History Yonex

In 1946, Minoru Yoneyama founded Yoneyama Ltd. to manufacture wooden floats for fishing nets. His woodworking business was thriving until the invention of plastic floats forced the company out of the float market. At the same time, frustrated at being left behind by advances in technology, Yoneyama vowed that such a thing would never happen again. Thus, he began a business that would eventually lead to innovations in the worlds of golf, tennis, and badminton.

Building on its solid woodworking skills, Yoneyama began manufacturing badminton rackets for other brands in 1957.

In 1961, the first badminton racket was released under the name "Yoneyama." Two years later, Yoneyama Trading, Ltd. was established in Tokyo and entered the international market.

The company’s focus on innovation gained attention in 1969 when Yoneyama introduced the world’s first aluminum badminton racket, the #700. Today, Yonex is the world’s leading distributor of badminton rackets, used by over 80% of competitive players.

In 1969, Yoneyama entered the tennis racket market.

In 1973, the new “YY” logo in blue and green was introduced and soon became a familiar sight on tennis and badminton courts around the globe. A year later, the company and brand name were changed to Yonex.

In 1978, the first ultra-light badminton racket, the Carbonex 8, was released. That year, it won the All England Badminton Championships.

Yonex's commitment to innovation revolutionized tennis racket manufacturing when the R Series was launched in 1980. The R-1 was the world's first square or "isometric" tennis racket, and the super-light R-7 was the first tennis racket to win both the French Open and Wimbledon.

In 1984, Yonex became the exclusive sponsor of the All England Badminton Championships. In 1987, Prince Edward graced the tournament.

In 1990, Yonex signed tennis star Monica Seles, the last of many world-class players to use Yonex rackets. With Yonex rackets, Monica became the youngest player in women's tennis to reach the world No. 1 ranking and won multiple Grand Slam titles.

In 1992, building on the success of the isometric design in tennis, Yonex introduced the world's first isometric "wide" badminton racket, the Isometric 500.

In August 1992, Yonex was represented on two fronts as badminton entered the Olympic arena. Yonex players won all the silver and gold medals on the courts. In addition, Yonex was the official outfitter for the Barcelona Olympic Games.

In 1994, Yonex was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Yonex signed a contract with the talented 14-year-old tennis player Martina Hingis.

In 1996, Yonex was named the official licensee of the Atlanta Centenary Olympic Games and the official Olympic outfitter for badminton. At the competition, players wearing Yonex gear won all the gold, silver and almost all the bronze medals in badminton, once again confirming the dominance of Yonex in the sport.

In 1996, Monica Seles set an undefeated record at the Australian Open, winning the women's singles title, playing the Yonex SRQ-500 Long.

In early 1997, 16-year-old Martina Hingis won the Australian Open with the Pro RD 70-Long racket and moved up to the No. 1 position in the world rankings, ahead of her Yonex teammate Monica Seles. At 16 years and 6 months, she became the youngest tennis player to reach the No. 1 position in the world rankings.

In 1997, Minoru Yoneyama, the founder of Yonex, became the chairman of the Yonex Group and appointed Kosaku Yoneyama as the new president of Yonex.

In 1998, the Yonex Sports Development Organization was founded to support children's, school and university sports and education. It was established as a charitable organization.

In March 1998, Marcelo Rios and Martina Hingis were named the world No. 1 tennis players in both men's and women's tennis for the first time in Yonex history.

Yonex signed a tennis racket contract with young Australian Lleyton Hewitt.

In January 1999, Martina Hingis won her third consecutive Australian Open singles and doubles title with a Yonex racket.

In March 1999, Chairman Minoru Yoneyama received a special service award from the Badminton England Association for his continued support of the Badminton England Championships. The award was presented to Chairman Minoru Yoneyama by Prince Andrew during the 100th Badminton England Championships.

In 2000, Yonex became the official badminton equipment supplier for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. At the Sydney Olympics, Yonex rackets won gold, silver and bronze medals.

Yonex launched the first running shoes to use the new Power Cushion cushioning material on the Japanese market.