Ratchanok Intanon
In December, she played in the Dubai World Super Series Finals, defeating Sayaka Sato and He Bingjiao and losing to India's P. V. Sindhu in the group stage. She won the semifinal defeating Ratchanok Intanon. In the final, Yamaguchi defeated Sindhu, the World Championship runner-up, winning the women's singles championship in the Super Series Finals. Yamaguchi ended up the year collecting US$261,363 from 15 tournaments, becoming the highest-paid player of the year.