An Se-young Boasts 98.5% Win Rate, Claims 10th Title of Season with 3rd Consecutive French Open Victory

Badminton world number one An Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), who continues her phenomenal run with a win rate exceeding 98 percent, has captured her 10th trophy of the season by winning her third straight French Open title.

World No. 1 An claimed a 2-1 comeback victory over 11th-ranked Pusarla Sindhu of India in the women's singles final of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) French Open Super 750 held in Tremblay-en-France on the 24th.

Standing at the top of the podium once again following her victories in 2019, 2024, and 2025, An achieved her third consecutive tournament title and secured her fourth career French Open championship.

With the exception of the All England Open where she finished with a silver medal this season, An has claimed gold in all 10 individual tournaments she has entered, including the Asian Games.

She is also within striking distance of breaking her own record from last season, when she swept 11 tournament titles to tie the all-time record for the most titles in a single season across both men's and women's singles.

Having suffered her only defeat of the season against Wang Zhiyi of China (ranked No. 2) in the final of the All England Open last March, she is currently on a dominant 50-match winning streak without a single loss.

Solidifying her status as the undisputed number one with no viable rivals, An boosted her record this year to 66 wins and 1 loss out of 67 matches with her victory in the final, boasting an overwhelming win rate of 98.5 percent.

Although An holds an 11-match career sweep against Sindhu, she initially struggled in the early stages of the match and conceded the first game.

Against the taller Sindhu, a series of crucial unforced errors caused her to lose momentum.

After wobbling from an 11-11 tie with three consecutive points allowed, she surrendered four straight points from 14-16, quickly handing Sindhu game points at 14-20.

Ultimately, An's final attack sailed out of bounds, forcing her to drop the opening game.

She opened the second game with three consecutive points and never relinquished the lead.

However, as mistakes such as service faults continued into the early part of the game, she expressed her frustration.

Still, Sindhu's concentration collapsed rapidly past the midway point, and An capitalized on it to level the match with a comfortable 10-point victory.

In the deciding third game, An once again seemed to struggle for early momentum, appearing to feel the physical toll.

The flow at the start of the crucial third game was somewhat heavy.

It appeared her stamina was wearing thin after playing back-to-back European tour events (Denmark and French Opens) with only a short break following the Asian Games.

Nevertheless, maintaining her composure even as Sindhu pulled ahead, An scored consecutive points from a 9-9 tie to reach the interval first.

She then elevated her concentration in the closing stretch, securing six straight points to seize control and comfortably maintain her lead to wrap up the victory.

With this victory, An claimed her 48th career international singles title, rewriting the all-time record for the most titles in this category once again.

The previous record was held by Susi Susanti of Indonesia with 46 titles.

Just a week after surpassing that record by topping the podium at the Denmark Open, An accomplished the feat of breaking her own newly set record in a single week.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.