Jessica Tan (badminton)

Jessica Tan Wei Han
陳薇涵
Tan at the 2023 Singapore Open
Personal information
BornJessica Tan Wei Han
(1993-07-16) 16 July 1993 (age 32)
Singapore
Height1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight52 kg (115 lb)
Sport
CountrySingapore
SportBadminton
HandednessRight
Retired11 April 2025[1]
Women's & mixed doubles
Highest ranking93 (WD with Dellis Yuliana 4 December 2014)
13 (XD with Terry Hee 3 January 2023)
BWF profile
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  Singapore
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham Mixed team
SEA Games
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Singapore Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Kuala Lumpur Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Philippines Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Vietnam Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Cambodia Women's team

Jessica Tan Wei Han[a] OLY (born 16 July 1993) is a Singaporean former national badminton player.[2] Together with Terry Hee, they won their first BWF World Tour title as a duo at the 2022 India Open.[3] Tan along with Hee also won the gold medal in the mixed doubles event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, a first for Singapore in that discipline at the Games. Jessica Tan and her husband Terry Hee were nominated for the Straits Times Singaporean of the Year Award 2022.[4] Terry Hee and Jessica Tan are Singapore's first local-born mixed doubles duo to qualify for the Olympics, and made their debut at the Paris Olympics 2024.[5] On 11 April 2025, she announced her retirement from badminton due to injuries and to pursue her studies in sports management.[1]

Early life

Tan was born on 16 July 1993 in Singapore, to parents Richard and Joyce. She has two elder sisters who were former national team players. Growing up in a badminton-crazy family, Tan picked up the sport at the age of seven after watching her sisters play.[6] With the intention to compete full time, she withdrew from her placing at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and joined the national team at the age of 18 to pursue her badminton dream.[7]

Career

2014–2021: SEA Games bronzes, national title

Hee and Tan with other Singapore Olympians during an open-top bus parade in 2024

Tan won her first senior title at the 2014 Singapore International tournament in the mixed doubles event partnered with Terry Hee. Tan was part of the national team that won the women's team bronze medals at the 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 SEA Games.[8] In April of 2017, Tan reached a career-high ranking of 15 with Hee. She competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.[9] Tan then split up with Hee, as he had to undergo his mandatory 2-year national service in 2019.[10] Tan then won the mixed doubles national championships with her partner, Danny Bawa Chrisnanta.[11]

2022: First World Tour Super 500 title, Commonwealth Games success

In January, Tan won her first Super 500 title with Hee, at the India Open, defeating the Malaysian pairing of Chen Tang Jie and Peck Yen Wei in the final, 21–15, 21–18 in straight games.[3] In March, Tan won her second BWF World Tour title with Hee, the Orléans Masters, defeating Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto and Lisa Ayu Kusumawati in the final, 21–12, 16–21, 21–13 in rubber games, winning their third title as a married couple.[12]

Hee and Tan after winning the mixed doubles final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in August, Tan was part of the Singaporean team who won the bronze medal in the mixed team events as the Singaporean team defeated England 3–0 at the bronze medal playoff.[13][14] Tan had also competed at the individual mixed doubles event with her husband Hee. Their opponents in the final were England's Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith, who were playing on home soil and were ranked higher than them. Tan and Hee defeated them in two straight sets, 21–16, 21–15, winning a historic gold medal and Singapore's first Commonwealth Games badminton mixed doubles gold.[15]

2023–2024: Roller coaster journey to Paris Olympics

After crowning as the Commonwealth Games mixed-double champion in 2022, the forms of Hee and Tan dipped. The duo suffered early-round exits in their subsequent tournaments in 2022 and won just three out of nine matches in their first six tournaments of 2023.

The 2024 Paris Olympics qualification period began on May 1, 2023 but a personal tragedy affected their playing with Tan's mother died in February 2023, three months before the Road to Paris qualifying period.[16]

The pair did not give up, even though their chances of qualifying for the Olympics were slim. They won only one of their next nine matches.[17] The turnaround came after they started playing in lower-tier tournaments to boost confidence. They clinched second place in the Abu Dhabi Masters (BWF World Tour 100) in October and won the Iris Open, a BWF international challenge tournament in November. They ended 2023 with another two silverware from BWF World Tour 100 events: winning the Guwahati Masters and making the final of Odisha Masters. The haul of points from these tournaments significantly improved their chance to qualify for the Olympics.[17]

In 2024, Hee and Tan started the year strong by making it into the semi-final of Malaysia Open, a BWF World Tour 1000 event. However, since then, second-round appearances were their best in all subsequent tournaments until the end of the 2024 Paris Olympics qualification period. They ranked 18th on the BWF Race to Paris rankings on April 30, 2024, and thus missed out on the automatic qualification spots. There were only 16 slots for the doubles at the Paris Olympics. Only the first 13 eligible pairs were allocated slots via the Race to Paris rankings, while the remaining three spots were given to the continental champions of America, Africa and Oceania.[18]

Fortunately, Hee and Tan received a lifeline after Australia, which had qualified in four badminton events, elected to take up the slots in the women’s singles and women’s doubles, thus freeing up a mixed doubles spot for Hee and Tan, the next eligible pair in the rankings. They became the first local-born mixed doubles duo from Singapore to qualify for the Olympic Games.[19] In the badminton mixed-double events in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Hee and Tan were assigned to Group D together with Feng Yanzhe / Huang Dongping of China (2nd seed), Chen Tang Jie / Toh Ee Wei from Malaysia, and the American pair of Vinson Chiu / Jennie Gai. Hee and Tan played Chen and Toh in the opening match but lost 23–21 and 21–12. Up against China’s world no. 2 pair Feng and Huang next, the duo could not overcome their rivals, losing 21-13, 21-17, thus missing out on the quarter-finals[20] Hee and Tan ended their Olympics campaign with a win though as they beat United States’ Chiu and Gai, 21–17, 21–12 in the last group fixture.

2024–2025: Post-Olympics to retirement

Post-Olympics, Tan and Hee continued to compete in major World Tour tournaments, but all ended in 1st-round exits. While competing in the Macau Open, where they were seeded second, their campaign was abruptly halted in the first round against Ye Hong Wei and Nicole Chan (Chinese Taipei). Tan suffered a hamstring injury during the second set, and the duo had to retire.[21]

It was announced in November 2024 that Hee would form a new partnership with Jin Yujia, as Tan had not fully recovered from her injuries and was not sufficiently competition-fit.[22] Finally, Tan announced her retirement from competitive badminton on 11 April 2025, citing injuries and the decision to pursue her studies in sports management. [23]

Personal life

Tan has been married to fellow Singaporean shuttler Terry Hee since 2021, who she had often partnered with at mixed doubles tournaments since the start of her professional career.[24] Their victory at the 2021 Czech Open, defeating Russians Lev Barinov and Anastasiia Boiarun, was their first tournament as a married duo.[24] They were made HSBC Life Singapore's first brand ambassadors in 2023. In 2024, Singlife committed to a sponsorship deal with the couple upon their Olympic qualification.[25]

Tan received spexEducation Undergraduate Scholarship under the New Career track in 2025 to complete her Sports Management degree at the University of Bath in England.[26]

Awards and nominations

Tan and Terry Hee were nominated for the 2022 ST Athlete of the Year Award.[27] They were also conferred the Team of the Year (Event) award in the Singapore Sports Awards 2023 by the Singapore National Olympic Council.[28]

Achievements

Commonwealth Games

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2022 National Exhibition Centre,
Birmingham, England 		Singapore Terry Hee England Marcus Ellis
England Lauren Smith 		21–16, 21–15 Gold Gold

BWF World Tour (3 titles, 2 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[29] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[30]

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result
2022 India Open Super 500 Singapore Terry Hee Malaysia Chen Tang Jie
Malaysia Peck Yen Wei 		21–15, 21–18 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2022 Orléans Masters Super 100 Singapore Terry Hee Indonesia Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto
Indonesia Lisa Ayu Kusumawati 		21–12, 16–21, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2023 Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100 Singapore Terry Hee Denmark Mads Vestergaard
Denmark Christine Busch 		22–20, 17–21, 18–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2023 Guwahati Masters Super 100 Singapore Terry Hee Denmark Mads Vestergaard
Denmark Christine Busch 		21–19, 21–11 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2023 Odisha Masters Super 100 Singapore Terry Hee India Dhruv Kapila
India Tanisha Crasto 		21–17, 19–21, 21–23 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

BWF International Challenge/Series (9 titles, 2 runners-up)

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2014 Singapore International Singapore Terry Hee Singapore Loh Kean Hean
Singapore Dellis Yuliana 		21–19, 19–21, 21–14 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2014 Malaysia International Singapore Terry Hee Indonesia Hafiz Faizal
Indonesia Shella Devi Aulia 		21–19, 19–21, 18–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2015 Bangladesh International Singapore Terry Hee Malaysia Tan Wee Gieen
Malaysia Shevon Jemie Lai 		21–10, 19–21, 21–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2016 Smiling Fish International Singapore Terry Hee Malaysia Wong Fai Yin
Malaysia Shevon Jemie Lai 		21–16, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2016 Hungarian International Singapore Terry Hee Poland Paweł Pietryja
Poland Aneta Wojtkowska 		11–6, 11–7, 13–11 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2018 Turkey International Singapore Danny Bawa Chrisnanta Indonesia Leo Rolly Carnando
Indonesia Indah Cahya Sari Jamil 		21–19, 16–21, 21–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2019 Estonian International Singapore Danny Bawa Chrisnanta England Gregory Mairs
England Victoria Williams 		21–18, 14–21, 21–15 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2019 Swedish Open Singapore Danny Bawa Chrisnanta Denmark Mikkel Mikkelsen
Denmark Mai Surrow 		21–14, 21–16 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2019 Austrian Open Singapore Danny Bawa Chrisnanta Netherlands Robin Tabeling
Netherlands Selena Piek 		21–19, 16–21, 12–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2021 Czech Open Singapore Terry Hee Russia Lev Barinov
Russia Anastasiia Boiarun 		21–18, 21–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2023 Irish Open Singapore Terry Hee England Gregory Mairs
England Jenny Mairs 		21–17, 18–21, 21–15 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

References

  1. ^ a b Liam, Erin. "Singapore badminton player Jessica Tan retires at 31 to pursue university degree". channelnewsasia.com. Mediacorp. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  2. ^ "Players: Wei Han Tan". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 14 May 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b Lee, David (16 January 2022). "Badminton: S'pore's Terry Hee and Tan Wei Han upset odds to win India Open title". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  4. ^ "ST Singaporean of the Year nominee: Hee and Tan sacrifice and soar as married mixed doubles duo". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  5. ^ "Singapore's badminton mixed doubles pair Terry Hee and Jessica Tan get their spot in Paris Olympics". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2024-05-27. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  6. ^ "Tan Wei Han tipped for the top at Cheers badminton championships". Red Sports. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  7. ^ "TeamSG Shuttlers Terry Hee & Tan Wei Han : Their ongoing journey to the Top!". ActiveSG. 26 April 2022. Archived from the original on 10 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Team Singapore: Tan Wei Han". Singapore Sports Council. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Participants: Wei Han Tan". Gold Coast 2018. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  10. ^ Tan, Ashley; Zi, Shan Kow (16 January 2022). "Badminton: S'porean husband & wife duo Terry Hee & Tan Wei Han crowned champions in India Open". Mothership. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Singapore National Open Championships 2019". Singapore Badminton Association.
  12. ^ Lee, David (3 April 2022). "Badminton: Terry Hee, Tan Wei Han win Orleans Masters mixed doubles final, 3rd title in 6 months". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  13. ^ Kwek, Kimberly (2 August 2022). "Commonwealth Games: Singapore clinch bronze in badminton mixed team event". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  14. ^ "England lose in badminton mixed team bronze match". BBC Sport. 2 August 2022. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Terry Hee and Jessica Tan win Singapore's first Commonwealth Games badminton mixed doubles gold". CNA. 8 August 2022. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  16. ^ Salim, Faizal (25 July 2024). "Tragedy spurs Singapore pair, potential trouble for Tang Jie-Ee Wei in Paris". New Straits Times. New Straits Times Press.
  17. ^ a b Lee, David (4 January 2024). "After roller-coaster year, Singapore's badminton pair Terry Hee and Jessica Tan gear up for Olympics". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  18. ^ Ganesan, Deepanraj (12 April 2024). "Terry Hee and Jessica Tan dealt Olympic blow after latest loss". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  19. ^ Lee, David (28 May 2024). "Singapore's badminton mixed doubles pair Terry Hee and Jessica Tan get their spot in Paris Olympics". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  20. ^ Lin, Tianbao (28 July 2024). "Singapore badminton mixed doubles pair Terry Hee and Jessica Tan notch second loss". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  21. ^ Rifhan, Khalis (30 September 2024). "Macau Open: Shuttler Jason Teh breaks hoodoo against HK's top seed Lee Cheuk Yiu in quarter-final but falls short in final". The Independent Singapore.
  22. ^ Lee, David (26 November 2024). "Golden badminton doubles pair Terry Hee-Jessica Tan split while Tan recovers from injury". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  23. ^ Lee, David (11 April 2025). "Singapore badminton mixed doubles player Jessica Tan retires". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  24. ^ a b Lee, David (24 October 2021). "Badminton: Doubles joy for newlyweds Terry Hee, Tan Wei Han at Czech Open". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Olympic-bound Terry Hee and Jessica Tan well-served by sponsorship deal with Singlife". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2024-07-10. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  26. ^ "Sport Singapore Unveils Inaugural Batch of 12 spexEducation Undergraduate Scholars". Sport Singapore. Retrieved 4 February 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ "ST Athlete of the Year nominee: Jessica Tan and Terry Hee's letter to their younger selves". 2 April 2023. Archived from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  28. ^ "Feng Tianwei, Sheik Farhan win sportswoman and sportsman of the year awards for 2023". 24 August 2023. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  29. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  30. ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.

Notes

  1. ^ simplified Chinese: 陈薇涵; traditional Chinese: 陳薇涵. In this Chinese name, the family name is Tan. In accordance with custom, the Western-style name is Jessica Tan and the Chinese-style name is Tan Wei Han.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Tan_(badminton)