# Beiwen Zhang

Beiwen Zhang (simplified Chinese: 张蓓雯; traditional Chinese: 張蓓雯; pinyin: Zhāng Bèiwén; born 12 July 1990) is a badminton player who is a singles specialist. Born in China, she previously represented Singapore and currently represents the United States. She won the women's singles title at the 2021 Pan Am Championships and at the 2023 Pan American Games.

## Career
### 2003–2013: Singapore

Zhang was born in China and moved to Singapore at the age of 13 in 2003, under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme, and played with the Singapore National Team until 2012. In 2007, Zhang took up Singapore citizenship.
In 2009, she was part of the Singapore national badminton team, winning a bronze medal at the women's team event of the 2009 Southeast Asian Games. After a one-year break in which she did not play any tournaments at all, in 2013, she came back on her way to reach top level again.
In 2011, her contract with the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) was not renewed after a reported falling out with then-singles head coach Luan Ching over a curfew.

### 2013–present: United States

In 2013, Zhang moved to Las Vegas with her parents and continued playing the sport. That same year, she won four international challenge tournaments with singles titles at the Swiss International in Yverdon-les-Bains; the Yonex USA International in Orlando, Florida; the Yonex Welsh International in Cardiff; and the Carlton Irish Open International in Dublin. In 2014, she continued her winning streak for her new country the US, with victories in Peru, the US, Brazil and the Netherlands. She won her first Grand Prix title at the 2014 U.S. Open Grand Prix Gold, then won the 2014 Brazil Open Grand Prix and 2014 Dutch Open Grand Prix.
In 2016, Zhang started to compete in the Danish Badminton League, for Vendsyssel Elite Badminton. Zhang reached the final round at a BWF Super Series event, the French Open, for the first time, but finished as the runner-up after losing the final to He Bingjiao of China in straight games. In 2018, she won her first BWF World Tour title at the India Open, defeating host player and defending champion P. V. Sindhu with the score 21–18, 11–21, 22–20 in the final.
In 2021, Zhang competed in her first Pan Am Championships and clinched the women's singles title after beating Rachel Chan of Canada in straight games. On March the same year, she became a naturalized U.S. citizen. She then competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Her bid for a medal was cut short, however, when she suffered an apparent achilles injury during a match against He Bingjiao of China in the round of 16.
Zhang started the 2023 season in Asia by competing in Malaysia, India, Indonesia, and Thailand，where her best performance was entering the quarter-finals in India. Her performance improved on tour in Europe, by being a finalist in the Orléans Masters, semi-finalist in the Swiss Open, and also quarter-finalist in the Spain Masters. She then took part in the Pan Am Championships in Jamaica, and won the women's singles silver medal. Zhang's form picked up in recent months. She finished runner-up at the Taipei Open in June, made the Canada Open semi-finals and reached the Japan Open quarter-finals in July. She then won her first World Tour title in five years in the Australian Open in August, beating Kim Ga-eun in the final. In October, she claimed the gold medal in the women's singles in her debut at the Pan American Games.

## Achievements
### Pan American Games

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2023 | Olympic Training Center, Santiago, Chile | Jennie Gai | 21–8, 21–12 | Gold |

### Pan American Championships

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2021 | Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Rachel Chan | 21–14, 21–18 | Gold |
| 2022 | Palacio de los Deportes Carlos "El Famoso" Hernández, San Salvador, El Salvador | Michelle Li | 18–21, 21–16, 23–25 | Silver |
| 2023 | G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport, Kingston, Jamaica | Michelle Li | 19–21, 9–21 | Silver |
| 2024 | Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Michelle Li | 21–18, 18–21, 21–17 | Gold |

### BWF World Tour (3 titles, 5 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2018 | India Open | Super 500 | P. V. Sindhu | 21–18, 11–21, 22–20 | Winner |
| 2018 | U.S. Open | Super 300 | Li Xuerui | 26–24, 15–21, 11–21 | Runner-up |
| 2018 | Korea Open | Super 500 | Nozomi Okuhara | 10–21, 21–17, 16–21 | Runner-up |
| 2023 | Orléans Masters | Super 300 | Carolina Marín | 23–25, 21–9, 10–21 | Runner-up |
| 2023 | Taipei Open | Super 300 | Tai Tzu-ying | 14–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2023 | Australian Open | Super 500 | Kim Ga-eun | 20–22, 21–16, 21–8 | Winner |
| 2023 | Hylo Open | Super 300 | Line Kjærsfeldt | 21–18, 16–21, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2024 | U.S. Open | Super 300 | Natsuki Nidaira | 21–17, 18–21, 22–24 | Runner-up |

### BWF Superseries (1 runner-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2016 | French Open | He Bingjiao | 9–21 9–21 | Runner-up |
    BWF Superseries Finals tournament
    BWF Superseries Premier tournament
    BWF Superseries tournament

### BWF Grand Prix (7 titles, 2 runner-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2008 | Vietnam Open | Xing Aiying | 11–21, 21–19, 22–20 | Winner |
| 2014 | U.S. Open | Kana Ito | 21–8, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2014 | Brasil Open | Kaori Imabeppu | 6–11, 11–5, 4–11, 11–8, 11–9 | Winner |
| 2014 | Dutch Open | Pai Yu-po | 11–9, 11–7, 11–8 | Winner |
| 2014 | U.S. Grand Prix | Rachel Honderich | 21–11, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2016 | Canada Open | Michelle Li | Walkover | Runner-up |
| 2016 | Dutch Open | Hsu Ya-ching | 21–11, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2017 | Dutch Open | Michelle Li | 21–16, 21–14 | Winner |
| 2017 | Bitburger Open | Nitchaon Jindapol | 17–21, 21–15, 19–21 | Runner-up |
    BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
    BWF Grand Prix tournament

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

Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2013 | Swiss International | Tanvi Lad | 21–12, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2013 | USA International | Iris Wang | 21–10, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2013 | Welsh International | Beatriz Corrales | 21–12, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2013 | Irish Open | Beatriz Corrales | 21–9, 17–21, 21–10 | Winner |
| 2014 | Peru International | Michelle Li | 27–25, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2015 | USA International | Pai Yu-po | 21–14, 13–21, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2016 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Rachel Honderich | 21–13, 21–12 | Winner |
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2005 | Croatian International | Fu Mingtian | Frances Liu Shinta Mulia Sari | Walkover | Runner-up |
| 2007 | Croatian International | Gu Juan | Cai Jiani Guo Xin | 21–15, 6–21, 10–21 | Runner-up |
| 2013 | USA International | Jing Yu Hong | Paula B Pereira Lohaynny Vicente | 21–7, 21–14 | Winner |
| 2016 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Jing Yu Hong | Eva Lee Paula Lynn Obañana | 21–17, 22–20 | Winner |
    BWF International Challenge tournament
    BWF International Series tournament
    BWF Future Series tournament

## Record against selected opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 6 August 2024.
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| Chen Yufei | 7 | 1 | 6 | –5 |
| He Bingjiao | 13 | 2 | 11 | –9 |
| Li Xuerui | 3 | 0 | 3 | –3 |
| Wang Lin | 3 | 0 | 3 | –3 |
| Wang Shixian | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Wang Yihan | 3 | 0 | 3 | –3 |
| Wang Xin | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Zhang Yiman | 3 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Cheng Shao-chieh | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Tai Tzu-ying | 13 | 3 | 10 | –7 |
| Tine Baun | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Juliane Schenk | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Yip Pui Yin | 4 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Saina Nehwal | 4 | 1 | 3 | –2 |
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| P. V. Sindhu | 12 | 5 | 7 | –2 |
| Maria Kristin Yulianti | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Gregoria Mariska Tunjung | 8 | 2 | 6 | –4 |
| Minatsu Mitani | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Aya Ohori | 5 | 4 | 1 | +3 |
| Nozomi Okuhara | 7 | 0 | 7 | –7 |
| Akane Yamaguchi | 11 | 4 | 7 | –3 |
| An Se-young | 5 | 0 | 5 | –5 |
| Bae Yeon-ju | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Sung Ji-hyun | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Carolina Marín | 12 | 3 | 9 | –6 |
| Porntip Buranaprasertsuk | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| Ratchanok Intanon | 8 | 2 | 6 | –4 |