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#2 Akane Yamaguchi
If the first half of the season belonged to Tai Tzu Ying, then the second half of the year was surely owned by Akane Yamaguchi. The 20-year-old was always in the thick of things even in the first half, but never quite managed to make a last push in the biggest tournaments.
She took it to altogether another level post the World Championships, when she went on a rampage. In seven tournaments, she reached the final in four, converting two. The biggest title of her career came in the final event of the season when she edged PV Sindhu in three gruelling games to clinch the World Superseries Finals title.
Yamaguchi’s consistency was rewarded with a rise to a career-high World No. 2 ranking at the end of the year.
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