Watanabe started his badminton career when he was four years old, entered the badminton club under the influence of his sister.[3] He later concentrate his badminton career in the kindergarten, and when he was in the elementary school, he won the Saitama school championships in third consecutive years. Watanabe entered the Saitamasakaechugakko Koto school, and won the singles title at the national junior championships, also placed third in the doubles event.[2][3] He was part of the national junior team that competed at the 2015 and 2016 Asia and World Junior Championships, winning the World boys' singles bronze medal in 2015, he also helped the national team win the 2015, 2016 Asian, also 2016 World Junior bronze medals.[4]
In 2018, Watanabe became the runner-up at the BWF Super 100 tournament Russian Open.[5]
2024
Koki Watanabe celebrated a significant milestone in his badminton career by winning his first Super 500 title at the 2024 Canada Open. This victory is particularly meaningful, as it fulfills one of his long-held dreams. Watanabe expressed his satisfaction with this achievement and emphasized the importance of staying focused and taking one step at a time to reach his goals. In the final match, Watanabe faced Alex Lanier, the defending champion from 2022. The match was hard-fought, with Watanabe winning the third game 21–6. Lanier admitted that he ran out of energy in the third game, which allowed Watanabe to dominate and secure the title.[6]
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[8] 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.[9]
^Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
