2007–2008: Asian and World Junior Champions Chen emerged as an Asian Junior Champion in
2007, and at the same year, he won the
World Junior Championships. He also helped the Chinese team won the 2007 Suhandinata Cup. A week later, in the
Malaysia Open, he lost in the opening round to
Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand. In March, at the
German Open, Chen lost in the final to his teammate,
Bao Chunlai in two straight games. At the
All England Open, he registered an impressive victory over 8th seed
Jan Ø. Jørgensen in the first round but fell to Korea's
Son Wan-ho 18–21, 21–18, 19–21 in the second round. He followed up this disappointment with his best-ever performance in a Super Series event by making it through to the final of the
Swiss Open, where he finished runner-up to compatriot
Chen Jin. Chen was part of the Chinese team that won gold at the
2010 Thomas Cup in Kuala Lumpur. He only featured in their opening match against Peru, taking just 31 minutes to beat his opponent, before being replaced in the team by
Bao Chunlai for the later rounds. Chen's first individual title of 2010 came at the
Bitburger Open in Germany, where he beat Denmark's
Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21–3, 12–21, 21–9 in the final of the Grand Prix Gold event. His good form continued when he finished runner-up to teammate
Lin Dan at the
China Masters two weeks later, going down 15–21, 21–13, 14–21 to the reigning Olympic champion. Chen obtained a second team gold medal of the year with China at the
Asian Games held in Guangzhou, but did not feature in the individual event. More success followed when he won the
China Open Super Series two weeks later. His passage to the final included a controversial walkover by
Lin Dan in the quarter-finals and a hard-fought victory over current World champion
Chen Jin in the semi-finals. In the final, he squared off against teammate
Bao Chunlai, emerging as the victor after 75 minutes of play. Chen's attempt at back-to-back Super Series titles came to an end at the hands of former Olympic champion
Taufik Hidayat in the semi-final of the
Hong Kong Open the following week. Chen's strong finish to the year saw his
world ranking rise to a career-high of 4th, briefly becoming the top ranked Chinese player.
2011: Three Superseries titles In the first tournament of the new season, Chen Long was convincingly beaten by world number 1
Lee Chong Wei in the semi-final of the
Malaysia Open. It took just 39 minutes for the Malaysian to blow away the upcoming Chinese star with a score of 21–9, 21–9. The effects of the demoralising defeat were still evident a week later when Chen lost in the second round of the
Korea Open to Japanese player
Kenichi Tago. His first individual title of the year came at the
Thailand Open, where he beat experienced Korean player
Lee Hyun-il in the final. In August, Chen was eliminated in the first round of the
World Championships by unheralded Guatemalan player
Kevin Cordón in what was one of the shock results of the tournament. Cordón emerged the victor after clinching the third set 27–25 in a thrilling encounter. Chen sprang back from his shock exit from the World Championships by winning his first
China Masters title after defeating his compatriot
Chen Jin in the final. A week later, he won his first
Japan Open by avenging his Malaysia Open loss to world number 1
Lee Chong Wei in the final. In October, Chen won his third consecutive Super Series tournament with another victory over
Lee Chong Wei, this time in the final of the
Denmark Open in its first year as a Premier Super Series event. His highlights of the season were followed by an exit from the semi-finals of
Hong Kong Open to his senior,
Chen Jin and failure to defend his
China Open title after losing to his compatriot,
Lin Dan, in the final. He ended year 2011 with another runner-up in
Super Series Master Finals, being beaten by
Lin Dan again.
2012: Second Thomas Cup, Olympic bronze and First Superseries Finals title In January, Chen reached the semi-finals of the
Malaysia Open, where he lost to the home favorite,
Lee Chong Wei in three games, 18-21, 21-17, 13-21. In March, he participated in the
All England Open and was knocked out in the quarter-finals by
Kenichi Tago. He then reached the semi-finals of the
Swiss Open but was eliminated by
Lee Hyun-il. In April, at the
Badminton Asia Championships, Chen lost in the semi-finals to his teammate,
Du Pengyu. In May, at the
Thomas Cup, he won all the matches that he played in, thus helping China to clinch their ninth title. In June, Chen lost in the pre-quarterfinals of
Indonesia Open, to
Parupalli Kashyap, 21–17, 21–14. In the
2012 Summer Olympics, Chen was defeated in the semi-final of the men's singles competition by
Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, 21–13, 21–14, but went on to win bronze after defeating
Lee Hyun-il in the bronze medal match. After the Olympics, Chen's form picked up tremendously, starting from winning the
China Masters in September, where he beat Hong Kong's
Hu Yun in the final. In October, he reached the semi-finals of the
Denmark Open but was eliminated by his compatriot
Du Pengyu once again. In November, he won both the
China Open and the
Hong Kong Open, beating
Wang Zhengming and
Lee Chong Wei respectively in the finals. At year-end,
BWF Superseries Finals, Chen managed to avenge his previous defeats to
Du Pengyu on tours, by beating him in the final to win his first Superseries Finals title.
2013: First All England title and Sudirman Cup Champion Chen carried his good form into the new season. In February, Chen won his first
German Open title, defeating
Tommy Sugiarto in the final. In March, Chen won convincingly against
Lee Chong Wei in the
2013 All England Open in the finals, 21–17, 21–18. In April, at the
Badminton Asia Championships, Chen once again lost to his teammate,
Du Pengyu, albeit in the final this time. Despite missing the last two Sudirman Cup editions in 2009 and 2011, Chen Long emerged as the first singles player to help China lift its fifth consecutive trophy in
2013 edition. At the
BWF World Championships held in August, Chen reached the quarter-finals but was defeated by
Lin Dan. He won the
Denmark Open against
Lee Chong Wei, 24–22, 21-19, and then successfully defended his
China Open title against compatriot
Wang Zhengming in three games.
2014: World Champion, Second Superseries Finals title and World #1 Chen started the year with a victory against
Lee Chong Wei in the
Korean Open. Then, he was unable to defend his
All England title as he lost to
Lee Chong Wei in the finals. He subsequently lost in the
Indian Open finals to the same opponent. In May, Chen played first singles for China at the
2014 Thomas Cup. They were unable to defend their title as they lost 0–3 to Japan in the semifinals. Chen took the blame for the surprise loss of the Chinese Team, casting doubt on his ability to depose
Lin Dan as China's MS 'big brother'. Chen's poor start to the season continued deep into the summer, when he saw early-round knockouts in the
Japan Open to
Hu Yun of
Hong Kong and
Indonesian Open to
Denmark's
Jan Ø. Jørgensen. However, his fortune reversed at the most important competition of the year. On 31 August, Chen defeated
Lee Chong Wei in the finals with a score of 21–19, 21–19 to win his first-ever World Championship title at
2014 BWF World Championships held in Copenhagen, breaking his 7-month title drought. He would then continue this excellent form for the rest of the season, defeating
Son Wan-ho in the final of the
2014 Denmark Super Series Premier, his 6th Super Series Premier title to date and first of the year. He would also make the finals of the
2014 Hong Kong Super Series. Chen ended the season on a high note after winning the
2014 BWF Super Series Masters Finals in Dubai, boasting a 3–0 record in the Group Stage and defeating
Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21–16, 21–10 in the final. With this victory, Chen ascended to World No.1, dethroning rival
Lee Chong Wei and achieving the title of Year-End No.1 on the
BWF World Ranking. This marked the first time in 6 years that a player other than
Lee Chong Wei ended the year at the coveted No.1 ranking. Despite a slow start to the year, Chen's 2014 was characterised by his first-ever
World Championship, solid victories at the
Denmark Open and
Super Series Masters Finals, and for the first time achieving the rank of World No.1. Chen continued his winning form in his next tournament, the
2015 Malaysia Super Series Premier, defeating
Lin Dan, this time with a tighter scoreline of 20–22, 21–13, 21–11. Two consecutive victories over
Lin Dan, long considered China's strongest badminton player in the men's singles discipline, was considered by many as Chen's resolute ascension to the position of China MS No.1. A second-round exit to
Hu Yun at the
2015 Singapore Super Series and a semi-final loss at the
Badminton Asia Championships to compatriot
Tian Houwei by way of walkover put a stop to Chen's tournament-winning streak. In May, Chen was part of the Chinese team that won the Sudirman Cup. Victory over
Viktor Axelsen at the
2015 Australian Super Series final with a score of 21–12, 14–21, 21-18 put Chen back in winning shape. This was followed by a quarter-finals exit at the
2015 Indonesia Super Series Premier, a tournament in which Chinese players routinely lose during the early stages. However, Chen would rediscover his form in the
2015 Chinese Taipei Open Grand Prix Gold with a victory over home favorite
Chou Tien-chen. He would then defend his World Championship title at the
2015 BWF World Championships held in Jakarta. Chen reached the final of the championships with ease, winning in 2 sets over each of his opponents, including Japanese rising star and then-World No.4
Kento Momota 21–9, 21–15 in the semi-finals. In a rematch of the 2014 final, Chen was again victorious over rival
Lee Chong Wei, successfully defending his World Champion title with an easier scoreline of 21–14, 21–17. This marked the second World Championship title for Chen, which secured him the position of Year-End No. 1, again. Chen would follow this up with another Super Series victory at the
2015 Korea Open Super Series, during which he defeated unseeded
Ajay Jayaram 21–14, 21–13 in the final. In October, Chen continued his fine form by defeating
Tommy Sugiarto in the final to win the
Denmark Super Series Premier. This was Chen's 8th Super Series title, bringing his total SS (including Premier) tally to 16 and year-to-date titles to 7, the most he has achieved in one season. In November 2015, Chen reached the
China Open final without losing a single set, however, a resurgent
Lee Chong Wei proved tough to beat, losing the finals in two straight sets 21–15, 21–11, halting his 7 straight finals win in 2015. In December 2015, Chen made the semi-finals of the Super Series Finals in Dubai.
2016: Olympic gold Chen's first tournament of the season was the
All England Open, whereby he only reached the Round of 16 after being defeated by his compatriot
Xue Song. In April, he participated in the
Malaysia Open and finished as the runner-up, losing to
Lee Chong Wei in the final. At the
Singapore Open held in the same month, he lost in the quarter-finals to Hong Kong's
Ng Ka Long Angus. Chen then followed up with two final appearances in his next two tournaments. Unfortunately, he did not win any of those, losing in the
China Masters to compatriot
Lin Dan and the
Badminton Asia Championships to
Lee Chong Wei. At the
2016 Olympic Games, Chen Long was the second seed behind World No.1
Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. After defeating
Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka 21–7, 21–10 and Poland's
Adrian Dziółko 21–12, 21–9 during the Group Stage, Chen Long was qualified for the knockout rounds. In the quarter-finals, he defeated
Son Wan-ho of South Korea by a tight scoreline of 21–11, 18–21, 21–11, after which he defeated eventual bronze-medalist Denmark's
Viktor Axelsen 21–14, 21–15 in the semi-finals. Facing
Lee Chong Wei in the Badminton Men's Singles final at the Pavilion 4,
Riocentro on 20 August 2016, Chen Long clinched the Olympic gold medal after he defeated the Malaysian (Lee Chong Wei) and won the match in straight games with a score of 21–18, 21–18, earning his first Olympic gold medal. In November, Chen participated in the
China Open and came in second to Denmark's
Jan O Jorgensen.
2017: First Asian Championships and Fourth China Open titles In February, at the
German Open, Chen reached the semi-finals but was defeated by
Wang Tzu-wei in three games. In March, at the
All England Open, Chen lost to
Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in the Round of 16 in straight games, 16–21, 19–21. In April, at the
Badminton Asia Championships held in Wuhan, China, Chen defeated
Lin Dan in the rubble set game, 21–23, 21–11, 21–10, of the men's singles final and he gets his first Asian Championships title. In May, at the
2017 Sudirman Cup, Chen won all the three games he played in, but in the final, China lost to
Korea by 2–3. In June, at the
Crown Group Australia Open, Chen lost to
Kidambi Srikanth in the men's singles final in straight-set game, 20–22, 16–21. In August, at the
Total BWF World Championships, Chen lost to
Viktor Axelsen in the men's singles quarter-finals, 9–21, 10–21. He failed to defend his World Championship title of 2015. In November, at the
China Open Superseries Premier in Tahoe, China, Chen defeated
Viktor Axelsen in the men's singles final by the rubble set game, 21–16, 14–21, 21–13 and gets his fourth China Open title. At the
Yonex–Sunrise Hong Kong Open, Chen lost to
Lee Chong Wei by straight-set game, 14–21, 19–21. In the
Dubai Superseries Final, Chen withdrew due to a knee injury.
2018: Third Thomas Cup and Second Asian Games Team gold In January, Chen was eliminated in the first round of the
Malaysia Masters and in the quarter-finals of the
Indonesia Masters, losing to
Anthony Ginting on both occasions. In March, at the
All England Open, Chen lost in the quarter-finals to the eventual champion,
Shi Yuqi. At the
Badminton Asia Championships, he finished as runner-up after losing the
Kento Momota in the final. In May, he represented the national team in the
2018 Thomas Cup. In the group stage, he defeated
H. S. Prannoy from India and
Brice Leverdez from France. In the quarter-finals, he defeated
Chou Tien-Chen from Chinese Taipei. China beat Chinese Taipei 3–0. In the match against Indonesia in the semi-finals, he defeated
Anthony Ginting in two sets. During the final match, China faced Japan. He lost his match against the 2018 World Champion and then World number 1
Kento Momota in two sets, but although he lost his match, China beat Japan 3–1 and won the
Thomas Cup. In August, at the
BWF World Championships, Chen lost in the semi-finals to his junior,
Shi Yuqi again, thus finishing with a bronze medal. At the
Asian Games, he helps the Chinese team to win gold after defeating Indonesia in the final. In the individual event, he was eliminated in the quarter-finals by
Anthony Ginting again. In September, Chen lost in the quarter-finals of both the Japan and China Open to
Khosit Phetpradab and
Anthony Ginting respectively. In October, he won his first
French Open title by defeating
Shi Yuqi in the final. In November, Chen lost in the semi-finals to
Kento Momota, at the
Fuzhou China Open.
2019: Third Sudirman Cup and Second French Open title Chen began his season at the
Malaysia Masters where he reached the final but was defeated by
Son Wan-ho in straight games. He then participated in the
Indonesia Masters where he lost to
Viktor Axelsen in the quarter-finals. In March, he was upset in the first round of the
All England Open by Denmark youngster,
Rasmus Gemke. Chen followed up his disappointment with a better showing at the
Swiss Open where he managed to reach the semi-finals before losing to
B. Sai Praneeth. In April, he reached the final of the
Malaysia Open but lost to his compatriot
Lin Dan. At the
Singapore Open, Chen was eliminated by
Anthony Ginting in the quarter-finals. At
Badminton Asia Championships, he gave a walkover at the quarter-finals due to high fever. In May, Chen was part of the Chinese team that won the
Sudirman Cup. In August, he participated in the
BWF World Championships and lost to
Anders Antonsen in the quarter-finals. In September, Chen was defeated by
Kento Momota in the semi-finals of the
China Open. In October, Chen finished as a runner-up in the
Denmark Open, after losing the
Kento Momota again. He then rebounded by winning the
French Open, his second consecutive and his first individual title of the year. At the end-year
BWF World Tour Finals, he lost to
Anthony Ginting in the semi-finals.
2020: Two quarter-finals appearances In 2020, Chen participated in only two tournaments before the COVID-19 outbreak ended his season early. In January, he reached the quarter-finals of the
Malaysia Masters where he lost to
Viktor Axelsen in three games. Similarly, in March, he reached the quarter-finals of the
All England Open but lost to
Lee Zii Jia in straight games.
2021: Olympic silver At the delayed
2020 Tokyo Olympics, Chen's first tournament of the year, he managed to reach the final after defeating
Raul Must and
Pablo Abian in the group stage,
Lee Zii Jia in the Round of 16,
Chou Tien-chen in the quarter-finals and
Anthony Ginting in the semi-finals. However, in the final, he was not able to overcome
Viktor Axelsen, thus failing to defend his title from 2016. Fans expressed disappointment towards Chen Long for losing to Axelsen, despite defeating Ginting in the semi finals. At the same time, fans praised him for being good sports even when facing defeat. Zhang Jun, the President of the
Chinese Badminton Association, then revealed that Chen's less-than-ideal performance may have been due to a blister on the ball of his foot that had developed during the group stage of the competition and it was so bad that he could not run. He added that he was touched by Chen’s fighting spirit to continue playing. This news created a ripple of concern and worry towards his physical health, as he was already battling with previous back injuries. In September, Chen participated in the
Chinese National Championships and declared that it will be his last. == Retirement ==