Experience that
inspires the next generation.

Huaiwen Xu is a former international women’s singles badminton player. Born in China, she went on to represent Germany, overcoming doubts about her height to become one of the leading players of her generation.

Her career includes more than 20 national and international singles titles, including the Scottish, Polish, Dutch and Swiss Opens, the Copenhagen Masters and five consecutive German National Championships. She won European Championship gold in 2006 and 2008, and World Championship bronze in 2005 and 2006.

Huaiwen represented Germany at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, finishing fifth in 2008. In June 2006, she reached the world No. 1 ranking in women’s singles.

In 2008, she received Germany’s Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the country’s highest sporting honour. The International Olympic Committee appointed her as a badminton Athlete Role Model for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010.

After retiring from international competition in 2009, Huaiwen coached in Seattle for 18 months. She then served as national coach for the Dutch Badminton Association from 2011 to 2012, followed by a year coaching the Scottish junior national squad in Glasgow.

Her qualifications include:

• Badminton England Coach Licence
• BWF Level 3
• German Badminton Coach Licence, Level A
• MSc Sport Management, University of Stirling (2013–2014)

Huaiwen delivers courses and seminars for the Badminton World Federation and Badminton Europe. She speaks English, Chinese and German.

She established the Huaiwen Xu Badminton Academy in February 2016 and now shares her experience with junior players in Surrey.