There is a reshuffle to the women’s singles Top 8 contenders at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2023 in Hangzhou, China.

Kim Ga Eun is promoted in the place of defending champion Akane Yamaguchi, who is still recovering from injury.

Here is an overview of this season’s performances of the eight contenders:

An Se Young (Korea)

Was on a record-breaking spree with eight World Tour title from 10 finals before injury sustained during her Asian Games gold medal-winning bout brought her down to more earthly levels.

• VICTOR China Open 2023: Winner
• DAIHATSU Japan Open 2023: Winner
• Korea Open 2023: Winner
• KFF Singapore Open 2023: Winner
• TOYOTA GAZOO RACING Thailand Open 2023: Winner
• YONEX All England: Winner
• DAIHATSU Indonesia Masters 2023: Winner
• YONEX SUNRISE India Open 2023: Winner

Chen Yu Fei (China)

While she was impressive as ever, Chen hit her peak in the latter stage of the season with four successive finals, winning three.

• LI-NING China Masters 2023: Winner
• Kumamoto Masters Japan 2023: Runner-up
• YONEX French Open 2023: Winner
• VICTOR Denmark Open 2023: Winner
• KAPAL API GROUP Indonesia Open 2023: Winner
• YONEX All England: Runner-up

Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei)

While the former No.1 wasn’t as dominant as in her prime, she still featured prominently in the latter stages of competitions.

• YONEX French Open 2023: Runner-up
• VICTOR China Open 2023: Semifinals
• DAIHATSU Japan Open 2023: Semifinals
• Korea Open 2023: Runner-up
• YONEX Taipei Open 2023: Winner
• KFF Singapore Open 2023: Semifinals
• YONEX All England: Semifinals
• PETRONAS Malaysia Open 2023: Semifinals

Carolina Marin (Spain)

Showed signs of vulnerability in her first full season back from injury; her best result was the Super 300 title in Orleans.

• VICTOR Denmark Open 2023: Runner-up
• KAPAL API GROUP Indonesia Open 2023: Runner-up
• TOYOTA GAZOO RACING Thailand Open 2023: Semifinals
• Orléans Masters Badminton 2023 presented by VICTOR: Winner
• Madrid Spain Masters 2023: Semifinals
• DAIHATSU Indonesia Masters 2023: Runner-up

Han Yue (China)

Her improvement through the season was apparent in her emerging as the second-best Chinese behind Chen Yu Fei, ahead of other strong contenders like He Bing Jiao and Wang Zhi Yi.

• LI-NING China Masters 2023: Runner-up
• VICTOR Denmark Open 2023: Semifinals
• CLASH OF CLANS Arctic Open 2023 powered by YONEX: Winner
• PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2023 presented by DAIHATSU: Semifinals
• PRINCESS SIRIVANNAVARI Thailand Masters 2023: Runner-up
• DAIHATSU Indonesia Masters 2023: Semifinals

Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia)

Always considered a gifted player, Tunjung finally did justice to her talent this year, going deep in several tournaments by consistently beating top 10 opponents, and becoming the first Indonesian women’s singles winner of a Super 500 or above title since the launch of the Superseries.

• Kumamoto Masters Japan 2023: Winner
• VICTOR Hong Kong Open 2023: Semifinals
• DAIHATSU Japan Open 2023: Semifinals
• PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2023 presented by DAIHATSU: Runner-up
• Madrid Spain Masters 2023: Winner
• YONEX Swiss Open 2023: Semifinals

Beiwen Zhang (USA)

Continued to win admiration for her grit – a memorable moment was the American winning the SATHIO GROUP Australian Open on the second anniversary of her surgery for an Achilles injury suffered at Tokyo 2020.

• Kumamoto Masters Japan 2023: Semifinals
• HYLO Open 2023: Winner
• SATHIO GROUP Australian Open 2023: Winner
• YONEX Canada Open 2023: Semifinals
• YONEX Taipei Open 2023: Runner-up
• Orléans Masters Badminton 2023 presented by VICTOR: Runner-up
• YONEX Swiss Open 2023: Semifinals

Kim Ga Eun (Korea)

Showed a marked improvement in consistency compared to the past year and achieved her career-best world ranking of No.13. With wins over top 10 players like He Bing Jiao, Han Yue and Wang Zhi Yi, Kim is now reckoned to be a dangerous opponent for the very best.

• Korea Masters 2023: Winner
• SATHIO GROUP Australian Open 2023: Runner-up
• LI-NING China Masters 2023: Semifinals

Click here for the HSBC Race to Finals Rankings