An Se-young Wins 11th Title of the Season to Match All-Time Single-Season Record at Korea Open

Shuttler Ahn Se-young secured her 11th title of the season at the Korea Open on the 8th, defeating Akane Yamaguchi 2-1 at the Yeosu Jinnam Gymnasium.

The world number one triumphed over her Japanese rival with set scores of 21-12, 15-21, 21-16 in the women’s singles final of the World Badminton Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 500 event.

With this victory, Ahn achieved her 11th title of the season—excluding two team competition wins—matching the all-time single-season most wins record of 11 previously set by Momota Kento of Japan in 2019. In doing so, Ahn became the first player in history to achieve this feat in two consecutive seasons.

Her overall record for the season stands at 71 wins and 1 loss, giving her a 98.6% win rate, with her sole defeat coming against China’s Wang Zhiyi in the March All England Open final. Ahn also extended her winning streak to 55 matches.

The final served as both a milestone match and a sweet revenge mission. At the previous Korea Open held in Suwon in September of last year, Ahn had suffered a 0-2 (18-21, 13-21) defeat to Yamaguchi after pushing through a heavy schedule. That past loss halted her momentum and cost her a shot at a record-breaking title at the time. By early July, Ahn had been flying high with six victories out of seven tournaments, but was facing a period of slowed momentum due to the physical toll of a gruelling schedule.

After settling for two consecutive bronze medals at the China Open and the World Individual Championships, she added a title at the China Masters, but pushed ahead to play the Korea Open just two days later, only to be caught off guard by Yamaguchi. That painful defeat had also dashed her chances of setting a new record, despite holding three consecutive wins against Yamaguchi prior to that encounter.

Fortunately, Ahn used that defeat as a blessing in disguise, going on to add four more international titles to equal the all-time single-season most wins record. Meeting Yamaguchi in their sixth final clash of the season—having never lost in their ten consecutive head-to-head meetings since that match—Ahn quickly turned the tables.

Although Ahn surrendered the early lead in the first game, she quickly bounced back to lead 11-9 at the interval before pulling away to 15-10 and sealing the opener.

After dropping the second game 15-21 as Yamaguchi mounted an aggressive comeback from an early 0-4 and 8-11 deficit, Ahn relied on her trademark stamina in the third game. She surged to a 16-10 advantage, and despite conceding three consecutive points, she answered with further scoring to close out the match in front of home fans.

In the preceding women’s doubles final, Kim Yu-jung and Lee Yu-rim of Samsung Life Insurance settled for the silver medal after losing 0-2 (18-21, 18-21) to Japan’s Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara.