I was discussing with Fred the finer details which Shi Yuqi has improved in his footwork which led to him becoming the man to beat now. So, what has Shi Yuqi changed since 2019? Let’s discuss.

Shi Yuqi has adopted a lower stance compared with his younger self. He stands lower, with his shoulders hunched down and he leans forward slightly. This lowers his centre of gravity and allows for faster turns and changes in direction.

Next, let’s look at Shi Yuqi in 2019 and in 2025. I will be using the World Tour Finals of 2024 as a proxy for 2025. It is close enough as the World Tour Finals was held in December 2024.

Smash

The clip above was taken from his match against Kento Momota in 2018 at the World Championship in Nanjing, China. It showcases Shi Yuqi in 2018 executing a smash in a counter attack by jumping from the centre.

This clip above shows Shi Yuqi executing the same smash, but this time against Anders Antonsen in the World Tour Finals in 2024.

Both smashes are executed the same way, with Shi Yuqi jumping from the centre to counter attack with a smash. The main difference is in the landing after the smash.

Shi Yuqi in 2025 lands with a lower stance than in 2018. He is hunching more, and lowering his centre of gravity. The younger Shi Yuqi tends to stay upright and has a higher centre of gravity.

Footwork

Next, let’s examine his footwork when he turns. We will start with Shi Yuqi in 2018.

Let’s see how Shi Yuqi does it in 2025.

The movement looks almost identical. And it is difficult to get a snapshot to compare both clips. Pay attention in the slow motion part to Shi Yuqi’s steps after he uses the small steps to turn and position himself.

In both cases, Shi Yuqi uses small steps to turn and position himself to move in the direction of his forehand side to the rear of the court. As he begins to move, the younger Shi Yuqi takes a smaller big step than the older Shi Yuqi.

In 2018, Shi Yuqi would move by taking a slightly smaller big step and then launching himself with a bigger step to hit the lob. The sequence for his footwork is a relatively smaller step followed by a bigger step to hit.

In 2025, Shi Yuqi takes a bigger first step, then a slightly smaller second step to hit. The sequence for his footwork is now a bigger step followed by a relatively smaller step to hit.

Conclusion

So, what has changed with Shi Yuqi to proper him to World number 1? The answer is balance. Shi Yuqi is now much more in balance as he moves around the court. He is keeping himself lower to the ground, which lowers his centre of gravity. And this helps him turn faster and move quicker. It also helps him recover from his movement quicker, allowing him to get ready much quicker for the next shot.

Even in his footwork, he has now prioritised balance over attack. By shifting his footwork to move first with a bigger step followed by a smaller step, he reaches the shuttle in balance. And using the big step also means he reaches the shuttle a fraction of a second earlier, which gives him time to compose himself for the shot.

In 2018, he prioritises reaching the shuttle early and taking it from the highest point. That meant he has to rush his footwork and jump up high to meet the shuttle, often sacrificing balance. This meant he would land in a more awkward position, and requires more time to regain his balance before he moves again. This problem was compounded by the fact that Shi Yuqi in 2018 has a higher stance.

Such small changes in his stance and footwork has made him the man to beat he is today. Badminton at the highest level has such fine margins, and every small thing can make a difference.

That’s it for this entry.

Until the next entry, eat well, get plenty of rest and keep the badminton going!