Rankireddy and Tan smash GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title with the fastest badminton hits

Soka, Saitama JAPAN – Yonex is proud to announce that Yonex badminton athletes, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND) and Tan Pearly (MAS), have set new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the fastest male and female badminton hits. Since the previous GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the fastest badminton hit was recorded in May 2013 , this means that Rankireddy broke the record for the first time in more than a decade.

Rankireddy’s smash surpassed the previous GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title of 493 km/h (about 306 mph) by 72 km/h (about 45 mph), establishing an astonishing new record for the fastest male badminton hit at 565 km/h (about 351 mph). Tan also set a new record for the fastest female badminton hit with a remarkable speed of 438 km/h (about 272 mph). With this, Tan became the first female GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title holder in the category.

These records show that badminton is significantly faster than other ball sports and even Formula One when compared with other fastest speed records in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title (Reference 1).

Rankireddy and Tan’s world record attempts were achieved on April 14, 2023, and were verified by official judges from the Guinness World Records™ based on the speed measurement results from that day.

Record details:
-Location: Yonex Co., Ltd. Tokyo Factory gymnasium
-Challenging athletes: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND), Tan Pearly(MAS)
-Racquet: NANOFLARE 1000 Z
-String: BG80 (Satwiksairaj Rankireddy), EXBOLT 63 (Pearly Tan)
-Shuttlecock: TOURNAMENT
-Measurement method: The moments of impact in the actual smash was captured using a high-speed camera. The instant velocity of the shuttlecock after the impact was then calculated from the photographic recording.
-Calculation method: The movement distance and the elapsed time of the shuttlecock were calculated between two coordinates.

  • Instant velocity was calculated based on distance, time, and speed measurements.
  • The changes in the flying speed of the shuttlecock were visualized using a graph.

 

1. The new record holders

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)

Born: August 13, 2000 (age 22)
Height: 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) / right-handed
Highest world ranking: 3 (June 20, 2023)
Main achievements:
2023 Asia Championships Doubles Champion
2022 French Open Doubles Champion

Tan Pearly (MAS)

Born: March 14, 2000 (age 23)
Height: 164 cm (5 ft 5 in) / right-handed
Highest world ranking: 5 (January 31, 2023)
Main achievements:
2022 French Open Doubles Champion
2021 Swiss Open Doubles Champion

 

2. Approved record in The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title

The fastest badminton hit (male) is 565 km/h (351.07 mph) and was achieved by Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (India) at a gymnasium at Yonex Co., Ltd. Tokyo Factory in Soka, Saitama, Japan, on 14 April 2023.

The fastest badminton hit (female) is 438 km/h (272.16 mph) and was achieved by Tan Pearly (Malaysia) at a gymnasium at Yonex Co., Ltd. Tokyo Factory in Soka, Saitama, Japan, on 14 April 2023.

 

3. Comparison to other speed GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title

Comparison: Fastest speeds of various sports in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title (km/h)

Subject record Speed
Table tennis hit 116 km/h
(approx. 72.1 mph)
Soccer shot 129 km/h
(approx. 80.2 mph)
Baseball pitch 170.3 km/h
(approx. 105.8 mph)
Ice hockey shot 177.5 km/h
(approx. 110.3 mph
Tennis serve 263 km/h
(approx. 163.4 mph)
Golf drive 349.38 km/h
(approx. 217.1 mph)
F1 car speed 397.483 km/h
(approx. 247.0 mph)
Badminton smash 565 km/h
(approx. 351.1 mph)
Maglev train speed 603 km/h
(approx. 374.7 mph))

According to the Guinness World Records, researched by Yonex.
The F1 car speed was set at the 2005 F1 Italian Grand Prix. 

Details of the record-breaking Racquet

Racket NANOFLARE 1000 Z
Brand Yonex
Material Frame: HM Graphite, NANOMETRIC DR, M40X, EX-HYPER MG
Shaft: HM Graphite / Ultra PE FIBER
Throat: NEW Built-in T-Joint
Color Lightning Yellow
Weight / Grip 4U (Avg. 83g) G5, 6、3U (Avg. 88g) G4, 5, 6
Made in Japan