Only three tickets remain, but An Se-young has already secured her spot in Hangzhou... Wang Zhiyi, who handed her the only loss of the season, is also coming, as are Yamaguchi, Chen Yufei, and Sindhu — five players confirmed for the Finals

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Five players, including "Queen of Badminton" An Se-young (24, Samsung Life), have locked in their spots in the women's singles event at the World Tour Finals, the season's championship showdown.

China Sports Daily reported on the 13th that An Se-young, Wang Zhiyi, and Chen Yufei (all from China), Akane Yamaguchi (Japan), and P.V. Sindhu (India) have secured their qualification for the women's singles event at the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals. The tournament will be held in Hangzhou, China, from December 9 to 13.

Only eight players can compete in the women's singles at the Finals. Since a maximum of two players per country are allowed, China has filled both of its slots with Wang Zhiyi and Chen Yufei.

China Sports Daily noted that "at the point when the Kumamoto Masters Round of 16 concluded, women's singles was the event with the most qualifiers determined among the five disciplines." The fate of the remaining three spots hinges on the results at the Kumamoto Masters and the subsequent Hong Kong Open.

An Se-young secured her trip to Hangzhou early on. This was thanks to her consecutive victories over Wang Zhiyi and Yamaguchi at the World Championships held in New Delhi, India, last August. She defeated Wang Zhiyi 2-0 (24-22, 21-16) in the semifinals and beat defending champion Yamaguchi 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) in the final. An Se-young, who claimed the World Championship title for the first time in three years since 2023, advanced directly to the Finals as the reigning champion.

Among the players confirmed alongside An Se-young, Wang Zhiyi is the most notable. She is the only opponent to have defeated An Se-young in her 72 matches this year. In the All England Open final last March, Wang Zhiyi, who had been on a 10-match losing streak against An Se-young at the time, took the first game 21-15 and then won the second game 21-19. Wang Zhiyi claimed her first All England Open title, and that defeat remains the only loss in An Se-young's season record to date.

An Se-young has recently defeated Sindhu and Yamaguchi in succession in the finals of two tournaments. In last month's French Open final, she lost the first game to Sindhu but then won the next two games consecutively to secure a 2-1 comeback victory.

In the Korea Open final held on the 8th at Yeosu Jinam Gymnasium in Gwangju Metropolitan City, South Jeolla Province, she defeated world No. 2 Yamaguchi 2-1 (21-12, 15-21, 21-16). It was her 11th consecutive victory over Yamaguchi and her 11th title of the season.

Wang Zhiyi was also An Se-young's opponent in last year's Hangzhou Finals final. The two players traded one game each, battling for the championship for 96 minutes. An Se-young won the deciding third game 21-10 to lift her 11th title of the season on Wang Zhiyi's home turf.

This year, she heads to Hangzhou having already secured 11 titles in the season. After resting following the Korea Open, An Se-young's next tournament is the Finals. If she successfully defends her title, she will extend her single-season record for most titles to 12.

There is one more record An Se-young is challenging in Hangzhou: the women's singles longest winning streak record held by Indonesian legend Susi Susanti.

Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that "An Se-young, who is on a 55-match winning streak as of the 10th, will surpass Susanti's 59-match streak and set a new record with a 60-match winning streak if she wins all three group stage matches at the Finals, along with the semifinals and final."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original