Putri Kusuma Wardani closed out a breakthrough season in style with a win at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals, beating Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki 21-17, 21-9 in her last group match. The result capped off a great year for Wardani, becoming Indonesia’s leading women’s singles player and climbed to a career-high world ranking of No.6.  The 23-year-old made history as the first Indonesian to win a women’s singles medal at a BWF World Championships in a decade.

Drawn in Group A in Hangzhou, Wardani had World No.1 An Se Young, world champion Akane Yamguchi and Tomoka Miyazaki for company at her maiden World Tour Finals.

“I’m satisfied. It’s not an easy feat to stretch Se Young and Akane to three games. It’s a valuable experience for me,” she told BWF in Hangzhou. “I feel glad and grateful to be able to compete in this BWF World Tour Finals. I gained a lot of experience from the group stage matches, like my matches against An and Yamaguchi. I learnt a lot from them.”

She pushed both world champions hard, taking a game off each, but saw what separates them from the rest. “The stability and consistency of Yamaguchi and An on court,” she explained. “Though I took one game from each of them, they remained stable in terms of tactics and strategies all the way from the first to the final game. Stability is exactly what I need while playing against top four players.”

Her 2025 campaign was her most consistent yet. She reached two finals on the BWF World Tour, finishing runner-up at the Australian Open to An and Hylo Open to Blichfeldt. Her highlight came at the BWF World Championships in Paris, where she claimed bronze, ending a ten-year wait for Indonesia in the women’s singles category. Her results confirm her rise to the top tier after Gregoria Mariska Tunjung took time away from competing due to vertigo, meaning Wardani could carry the flag and hopes for her country.

Those encounters gave Wardani vital insight. She knows the margins are narrow at the top, but she believes the lessons learned will sharpen her resolve.

Her next target is the World Championships in Delhi in August. “Many countries send their players to play at the World Championships, four players from each country. I also have the chance to play.”

Wardani is not hiding her ambitions. “I hope to get better results and claim more titles on the World Tour,” she said. “In the meantime, I also wish to beat Yamaguchi, An, and top eight Chinese players like Han Yue.”

Her win over Miyazaki did not affect group standings, but it gave Wardani momentum and belief heading into the next season. She left Hangzhou with hard-earned lessons and eyes fixed on bigger targets.

First up is the PETRONAS Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur from 6 January 2026, where she will begin her 2026 campaign against Manami Suizu. Then comes the challenge of continuing her form and claiming her first Super 500 or higher title.

Wardani understands exactly what it will take: improve stability, sharpen tactics and break into the top four. That is the next step.