An Se-young, from the 'Women's Singles F4' to a queen who now loses only once a year... Foreign media also note her "absolute dominance on the court"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

An Se-young (24, Samsung Life), the "queen" of Korean badminton, once shared semifinal berths in international tournaments with three rivals. But now, world No. 1 An is on a solo run.

Taiwan's Central News Agency assessed on the 10th (Korean time) that "An Se-young has shown absolute dominance on the court this season." An is currently posting a record of 71 wins and 1 loss, with a winning percentage of 98.6%. Her only defeat came in the All England Open final in March against China's Wang Zhiyi. Since then, she has won 55 consecutive matches up to the Korea Open final.

The outlet also mentioned Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan, Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, and Chen Yufei of China, who once dominated an era alongside An. The Central News Agency introduced that "fans called them the 'Women's Singles F4.' At one point, the four players monopolized the semifinals of international tournaments."

Indeed, at the 2023 Asian Championships, the four players stood together on the podium. An, who was 21 at the time, lost to Tai in the final and won the silver medal. Chen and Yamaguchi took bronze medals respectively.

When Chen, waiting for the award ceremony, took out her mobile phone, the four players took a selfie together. Tai separately posted this photo on her social media service (SNS), calling it a "truly precious photo."

Three years have passed since then, and Tai has left the court. The Central News Agency also introduced the comment An left when Tai announced her retirement via SNS in November last year. To the senior who once competed with her for victory in finals, An said, "I hope only good things happen to you from now on."

The outlet stated that "An Se-young left a warm comment," explaining that it is "a passage showing how much players who have competed against each other on the court cherish and respect one another."

But now, the situation has changed. The era of An Se-young as the "badminton queen" has begun.

An's changed status is clearly shown in her head-to-head matches against the remaining two rivals. That was the case at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games last September. In the women's singles semifinal, An defeated Chen Yufei 2-0 (21-5, 21-12) in just 38 minutes. The next day in the final, she also subdued Yamaguchi, who had the support of home fans, 2-0 (21-17, 21-9). She achieved a second consecutive Asian Games title without dropping a single game against two players from the 'F4.'

Additionally, An defeated Yamaguchi 2-1 (21-12, 15-21, 21-16) in the women's singles final of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Korea Open (Super 500), held on the 8th at Yeosu Jinnam Gymnasium in Gwangju Metropolitan City, South Jeolla Province. With this, An has extended her winning streak against Yamaguchi to 11 consecutive wins.

At the Korea Open, An lifted her 11th championship trophy of the season. She won eight times on the World Tour and also reached the top at the Asian Championships, World Championships, and Asian Games. She matched the single-season record for most wins set by Japan's men's singles player Kento Momota in 2019, doing so again after last year. An is the first player to win 11 times in two consecutive seasons.

An will challenge for her 12th championship of the season at the BWF World Tour Finals, which will be held in Hangzhou, China, in December. There is one more record An can break at this tournament: the women's singles record for most consecutive wins (59 straight wins) held by Indonesia's legend Susi Susanti.

The Central News Agency reported that "An Se-young is currently on a 55-match winning streak," adding that "if she wins all five matches from the group stage to the final at the World Tour Finals, she will set a new world record with 60 consecutive wins."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original