Badminton Kim Ga-eun started badminton at her father’s suggestion and became a gold medalist in the women’s team event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games .
She also won gold in the women’s team event at the 2022 Uber Cup and the 2026 Horsens Uber Cup.
In June 2026, she became the first Korean player to win the women’s singles title at the Super 300 Macau Open final.
Kim Ga-eun is a badminton player known for pressuring opponents with a powerful serve exceeding 270 km/h.
Table of Contents
Kim Ga-eun Badminton Story
Born on February 7, 1998, in Buk-gu, Ulsan, she graduated from Bancheon Elementary School, Beomseo Middle School, and Beomseo High School. From her upper elementary school years, she made a name for herself as a promising talent alongside her same-age rival Kim Bo-min, the two of them splitting medals at various competitions. She went through age-group national teams and was selected for the senior national team in her third year of high school.
In 2016, she won the women’s doubles title at the World Junior Championships and took bronze in women’s singles. That same year, she raised expectations by placing third at the Jeju Victor Korea Masters. From 2017, she challenged the senior stage in women’s singles, but failed to produce notable results early on.
In 2019, she won her first senior title at the Lingshui China Masters. That same year, she finished runner-up at the US Open, raising her world ranking to 28th. She had no qualifying berth for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but dramatically qualified via the Olympic ranking of 16th after other players withdrew due to injury. At the Tokyo Olympics, she won two consecutive group-stage matches to reach the round of 16, but lost to Akane Yamaguchi and failed to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the 2022 Uber Cup semifinal against Japan, at match point in the third set, she returned a smash from Nozomi Okuhara to seal Korea’s spot in the final, and Korea went on to win the final, earning her a gold medal. That same year, in the women’s team final at the Hangzhou Asian Games, she defeated world No. 5 He Bingjiao at 2-0 game point, delivering Korea’s first women’s team gold medal in 29 years. In the individual quarterfinals, she lost to China’s Chen Yufei by a game score of 1-2 and was eliminated.
On November 12, 2023, in the Korea Masters final, she defeated Japan’s 17-year-old Tomoka Miyazaki, then ranked 39th in the world, 2-1 in games to win the title, and that same year finished runner-up at the Australian Open. In the BWF world rankings released on December 19, she reached a career-high 12th place.
She secured her spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics with an Olympic ranking of 11th. After winning her first two group-stage matches, she defeated Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei 2-1 in games in her third match, becoming the first Korean singles player to reach the round of 16. However, she lost 1-2 in games to Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the round of 16, ending her tournament run. In August of that year, she won the women’s singles title at the Korea Open after Wang Zhiyi withdrew.
In May 2026, at the Uber Cup final held in Horsens, Denmark, she defeated her longtime rival China’s Chen Yufei 2-0 in games, contributing to Korea’s 3-1 victory over China and the title. Around the same time, she won gold in the women’s team event at the Asia Team Championships.
On June 21, in the Macau Open women’s singles final, she defeated Park Ga-eun 2-0 in games in just 39 minutes, becoming the first Korean player to win the Macau Open women’s singles title since the tournament’s founding in 2002. It was her first World Tour title in 1 year and 10 months since the August 2024 Korea Open, and she recorded a smash speed of 274 km/h on the final point of the match.
Her strengths lie in her tall stature and long wingspan, which allow her to strike down attacks from a high point of contact. She has good speed, quickly dominating the net, and favors a fast-paced style that decides points within 4-5 shots. Unusually for a female player, she uses a one-legged jump smash when needed, but her strong offense is somewhat offset by a tendency toward frequent unforced errors.
Kim Ga-eun’s Awards
- 2018 – Hyderabad Open (Super 100) Champion
- 2019 – Lingshui China Masters (Super 100) Champion
- 2023 – Korea Masters (Super 300) Champion
- 2024 – Korea Open (Super 500) Champion
- 2026 – Macau Open (Super 300) Champion
Major Career Highlights
- 2014 – Asian Junior Championships Mixed Team Silver Medal
- 2015 – Asian Junior Championships Mixed Team Silver Medal
- 2016 – World Junior Championships Women’s Doubles Champion, Women’s Singles Bronze
- 2016 – Jeju Victor Korea Masters 3rd Place
- 2017 – Joined Samsung Electro-Mechanics–Samsung Life Insurance Badminton Team
- 2017 – Asian Mixed Team Championships Mixed Team Silver Medal
- 2018 – Lingshui China Masters Runner-up
- 2018 – Hyderabad Open Champion
- 2019 – Lingshui China Masters Champion
- 2019 – US Open Runner-up
- 2020 – Asia Team Championships Women’s Team Silver Medal
- 2020 – Uber Cup Women’s Team Bronze Medal
- 2021 – Tokyo Olympics Women’s Singles, Round of 16
- 2021 – Uber Cup Women’s Team Bronze Medal
- 2022 – Uber Cup Women’s Team Gold Medal
- 2022 – Hangzhou Asian Games Women’s Team Gold Medal
- 2023 – Korea Masters Women’s Singles Champion
- 2023 – Australian Open Women’s Singles Runner-up
- 2023 – Sudirman Cup Mixed Team Silver Medal
- 2023 – Asian Mixed Team Championships Mixed Team Silver Medal
- 2024 – Paris Olympics Women’s Singles, Round of 16
- 2024 – Korea Open Women’s Singles Champion
- 2025 – Signed official sponsorship deal with Li-Ning
- 2026 – Uber Cup Women’s Team Gold Medal
- 2026 – Asia Team Championships Women’s Team Gold Medal
- 2026 – Macau Open Women’s Singles Champion
- Career-high world ranking: No. 12 – December 19, 2023
Kim Ga-eun’s Rackets & Equipment
- Racket: Li-Ning Aeronaut 80 Light
- Shoes: Blade Max
Yonex Korea sponsors the national team, Technist sponsors her club team, and Li-Ning has provided her with dedicated equipment through an individual sponsorship contract since July 2025.
Kim Ga-eun’s Schedule
- 2026 BWF Japan Open Badminton
On June 21, 2026, she won the women’s singles title at the Super 300 Macau Open, becoming the first Korean player to top the Macau Open women’s singles podium since the tournament’s founding in 2002. It was a World Tour title achieved 1 year and 10 months after her August 2024 Korea Open win, continuing her rising momentum.
Kim Ga-eun Bio
- English: Kim Ga-eun | Hanja: 金佳恩 | Real name: Kim Ga-eun
- Date of Birth: February 7, 1998 (Age 28)
- Hometown: Buk-gu, Ulsan | Nationality: South Korea
- Height: 172cm | Weight: – | Blood Type: – | MBTI: – | Religion: –
- Education: Bancheon Elementary School (graduated) – Beomseo Middle School (graduated) – Beomseo High School (graduated)
- Family: Parents, older brother (former shooting athlete) (Unmarried)
- Personal SNS: Instagram
- Agency: Samsung Life Insurance Badminton Team
- Debut Year: 2017
- Ranking: World No. 14 (as of June 23, 2026)
- References: Wikipedia
