Unbeaten since March 8, the 24-year-old extends her winning streak to 50 matches
An Se-young, the world No. 1 in women’s singles, won the French Open for a third straight year on Sunday, beating India’s P.V. Sindhu in the final of the Badminton World Federation tour event in Paris.
Although An dropped the first game and trailed 8-5 in the third, she pulled away to win 16-21, 21-11, 21-12, securing her 11th straight win over the Indian player.
The 24-year-old has not lost since March 8, when China’s Wang Zhiyi, the world No. 2, beat her in the All England Open final. Sunday’s win stretched her streak to 50 matches and gave her a 66-1 record this season, along with her 10th title.
An has had little rest in the past three months, winning the China Masters, the Asian Games singles gold in Aichi-Nagoya and the Denmark Open before Paris, and she played through pain near her right Achilles tendon in the Denmark final.
"I was physically and mentally tired," she said after Sunday's final, adding that she had poured everything she had into the match.
Paris was her 48th career international title, extending the women’s singles record she took from Indonesia’s Susi Susanti at the Denmark Open.
The latest title leaves An one short of the 11 she won last year, a total that tied the record for the most international titles in a single season, set by Japan’s Kento Momota in 2019.
The Korea Open, the Japan Masters and the season-ending World Tour Finals remain on her schedule.
Born in Gwangju in 2002, An was picked for the national team while still in middle school and became world No. 1 in August 2023, the same month she became the first Korean woman to win the world singles title. She won Olympic gold in Paris in 2024, Korea’s first in women’s singles since Bang Soo-hyun in 1996. She now plays for Samsung Life.
An returns to Korea on Tuesday and will attempt her 11th title of the season at the Korea Open on Nov. 3-8.
gypark@heraldcorp.com
