Introduction
Alex Lanier (born 26 January 2005) is a French badminton player. He was a boys' singles gold medalist at the 2022 European Junior Championships, and a bronze medalist at the 2023 World Junior Championships. He became the first ever French player to win a BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament.
Career
Alex Lanier started playing badminton at the age of 3 and later joined the Dives-sur-Mer badminton club. In 2019, he left the Dives-sur-Mer, to join the club of Strasbourg, to compete in the French interclub division. In 2020, he joined INSEP at the age of only 15.
In June 2021, he competed in the Lithuanian International tournament and won his first international title in the final by defeating Canada's player B. R. Sankeerth. Afterwards, he managed to advance to the final at the Latvia International, but lost to India's Meiraba Luwang Maisnam. He bounced back at the Italian International and won his second international title by defeating Czech player Jan Louda.
In 2022, he clinched the boys' singles title at the European Junior Championships. In October, he secured his first win on a World Tour event at the age of only 17, as he defeated Japanese Takuma Obayashi at the Canada Open.
In 2023, Lanier won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships.
In 2024, Lanier won the Japan Open title at a young age 19 years old. He defeated seeded player en-route to the final. The 19-year-old did it in sensational fashion, taking down world No.1 Shi Yu Qi 17-21 21-16 21-18 in the semifinals of DAIHATSU Japan Open 2024 – his first Super 750 tournament – on Saturday. By winning the Japan Open, he became the first ever French player to win a BWF World Tour Super 750 event.
Achievements
BWF World Junior Championships
Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | The Podium, Spokane, United States | Hu Zhean | 20–22, 20–22 |  |
European Junior Championships
Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Athletic Hall Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia | Jakob Houe | 21–18, 21–12 |  |
BWF World Tour (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Canada Open | Super 100 | Takuma Obayashi | 21–12, 12–21, 21–13 |  Winner | |
| 2024 | Canada Open | Super 500 | Koki Watanabe | 22–20, 17–21, 6–21 |  Runner-up | |
| 2024 | Japan Open | Super 750 | Chou Tien-chen | 21–17, 22–20 | Winner |
BWF International Challenge/Series (6 titles, 4 runners-up)
Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Lithuanian International | B. R. Sankeerth | 18–21, 23–21, 21–15 | Winner | |
| 2021 | Latvia International | Meiraba Luwang Maisnam | 15–21, 21–12, 20–22 | Runner-up | |
| 2021 | Italian International | Jan Louda | 21–12, 18–21, 21–11 | Winner | |
| 2022 | Estonian International | Kok Jing Hong | 22–20, 21–15 | Winner | |
| 2023 | Estonian International | Yushi Tanaka | 13–21, 21–15, 12–21 | Runner-up | |
| 2023 | Polish Open | Kalle Koljonen | 21–14, 21–15 | Winner | |
| 2023 | Irish Open | Nhat Nguyen | 13–21, 19–21 | Runner-up | |
| 2024 | Luxembourg Open | Jason Teh | 21–17, 21–15 | Winner | |
| 2024 | Denmark Challenge | Yushi Tanaka | 21–15, 12–21, 11–21 | Runner-up | |
| 2024 | Nantes International | Pablo Abián | 21–14, 21–13 | Winner |
- BWF International Challenge tournament
- BWF International Series tournament
- BWF Future Series tournament