In the end, there was no fairytale ending for Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino.

The world No.5s, playing one last tournament together after 13 years of partnership, were denied their dream home swansong on Friday by Yang Po Hsuan/Hu Ling Fang at DAIHATSU Japan Open 2024; an anti-climactic 21-9 21-17 in just 30 minutes also halting their one-year reign. When they triumphed last year, they became Japan’s first winning mixed pair at their marquee event.

Post-match, the duo expressed gratitude to each other for a career that brought them lifelong memories and countless accolades, including three All England crowns and two Olympic bronze medals. They also won silver at the 2022 Asian Games and two World Championships (2021, 2022).

“It was our decision to go separate ways but it’s not easy after walking every step with one another for the last 13 years,” said Watanabe. “But everything we learned in this chapter will be useful for the next one. Thank you so much, Arisa.”

Higashino replied: “I wish we could play until Sunday but we’ve done this for 13 years. It was possible only because of Yuta. I’m just thankful to him.”

Watanabe aspires to focus on men’s doubles going forward while Higashino is likely to find a partner to compete in women’s doubles. They confirmed their plans after winning a second consecutive Olympic bronze at Paris 2024 two weeks ago.

“This isn’t the end of our careers. It’s a little sad (we lost) but we are looking forward to the upcoming journey,” enthused Watanabe.

→ Results (Quarterfinals)

→ Order of play (Semifinals)

WHAT OTHERS SAID

“I lost the last three to her so to finally beat her, that too in front of her own fans, I must say it does feel extra satisfying.” – Busanan Ongbamrungphan on her first win in a year over Aya Ohori

“Before the match, I asked (Li) Wen Mei if she had beaten the Korean opponents (Kim Hye Jeong/Jeong Na Eun). When she said no, that gave me a new goal. I told myself to use the best of my ability to help my little sister win against these opponents for the first time.” – Jia Yi Fan

“I’m probably playing my best badminton now. I was also in the Canada Open final a month and a half ago. These have been the best two tournaments of my life. During the Olympics I was working hard in training, with emphasis on how to win at the highest level. It seems to be working.” – Alex Lanier after making the semifinal at his maiden Super 750

“We are disappointed. We came to finish top. We don’t see quarterfinals as being good enough for us. We wanted more. We need to keep working hard in training.” – Chen Tang Jie