An Se-young and Shi Yuqi back to defend KFF Singapore Open titles

SINGAPORE – Still unbeaten in 2025, South Korea’s women’s singles world No. 1 and Olympic champion An Se-young will return to defend her KFF Singapore Badminton Open title from May 27 to June 1 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The 23-year-old has been a dominant force in the sport since becoming world champion and Asian Games gold medallist in 2023, in which she won 10 titles.

In the following year, she became Olympic champion at Paris 2024 despite injury and run-ins with the Badminton Korea Association.

Remarkably, after losing in the semi-finals at the 2024 BWF World Tour Finals, An has won all 20 matches in 2025 to clinch four straight titles on the BWF World Tour, including the All England Open in March despite not being at her physical best.

The world champion said then: “(The All England Open win) showed me the direction I need to go. Winning this year’s All England has significant meaning for my career.

“By not giving up, I learnt that I could be very strong. I’m very proud of myself.”

China’s men’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi will also be back to defend his title. He has form on his side, having won the All England Open and Malaysia Open, while reaching the Indonesia Masters semi-finals.

However, his fine run was stopped in the Badminton Asia Championships quarter-finals where he lost to Loh Kean Yew.

The 11th-ranked Singaporean, who leads home hopes, has been in resurgent form in recent months. He made it to at least the last eight in four of seven events in 2025, including the German Open final and Badminton Asia Championships semi-finals.

The 27-year-old, who reached the quarter-finals of his home open in 2024, said: “I’m always proud to compete in Singapore.

“The cheers of fellow Singaporeans and that electrifying energy always give me that extra boost. I’m excited for the KFF Singapore Badminton Open and can’t wait to play my best in front of the home crowd.”

Other Singaporeans in the main draw include men’s singles world No. 23 Jason Teh and German Open champion and women’s singles world No. 12 Yeo Jia Min.

The 27th-ranked mixed doubles pair Jin Yujia and Terry Hee will combine at the event for the first time since the latter’s wife Jessica Tan retired earlier in 2025.

Hee said: “This is our first year partnering together and I’m thrilled that we qualified for a Super 750 event in Singapore.

“Having my parents in the stands – and also my wife Jessica this year – cheering us on with all the other Singaporeans makes it extra special for me.”

While there are a host of stars for the US$1 million (S$1.31 million) tournament, including all five winners from the Badminton Asia Championships such as Thailand’s men’s singles world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn, some big names will be absent.

They include Paris 2024 men’s singles champion Viktor Axelsen and bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia. The Dane went for back surgery in April, while the Malaysian is still recovering from an ankle injury.

Over 70 per cent of the tickets have been sold, and daily tickets from $40 to $330 and season passes from $100 to $450 are available from

Ticketmaster

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As part of the SG60 celebrations, event organisers have launched “Chase the Bus”, a special campaign honouring Singapore’s sporting and political milestones.

Fans are encouraged to spot an SBS Transit Service 7 bus featuring Loh, Teh, Yeo and Hee along with past champions and world-class shuttlers linked to the tournament, snap creative selfies and post them on Instagram with the hashtag #kffsbo2025chasethebus.

Seven lucky winners will each receive a pair of season passes.