Kristen Tsai (born 11 July 1995) is a Taiwanese born Canadian badminton player.[1] She is the women's doubles champion at the 2019 Pan American Games, fifth time Pan Am Champion winning the women's singles title in 2012, and then the women's doubles title in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022.
Career
Tsai became the first Canadian ever to make in to the quarterfinals at the World Junior Championships.[2] Lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, she trained at the ClearOne badminton club, and majored in criminology at the Simon Fraser University.[1][3] She won her first Pan Am Championships title in 2012 in the women's singles event, and after that Tsai spent a full 4 years – between the 2013 and 2017 Canada Opens – away from international competition.[4] In 2018, she competed at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.[3] She won gold medal at the Pan American Games in the women's doubles partnered with Rachel Honderich, and a silver medal in the mixed doubles with Nyl Yakura in 2019 Lima.[5]
In 2021, she captured her fourth Pan Am Championships title by winning the women's doubles event partnered with Rachel Honderich.[6]
In June 2021, Tsai was named to Canada's Olympic team.[7]
In December 2022, Tsai suffered an ACL and MCL rupture while competing in the S/J league in Japan.[8] She had ACL reconstruction surgery in March 2023.[9]
Achievements
Pan American Games
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Polideportivo 3, Lima, Peru |
 Rachel Honderich
|
 Keui-Ya Chen Jamie Hsu
|
21–10, 21–9 |  Gold
|
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Polideportivo 3, Lima, Peru | Nyl Yakura
|
Joshua Hurlburt-Yu Josephine Wu
|
21–18, 12–21, 15–21 |  Silver
|
Pan Am Championships
Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Manuel Bonilla Stadium, Lima, Peru | Jamie Subandhi
|
21–16, 21–19 | Gold
|
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Manuel Bonilla Stadium, Lima, Peru | Joycelyn Ko
|
Alex Bruce Phyllis Chan
|
21–17, 17–21, 12–21 | Silver
|
| 2018 | Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Rachel Honderich
|
Michelle Tong Josephine Wu
|
17–21, 21–17, 21–14 | Gold
|
| 2019 | Gimnasio Olímpico, Aguascalientes, Mexico | Rachel Honderich
|
Catherine Choi Josephine Wu
|
21–15, 27–25 | Gold
|
| 2021 | Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Rachel Honderich
|
Francesca Corbett Alison Lee
|
21–12, 21–7 | Gold
|
| 2022 | Palacio de los Deportes Carlos "El Famoso" Hernández, San Salvador, El Salvador |
Rachel Honderich
|
Catherine Choi Josephine Wu
|
21–17, 21–18 | Gold
|
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Nyl Yakura
|
Ty Alexander Lindeman Josephine Wu
|
14–21, 24–26 | Silver
|
| 2019 | Gimnasio Olímpico, Aguascalientes, Mexico | Nyl Yakura
|
 Fabrício Farias Jaqueline Lima
|
22–24, 19–21 |  Bronze
|
Pan Am Junior Championships
Girls' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Guaynabo, Puerto Rico | Sarah Kong
|
 Lorena Duany Katherine Winder
|
18–21, 13–21 | Bronze
|
BWF International Challenge/Series (7 titles, 5 runners-up)
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Peru International | Nicole Grether
|
21–11, 21–12 |  Winner
|
| 2013 | Canadian International | Michelle Li
|
14–21, 19–21 |  Runner-up
|
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Peru International | Joycelyn Ko
|
Grace Gao Michelle Li
|
15–21, 18–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2017 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Rachel Honderich
|
 Leanne Choo Renuga Veeran
|
21–12, 21–15 | Winner
|
| 2018 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Rachel Honderich
|
 Hung Shih-han Yu Chien-hui
|
21–19, 21–15 | Winner
|
| 2019 | Brazil International | Rachel Honderich
|
 Émilie Lefel Anne Tran
|
21–18, 17–21, 21–19 | Winner
|
| 2019 | Kharkiv International | Rachel Honderich
|
 Chloe Birch Lauren Smith
|
14–21, 18–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2019 | Belgian International | Rachel Honderich
|
 Gabriela Stoeva Stefani Stoeva
|
16–21, 15–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2019 | Hungarian International | Rachel Honderich
|
 Emma Karlsson Johanna Magnusson
|
21–16, 21–16 | Winner
|
| 2019 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Rachel Honderich
|
Setyana Mapasa Gronya Somerville
|
21–14, 9–21, 18–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2021 | Scottish Open | Rachel Honderich
|
 Anna Cheong Teoh Mei Xing
|
21–14, 21-12 | Winner
|
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Nyl Yakura
|
 Oliver Leydon-Davis Susannah Leydon-Davis
|
21–11, 21–8 | Winner
|
- BWF International Challenge tournament
- BWF International Series tournament
- BWF Future Series tournament
References
- ^ a b "Kristen Tsai Yonex". Badminton Canada. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ "Hello My Name is Christin Tsai". The Shuttler Magazine - Volume 2 Issue 3. 19 December 2011. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Participants: Kristen Tsai". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ Hearn, Don (30 April 2018). "2 repeat champions on each of 3 continents!". Badzine. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ "Canada's badminton team enjoys dominant day at Pan Ams". CBC.ca. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "Crowns Owners – Pan Am 2021". Badminton Pan America. 3 May 2021. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ Awad, Brandi (16 June 2021). "Team Canada to have its largest Olympic badminton team ever at Tokyo 2020". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ J SPORTS Corporation. "S/J LEAGUE". 昭和電工マテリアルズ. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ Tsai. "03.15.2023 Surgery". Instagram. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
External links
- Kristen Tsai at BWFBadminton.com
- Kristen Tsai at BWF.TournamentSoftware.com (alternate link) (archived)
- Kristen Tsai at Team Canada
- Kristen Tsai at Olympics.com
- Kristen Tsai at Olympedia (archive)
- Kristen Tsai at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
- Kristen Tsai at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (archived)
