Taipei: Taiwan’s World No. 5 women’s singles player – Tai Tzu Ying, who was originally scheduled to participate in two upcoming European tournaments, the Arctic Badminton Open in Finland next week and the Denmark Open. However, it was confirmed that she has withdrawn from both events.
The former World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying competed in the Paris Olympics this year while dealing with an injury but was eliminated in the group stage. As she approached retirement, Tai did not want to disappoint her fans and continued with her scheduled participation. However, persistent knee issues have troubled her. Despite reaching the semifinals of the Japan Open, she withdrew due to her knee problem. She advanced to the quarterfinals of the Taipei Open and withdrew from the Hong Kong Open due to injury, and most recently, she was eliminated in the first round of the China Open.
Tai visited a hospital on Sunday to have her knee examined further to determine her upcoming schedule. Earlier, changes were made to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) website, where she was originally listed for the Arctic and Denmark Opens but is now marked as withdrawn.
Her coach explained that the team had initially planned to depart for Europe this week, but after evaluation, they concluded that Tai competing intermittently with her injury was not ideal. Therefore, she will focus on recovery throughout October, and her future schedule will be decided based on her condition.
Tai Tzu Ying also shared her plans for retirement when she attended a fan meet-up last weekend. She also posted on social media, jokingly stating, “I hope to meet the fans in a different way after retirement. I’ll be fighting with everyone for badminton court reservation!”
In her post, Tai expressed her gratitude to her fans for their support, saying, “Thank you to everyone watching the live stream both in person and online, and to those who sent me video messages. Lately, it seems my tears come easily!” She added, “I hope to continue being with everyone in a new way after retirement!”
Although Tai plans to retire at the end of this season, she does not intend to leave badminton. She hopes to pass on her experience and continue promoting the sport. Yesterday, she shared, “I’m open to going to schools, where I can share my journey as a player, how I prepare for matches, and how I recover afterward. Whether it’s with teams, businesses, or schools, I hope to offer new ideas and choices to everyone.”
