The United States national badminton team represents the United States in international badminton team competitions.[1] The national team is controlled by the governing body for badminton in the country, USA Badminton. The United States is one of the five founding members of the Badminton Pan America.
The United States achieved immense success from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1952, the men's team were runners-up at the 1952 edition of the Thomas Cup where they lost to Malaya. The woman's team achieved a title hat-trick in the Uber Cup, winning the title three consecutive times from 1957 to 1963.
In individual events, the United States has won 1 gold medal in the BWF World Championships. It was won by Howard Bach and Tony Gunawan in the 2005 edition held in Anaheim, California.
Badminton in the United States dates back to the late 19th century. The first American badminton club was formed in New York in 1878. During the 1930s, badminton had become a popular sport in the United States. Establishments such as the YMCA, universities and more all formed badminton clubs and the popularity of the sport began to take growth.[2] The sport was also aided by the support of celebrity participation.
Celebrities such as Bette Davis, Douglas Fairbanks, Dick Powell, and others all participated in the sport, helping badminton gain popularity during the mid-half of the 20th century.
The United States competed in the first edition of the Thomas Cup in 1949. The team won bronze after losing 6–3 in the knockout stages to Malaya. American badminton legends Joe Alston and Wynn Rogers helped the team to advanced one step further and reach the final of the 1952 Thomas Cup when they defeated the Indian doubles pair and earned the winning point for the team. In the final of the 1952 Thomas Cup, the team lost to Malaya. After their participation in the 1967 Thomas Cup, the men's team started to show a decline in quality after failing to qualify for the Thomas Cup for almost 4 decades.[3]
In 2004, the team qualified for the 2004 Thomas Cup again after they won the 2004 Pan American Men's Team Championships. The team were eliminated in the wild-card knockout stage thrice in 2004, 2006 and 2010. In 2022, the team finished in 4th place at the 2022 Pan Am Male Badminton Cup.[4][5] The team however still qualified for the 2022 Thomas Cup after the withdrawal of New Zealand.[6] They were placed in Group D with Malaysia, Japan and England.[7][8] The team finished on the bottom of the group and did not advance to the knockout stage.
In the 2024 Pan Am Male Badminton Cup, the team were eliminated in the group stages after losing to Brazil and Mexico in their group.
The American women's team triumphed between the 1950s and the 1960s. They were the first to be crowned as Uber Cup champions in 1957. The team, led by stalwarts such as Judy Devlin and Margaret Varner first defeated Canada 7–0 in the qualifying round, then beat India 7–0 in the knockout round. In the final stage, they overcame their Danish opponents and defeated them 6–1 in the final. The team won their second Uber Cup by beating Denmark for a second time. In 1963, the American team won the Uber Cup title for a third time after winning 4–3 against England.[9] In 1966, the team's Uber Cup reign came to an end when they lost 5–2 to Japan in the 1966 Uber Cup final. The women's team also suffered a massive decline after the 1960s and failed to qualify for the Uber Cup for a few years. The team finished third in the 1978 Uber Cup.[10]
In 2006, the team qualified for the Uber Cup once again after failing to qualify for almost 30 years. The team were eliminated in the first round of the knockout stages. In 2022, the women's team won the 2022 Pan Am Female Badminton Cup and qualified for the 2022 Uber Cup.[11] The team finished last in the group.[8] In 2024, the team were runners-up at the 2024 Pan Am Female Badminton Cup. The team lost 3–0 to Canada in the final.
The United States first competed in the 1989 Sudirman Cup. The team were grouped with New Zealand, Finland and Austria in the Group 5 classification group. The team lost 5–0 to New Zealand, then beat Finland and Austria 5–0 to finish in 21st place.[12] In 2001, the team made history by winning their first mixed team title at the 2001 Pan Am Mixed Team Championships after beating Canada in the final. In the 2019 Sudirman Cup, the United States finished in 19th place after defeating Israel in the 19th place tie.[13]
In 2023, the United States reached the final of the 2023 Pan Am Mixed Team Championships but lost 3–0 to Canada.[14]