's top 10 at the time the match was played. # Partner Opponent Tournament Score 1 Miyu Takahashi Hsieh Pei-shan Hung En-tzu 10 2026 Taipei Open 2R 21–17, 22–20 71 2 Miyu Takahashi Pearly Tan Thinaah Muralitharan 5 2026 Taipei Open F 21–16, 21–18 71 3 Miyu Takahashi Li Yijing Luo Xumin 8 2026 China Masters 1R 13–21, 21–17, 21–16 42

Record against selected opponents Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 5 September 2026.

Miyu Takahashi Players Li Yijing & Luo Xumin 1 1 0 +1 Gayatri Gopichand & Treesa Jolly 1 1 0 +1 Pearly Tan & Thinaah Muralitharan 1 1 0 +1

References

External links

Sumire Nakade at Badminton Association of Japan Sumire Nakade at BIPROGY