An Se-young overcomes cramp and self-doubt to win record 11th BWF title at World Tour Finals

HANGZHOU – South Korea’s world No. 1 An Se-young overcame self-doubt and a cramped leg that “hurt every time she landed on it” to become the first women’s singles player to win 11 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour events in a calendar year, after her World Tour Finals success in Hangzhou on Dec 21.

The only other player to reach that mark is retired former men’s singles world No. 1 and two-time world champion Kento Momota in 2019.

History was made for the 23-year-old An when she beat second-ranked Wang Zhiyi of China 21-13, 18-21, 21-10 in 1hr 36min at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium.

The 25-year-old must dread the sight of her rival, who has now beaten her in all eight of their meetings in 2025.

“I doubted whether I’d really be able to get to the 11th win. I guess my belief was stronger than those doubts,” Yonhap News Agency quoted An as saying.

“It was a gruelling match. Towards the end, my leg hurt every time I landed on it, but I stuck to it through the end. I am really happy that I was able to finish with such a great result. I can’t even describe how I feel. My hard work has paid off, and I want to keep going for more records,” she declared.

“I want to win major competitions, like the world championships and the Asian Games. I just want to win them all.”

The US$240,000 (S$310,000) winner’s cheque meant An also became the first player to rack up US$1 million in prize money in a single season, during which she also set a match-win record.

The 2024 Paris Olympic gold medallist and 2023 world champion recorded a 94.8 per cent winning rate in 2025, surpassing even legends Lin Dan (92.75 per cent in 2011) of China and Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei (92.75 per cent in 2010).

In total, the South Korean lost just four of her 77 matches.

An has played in 15 World Tour tournaments and reached 12 finals in 2025.

The only time she has failed to reach at least the semi-finals was at the Singapore Open in May, when she lost to China’s Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei in the quarter-finals.

She also won all her five matches at the mixed-team Sudirman Cup, where South Korea finished second, behind China.

But that has been more of a blip for An, who has been the bane of Chinese players, beating them in nine of her 11 final wins in 2025. Wang alone has lost seven finals to her South Korean rival.

The final in Hangzhou proved more dramatic than the scoreline suggested, featuring several long rallies between the top two women’s singles players in the world.

World No. 2 Wang was 8-4 up in the opening game before An roared back to win 17 of the next 22 points to draw first blood.

The second stanza was a closer affair but Wang’s excellent defence and ability to work An around the court saw her take the initiative after the pair were locked at 14-14 as she sent the final to a decider.

In the third game, An was made to work to take an 11-6 advantage, but after the change of sides, she seemed to be in complete control until late in the match.

At 20-8 up, she was struggling to move freely due to cramp and unable to receive treatment. It looked then that she might have to retire on championship point, but she managed to steel herself and get that crucial final point on the third time of asking.

There was more disappointment for China in the men’s singles final as home favourite and world No. 1 Shi Yuqi lost 21-19, 21-9 to Christo Popov – the world No. 8 becoming France’s first-ever World Tour Finals winner.

The 23-year-old Popov said it was the biggest win of his career, adding: “I feel amazing, unbelievable honestly. That’s a big achievement for me, for the team in France...

“I think the shuttles were really slow today and we had some really long rallies. I think I began to see once he was getting a bit more tired, so he was not pushing so much. And then I could feel he has some pain somewhere.”

Reigning All England and world champion Shi, 29, admitted: “I have some limitations with my physique, sometimes it was hard for me to reach the shuttles.”

China, however, were guaranteed at least one title on their home court.

In the mixed doubles final, China’s top-ranked pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping claimed their eighth title of the season with a 21-12, 21-17 win over second-ranked compatriots Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin.

Huang, who had won the title with Wang Yilyu in 2018, said: “I’m very glad to win this title again. It’s confirmation of my performance. It was a very good year for us and we were stable and maintained a high level in training. Looking forward, we will continue working in response to challenges.”

Wei conceded: “We are less mature compared to them, especially on grasping key points, not only at key points but also in between.”

South Korea’s Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee won the women’s doubles final, beating Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto 21-17, 21-11.

In the men’s doubles, Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae beat China’s Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang 21-18, 21-14 to cap a great day for South Korea – their shuttlers won all three of their finals in Hangzhou.

Like An, they won their 11th title of the season, becoming the most successful men’s doubles pair over a single season.