World No. 1 An Se-young defeated Akane Yamaguchi 21-12, 15-21, 21-16 in the women's singles final at the Yeosu Victor Korea Open on Sunday. The victory gave An her 11th international title of 2026, tying the all-time single-season record. She becomes the first player in badminton history to reach that mark in two consecutive seasons.
The final, played before a sellout crowd of 3,500 at Jinnam Stadium, reversed last year's result when Yamaguchi beat An in the 2025 Korea Open final. An had considered skipping the tournament, citing fatigue, but chose to compete in front of home fans. "I felt so happy knowing there are so many badminton fans here," she said afterwards.
Yamaguchi hits back before An's decisive burst
In the opening game An took control midway through. At 9-9 she won three straight points, then after Yamaguchi replied took seven in a row to close it out 21-12. Yamaguchi, ranked second in the world, responded sharply in the second. She opened a 4-0 lead and never let An draw level, taking the game 21-15 while An struggled to reach her opponent's shots.
The deciding game began with An racing to a 6-1 lead, but Yamaguchi narrowed the gap to 11-9. Then came the decisive sequence. An scored five unanswered points to move clear, and though Yamaguchi battled back she could never close within three of the world No. 1. At 19-16 An set up match point with a diagonal winner, and the title was hers when Yamaguchi's return drifted out.
Eleven titles, one defeat
An has now won 11 of the 12 individual tournaments she entered this year, compiling a season record of 71 wins and one loss for a winning percentage of 98.6 percent. Her only defeat came against China's Wang Zhiyi in the All England Open final in March. The 11-title haul ties the single-season benchmark set by Kento Momota in 2019, a mark An herself matched in 2025. The win also stretched her head-to-head streak against Yamaguchi to 11 matches.
This was An's third Korea Open title, after victories in 2022 and 2023, making her only the second women's singles player to win the event three times. She became emotional hearing the cheers from Korean fans, saying they helped her play with confidence even after errors.
An will rest before the BWF World Tour Finals, which begin on 9 December in Hangzhou.
