2025 China Masters (Super 750)

Last Updated on September 21, 2025

The 2025 China Masters (also known as the Li-Ning China Masters 2025 for sponsorship reasons) was a badminton tournament held at the Shenzhen Arena in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, from September 16 to September 21, 2025. It was the 18th edition of the China Masters championships, and part of the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournaments on the 2025 BWF World Tour. This event featured a total prize fund of US$1,250,000.¹“2025 China Masters Prospectus” (PDF). BWF Corporate. Retrieved 29 June 2025.

Champions

Medal Table

Highlights

Rivals Re-Routed

The withdrawal of top seed and reigning world champion Shi Yuqi reshuffled the opening-round script at the 2025 China Masters, preventing a much-anticipated early clash between long-time men’s singles rivals Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Kodai Naraoka.

Instead of facing each other as originally drawn, the two were handed new assignments. Elevated to the top spot in the draw, Vitidsarn lined up against Singapore’s Jason Teh, while Naraoka — whose lone BWF World Tour crown came at this very event in 2023 — was set a sterner test against local contender Weng Hongyang.

Redemption on Court

For Thailand’s Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat, the 2025 China Masters draw was more than a list of names. It represented a chance to overturn a painful history and prove how far they had come. They had met French star duo Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue twice before and lost on both occasions. This time, though, the Thai combination arrived better prepared, with weeks of planning and a quiet confidence guiding them into the arena.

The match opened with the French pair asserting themselves, taking the first game 21–12. Yet Oupthong and Sudjaipraparat held firm. True to Sudjaipraparat’s steady approach of “one step at a time,” they reset mentally and stayed in the contest. That mindset paid off in the second game. Longer rallies, sharper placement, and tireless movement saw the Thai duo shift momentum and even the match at 21–16.

The third game turned into a tense test of composure. Down 11–9 at the break, the world No.16s clung to their plan and waited for an opening. At 14-all, a decisive five-point surge broke the deadlock, and from there they controlled the closing stretch to seal a memorable victory.

Heartbreak in Shenzhen

Lee Zii Jia had still been chasing his first BWF World Tour triumph since his quarter-final run at the Orleans Masters in early March. Coming off consecutive first-round defeats, the Malaysian shuttler was forced to withdraw from his opening match at the Super 750 China Masters against world No.16 Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei. Lee even held a match point before injury stopped him, ending the contest at 21-17, 20-22, 6-14. The opening game had been tightly fought. Lee strung together a late burst to edge ahead 19-17 and converted his first game point after just 18 minutes. Buoyed by that start, he seized control early in the second game, building a 9-4 lead. Lin responded by clawing back to 17-15 before the score swung back and forth. Lee reached 20-19 for a match point but could not finish it off, and the match moved to a deciding game. In the third, Lee’s lack of match fitness became apparent. Down 6-14, he signalled to the umpire that he could not continue, bringing an abrupt end to his campaign.

Second WT QF for Sindhu

PV Sindhu extended her impressive run at the China Masters, advancing to the quarterfinals with a commanding straight-games victory (21-15, 21-15) over Thailand’s World No. 6, Pornpawee Chochuwong. The two-time Olympic medalist, who was seeking to reverse a season plagued by six first-round exits, demonstrated strong form in Shenzhen. She built her quarterfinal berth on a foundation of decisive victories, having first dispatched Denmark’s Line Christophersen with a dominant 21-5, 21-10 win in the opening round.

However, Sindhu’s campaign concluded in the next round, where she was defeated by the 2024 Paris Olympic champion, South Korea’s An Se-young.

Fajar and Fikri Made It Again

Indonesia’s new men’s doubles pairing of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri pulled off an impressive upset against China’s Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, who were riding high from a recent title at the Hong Kong Open.

The Indonesian duo controlled the match with sharp net interceptions and powerful smashes from the back. Though they lost the first game, their relentless strategy eventually overwhelmed the Chinese pair. Fajar and Fikri rallied to a hard-fought 16–21, 21–15, 21–18 victory, advancing to the quarter-finals of the China Masters.

Lanier Ended Axelsen’s Campaign

Two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen suffered a surprise defeat to France’s Alex Lanier in the round of 16 of the 2025 China Masters. The Danish former world No.1 opened strongly at the Shenzhen Arena, edging the first game 22–20, but Lanier — ranked seventh in the world — hit back to claim the next two games 21–15, 21–13. Earlier in the tournament, Axelsen had bounced back from a first-round exit at the Hong Kong Open by defeating China’s Wang Zhengxing 16–21, 21–17, 21–11 in his opening match in Shenzhen. However, the Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist was still regaining full match fitness after a six-month absence from competition and found it hard to cope with the pace of a 67-minute encounter. Alex Lanier’s victory over Viktor Axelsen at the 2025 China Masters made their H2H record 2-1 in favor of Lanier.

2024 Champions

Of the previous year’s China Masters champions, only An Se-young and Seo Seung-jae managed to successfully defend their titles. The 2024 winning men’s doubles pair of Jin Yong and Seo Seung-jae had not reunited for the tournament. Instead, Seo Seung-jae had formed a new partnership with Kim Won-ho, and the duo entered the tournament as the top seeds. Jin Yong, meanwhile, was absent from the player list altogether and did not compete.

Tournament Links

Schedule

All times are local, China Standard Time (UTC+8).

TV Broadcast Schedule

For the event, Courts 1 and 2 were featured in the television broadcast. Typically, television coverage for Court 1 spanned from the earlier rounds through the finals, while Court 2’s broadcast focused on mid-week matches. Viewers were advised to check with their local broadcasters for specific details in their region. For comprehensive viewing, matches from all courts could be streamed on the BWF TV YouTube channel from the tournament’s opening day. Here’s the complete schedule:

Court 1

Court 2

Prize Money Distribution

The 2025 China Masters boasted a total prize pool of US$1,250,000, which reinforced its status as the most lucrative tournament on the BWF World Tour Super 750 circuit. The purse represented a significant increase of $100,000, marking an 8.7% rise from the previous edition’s total of US$1,150,000.

China Masters Status on BWF World Tour

References

• 1
  “2025 China Masters Prospectus” (PDF). BWF Corporate. Retrieved 29 June 2025.