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 woman's team has won a total of 3 consecutive titles in the
Uber Cup from 1957 to 1963. The men's team were runners-up at the 1952 edition of the Thomas Cup where they lost to
Malaya.
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.
Men's team
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]
Women's team
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]
Mixed team
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]