# Xie Xingfang

Xie Xingfang (born September 8, 1981) is a retired Chinese badminton player from Guangzhou, Guangdong. She is a former two-time world champion for women's singles, and former women's singles World No. 1.
Her first big title was in girls' doubles, with her provincial teammate Zhang Jiewen, at the World Junior Championships in 1998. She has also won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in mixed doubles with Cai Yun. However, once she entered the Chinese national team, she switched to singles. 2004 was her "break-out" year, as she won several top tier titles on the world circuit. Xie and her senior compatriot and rival Zhang Ning were the most dominant international women's singles players of the middle and late parts of the decade, though they were pressed by younger teammates such as Zhu Lin, Lu Lan, Jiang Yanjiao and Wang Yihan. Due to her height and slender figure, she is regarded to have elegant movement. Xie's strengths were her reach, quickness, consistency, and court sense. She was a member of China's world champion Uber Cup teams of 2004, 2006, and 2008.
Her last appearance as a player in a major badminton competition came at the National Games of China in October 2009.
During most of her badminton career Xie was romantically involved with fellow Chinese badminton star Lin Dan. In 2006 Xie and Lin won their respective women's and men's singles titles at the IBF World Championships in Madrid. Xie had also won the world title in 2005 when Lin finished second to Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat. Xie Xingfang and Lin Dan were married in Guangzhou, China, on 13 December 2010, after seven years of dating. She is also a mother of a son, Lin Xiao Yu, who was born on 5 November 2016.

## Achievements
### Olympic Games

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2008 | Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium, Beijing, China | Zhang Ning | 12–21, 21–10, 18–21 | Silver |

### World Championships

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2009 | Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad, India | Lu Lan | 21–23, 12–21 | Silver |
| 2006 | Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad, Madrid, Spain | Zhang Ning | 21–16, 21–14 | Gold |
| 2005 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, United States | Zhang Ning | 11–8, 9–11, 11–3 | Gold |

### World Cup

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2006 | Olympic Park, Yiyang, China | Wang Yihan | 18–21, 19–21 | Silver |
| 2005 | Olympic Park, Yiyang, China | Zhang Ning | 21–19, 21–16 | Gold |

### Asian Games

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2006 | Aspire Hall 3, Doha, Qatar | Wang Chen | 17–21, 21–17, 16–21 | Bronze |

### Asian Championships

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2009 | Suwon Indoor Stadium, Suwon, South Korea | Zhu Lin | 11–21, 10–21 | Silver |
| 2000 | Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia | Ellen Angelina | 2–11, 11–7, 11–3 | Gold |

### World Junior Championships

Girls' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1998 | Sports and Aquatic Centre, Melbourne, Australia | Zhang Jiewen | Gong Ruina Huang Sui | 3–15, 15–13, 15–10 | Gold |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1998 | Sports and Aquatic Centre, Melbourne, Australia | Cai Yun | Chan Chong Ming Joanne Quay | 4–15, 3–15 | Bronze |

### Asian Junior Championships

Girls' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1999 | National Indoor Stadium – 1, Yangon, Myanmar | Zhang Jiewen | Li Yujia Wei Yili | 15–9, 15–6 | Gold |
| 1998 | Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Dong Fang | Jun Woul-sik Lee Hyo-jung | 3–15, 8–15 | Bronze |

### BWF Superseries

The BWF Superseries, launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries has two levels: Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries features twelve tournaments around the world, which introduced since 2011, with successful players invited to the Superseries Finals held at the year end.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2009 | Singapore Open | Zhou Mi | 19–21, 21–18, 10–21 | Runner-up |
| 2008 | Hong Kong Open | Wang Chen | 16–21, 21–10, 10–21 | Runner-up |
| 2008 | French Open | Wang Lin | 18–21, 21–13, 11–21 | Runner-up |
| 2008 | Swiss Open | Zhang Ning | 21–18, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2007 | Hongkong Open | Zhu Lin | 21–19, 21–14 | Winner |
| 2007 | China Open | Wong Mew Choo | 16–21, 21–8, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2007 | French Open | Pi Hongyan | 21–13, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2007 | Japan Open | Tine Rasmussen | 15–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2007 | China Masters | Zhang Ning | 21–11, 8–21, 23–21 | Winner |
| 2007 | Singapore Open | Zhang Ning | 18–21, 21–19, 3–21 | Runner-up |
| 2007 | All England Open | Pi Hongyan | 21–6, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2007 | Korea Open | Zhu Lin | 21–14, 21–7 | Winner |
    BWF Superseries tournament
    BWF Superseries Premier tournament
    BWF Superseries Finals tournament

### BWF Grand Prix

The BWF Grand Prix has two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. The World Badminton Grand Prix has been sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation since 1983.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2008 | Thailand Open | Lu Lan | 26–24, 21–7 | Winner |
| 2007 | Macau Open | Jun Jae-youn | 21–10, 21–10 | Winner |
| 2007 | German Open | Huaiwen Xu | 19–21, 21–12, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2006 | Japan Open | Zhang Ning | 11–21, 21–16, 29–30 | Runner-up |
| 2006 | Hongkong Open | Zhang Ning | Walkover | Winner |
| 2006 | Chinese Taipei Open | Zhang Ning | 15–21, 15–21 | Runner-up |
| 2006 | China Masters | Wang Lin | 21–15, 13–21, 15–21 | Runner-up |
| 2006 | All England Open | Zhang Ning | 11–6, 4–11, 11–2 | Winner |
| 2005 | China Open | Zhang Ning | 11–3, 4–11, 8–11 | Runner-up |
| 2005 | Hongkong Open | Zhang Ning | 4–11, 11–1, 6–11 | Runner-up |
| 2005 | Japan Open | Zhang Ning | 7–11, 8–11 | Runner-up |
| 2005 | All England Open | Zhang Ning | 11–3, 11–9 | Winner |
| 2005 | German Open | Zhang Ning | 11–5, 11–4 | Winner |
| 2004 | Indonesia Open | Eriko Hirose | 11–8, 11–0 | Winner |
| 2004 | China Open | Wang Chen | 5–11, 11–3, 11–4 | Winner |
| 2004 | German Open | Xu Huaiwen | 9–11, 11–6, 11–7 | Winner |
| 2004 | Denmark Open | Yao Jie | 11–9, 8–11, 11–7 | Winner |
| 2003 | Indonesia Open | Wang Chen | 11–6, 8–11, 11–1 | Winner |
| 2003 | Japan Open | Camilla Martin | 1–11, 5–11 | Runner-up |
| 2003 | All England Open | Zhou Mi | 6–11, 5–11 | Runner-up |
| 1999 | Hong Kong Open | Ling Wan Ting | 7–11, 11–7, 11–4 | Winner |
    BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
    BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament

### IBF International

Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2002 | French International | Wang Rong | 7–3, 7–2, 7–1 | Winner |

## Record against selected opponents

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| / Huang Chia-chi | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Petya Nedelcheva | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| Dai Yun | 3 | 1 | 2 | –1 |
| Gong Ruina | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Gong Zhichao | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Lu Lan | 12 | 9 | 3 | +6 |
| Wang Lin | 5 | 2 | 3 | –1 |
| Wang Yihan | 5 | 3 | 2 | +1 |
| Zhang Ning | 23 | 11 | 12 | –1 |
| Zhu Lin | 6 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
| Cheng Shao-chieh | 5 | 3 | 2 | +1 |
| Tine Baun | 12 | 11 | 1 | +10 |
| Camilla Martin | 5 | 2 | 3 | –1 |
| Tracey Hallam | 9 | 8 | 1 | +7 |
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| Pi Hongyan | 10 | 9 | 1 | +8 |
| Petra Overzier | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Juliane Schenk | 4 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| Xu Huaiwen | 9 | 9 | 0 | +9 |
| / Wang Chen | 9 | 7 | 2 | +5 |
| Yip Pui Yin | 4 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| / Zhou Mi | 12 | 3 | 9 | –6 |
| Saina Nehwal | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Maria Kristin Yulianti | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Wong Mew Choo | 8 | 6 | 2 | +4 |
| / Mia Audina | 6 | 6 | 0 | +6 |
| Bae Yeon-ju | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Kim Ji-hyun | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |