*This content was translated by AI.
'Queen of Badminton' An Se-young (Samsung Life) has written another chapter in history, this time surpassing even the legends of world badminton.
China's Sohu.com reported on the 26th (Korean time), "An Se-young from Korea, known as Bae Deu-min-teon (여왕), set a new historical record in the 'Peak ELO Ranking' calculated by the badminton statistics site 'Badminton Rank' based on its own criteria."
Following her victory at the World Championships that concluded on the 23rd, An Se-young's ELO score rose from 2882 to 2903.
The media stated, "An Se-young's score of 2903 is the highest ever across all five badminton disciplines (men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles)," adding that she became the first player in badminton history to break the ELO 2900 barrier.
The ELO ranking measures how overwhelmingly dominant a player's performance and competitiveness were compared to other players of the same era. Unlike the official world rankings by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), it is calculated using criteria established independently by Badminton Rank.
Not only current players, but also the peak performances of legends who have left their mark on badminton history are quantified using the same standard. An Se-young surpassed even them.
Lin Dan, a legend in men's singles from China with two Olympic gold medals and five World Championship titles, ranked second with 2807 points.
Lee Chong Wei, Malaysia's badminton hero, took third place with 2773 points. Japan's Momota Kento came fourth with 2731 points, while Denmark's Viktor Axelsen, one of the top active men's singles players, was fifth with 2705 points.
An Se-young's prominent rival, China's Chen Yufei, finished seventh with 2683 points, showing a significant gap compared to An Se-young.
Sohu.com praised An Se-young, stating, "She has ranked first in history for the peak ELO evaluation of this indicator, which includes both active and retired players."
Previously, world number one An Se-young defeated Japan's Yamaguchi Akane, ranked second globally, with a score of 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) in the women's singles final of the 2026 BWF World Championships held on the 23rd in New Delhi, India, to claim the title.
This marked An Se-young's successful return to the top of the World Championships after three years. After winning a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships, she first reached the summit in 2023, establishing herself as the world's strongest player. Last year's tournament saw her lose to China's Chen Yufei in the semifinals, settling for bronze, but this year she returned to the highest position once again.
She also set a new milestone in Korean badminton history. An Se-young became the first Korean player to win the women's singles title at the World Championships twice.
The only defeat An Se-young suffered this season was against China's Wang Zhiyi in the final of the All England Open in March.
However, at this year's World Championships semifinals, An Se-young faced Wang Zhiyi again and defeated her 2-0 (24-22, 21-16) to reach the final, achieving revenge.
After the tournament concluded, an interesting scene unfolded. Wang Zhiyi directly asked An Se-young, "What do I need to do to beat you?" in a bold question.
Caught off guard by the unexpected direct question, An Se-young burst into laughter. After a brief pause, her initial answer was, "It's a secret."
Soon after, she revealed her own solution. An Se-young said, "I always want to win in matches," and added, "That's why I train harder." This implied that it was not any special trick or shortcut, but rather repeated effort and training that shaped who she is today.
At the time, Sohu.com noted, "Although An Se-young and Wang Zhiyi competed fiercely on the court without yielding an inch," it also highlighted that "after the match, the atmosphere changed completely. The two players, having shed the weight of being world-class champions, quickly transformed into playful ordinary girls, creating a warm and friendly atmosphere."
It further added, "An Se-young's gentle and approachable demeanor off the court received positive reactions. There was no authoritarian attitude despite being a world champion," and conveyed that "while they are rivals who pour everything into their matches on the court, off the court they were friends encouraging each other."
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*This content was translated by AI.
