Alex Lanier (born January 26, 2005) is a French badminton player. He won gold in boys’ singles at the 2022 European Junior Championships and bronze at the 2023 World Junior Championships. He’s also the first French player to win a BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament. He is a resident athlete at the INSEP (National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance) and is currently studying physics at Sorbonne University.
| Alex Lanier | |
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| Country | France |
| Date of Birth | 26 January 2005 |
| Place of Birth | Caen, France |
| Height | 180 cm |
| Handedness | Right |
| Current Ranking | 17 (28 January 2025) |
| Main Sponsor | Yonex |
| @alexlanier.bad | |
Career
Alex Lanier started playing badminton at the age of 3 at the Dives-sur-Mer badminton club. In 2020, at just 15 years old, he joined the INSEP. He left Dives-sur-Mer to join the ASPTT Strasbourg club, where he competed in the Top 12, the elite French club championship.
Alex Lanier has won multiple French national titles in junior categories between 2016 and 2021 (5 singles titles, 3 doubles titles, and 1 mixed doubles title). He is also a four-time European champion in the U15 (2018), U17 (2021), and U19 (2022) categories.
In June 2021, he participated in the Lithuanian International tournament, where he won his first international title by defeating Canadian player B. R. Sankeerth in the final. At 16 years and 138 days old, Alex became the youngest European player to win a senior tournament, breaking the previous record held by Viktor Axelsen, who won a tournament in Cyprus in 2010 at 16 years and 279 days.
He won his second international title at the Italian International by defeating Czech player Jan Louda.
In October 2022, he achieved his first victory in a World Tour tournament by defeating Japanese player Takuma Obayashi at the Canada Open. At 17 years, 8 months, and 6 days old, Alex became the youngest player ever to win a Super 100 World Tour tournament.
In 2024, at just 19, Alex Lanier won the Japan Open, a BWF World Tour Super 750 title. He defeated top-seeded players en route to the final, including a sensational semifinal victory over world No. 1 Shi Yuqi (17-21, 21-16, 21-18). This win made him the first French player to ever win a Super 750 event. He also won a bronze medal at the 2023 World Junior Championships.
Medal Record
- European Team Championships
- Silver: 2024 Łódź men’s team
- European Mixed Team Championships
- Silver: 2023 Aire-sur-la-Lys mixed team
- World Junior Championships
- Bronze: 2023 Spokane boys’ singles
- European Junior Championships
- Gold: 2022 Belgrade boys’ singles
- Silver: 2022 Belgrade mixed team
Achievements
Alex was named Promising Player of the Year 2022 by Badminton Europe. He was also nominated for the Most Promising Player of the Year 2023 by the Badminton World Federation, but the award was won by Kodai Naraoka.
In October 2023, he won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships, becoming the second French player in history to medal at the World Juniors, after Christo Popov’s silver in 2019.
In 2024, for the third consecutive year, Alex was named Young Player of the Year by the European Badminton Confederation.
In August 2024, shortly after the Olympics (for which he did not qualify), he reached his first Super 750 final at the Japan Open, where he defeated Taiwanese player Chou Tien-chen, who was ranked 10th in the world at the time. In the semifinals, he defeated world number 1 Shi Yuqi for the first time in his career. He also beat world number 6 Lee Zi Jia in the first round.
At 19 years old, Alex became the first French player and the youngest in the world to win a Super 750 World Tour tournament. He defeated all his opponents in straight sets except for the semifinal, which went to three sets against the world number 1.
During the 2024 European autumn tour, he defeated world number 2 Anders Antonsen in Finland. The following week, he participated in the Denmark Open, where he defeated Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen and then eliminated Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew, the 2021 world champion ranked 11th in the world. These performances made him the top-ranked French player.
His performances since August 2024 have placed him at 15th in the Badminton World Federation rankings, making him the first French male singles player in history to reach this level. He achieved this ranking at 19 years and 9 months, six months earlier than double Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen. In December 2024, he was named Eddy Choong Player of the Year by the Badminton World Federation.
Alex is known for his powerful smashes, with one reaching 478 km/h in Shenzhen, China, one of the fastest in the World Tour. He also recorded smashes of 462 km/h and 458 km/h during the 2024 Canada Open.
Alex has been part of the French senior national team since 2023, helping France become runners-up at the European Team Championships in 2023 and 2024.
Career Highlights
BWF World Tour
Men’s singles (2 titles, 1 runner-up).
- 2022
- Canada Open (Super 100): Winner
- 2024
- Canada Open (Super 500): Runner-up
- Japan Open (Super 750): Winner
BWF International Challenge/Series
Men’s singles (6 titles, 4 runners-up).
- 2021
- Lithuanian International: Winner
- Latvia International: Runner-up
- Italian International: Winner
- 2022
- Estonian International: Winner
- 2023
- Estonian International: Runner-up
- Polish Open: Winner
- Irish Open: Runner-up
- 2024
- Luxembourg Open: Winner
- Denmark Challenge: Runner-up
- Nantes International: Winner
Personal Life
Alex Lanier is the son of Estelle and David Lanier, both badminton players. His father, David, was a member of the French sailing team in the 1990s. His older brother, Théo, is also a national-level badminton player.
