Seoul, Korea, November 10, 2026: Korea’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games badminton champion An Se-young underlined her dominance of the world game by winning her 11th international title of the year on Sunday, Yonhap News reports.
An, world No. 1, defeated second-ranked Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 2-1 (21-12, 15-21, 21-16) in the women's singles final at Yeosu Victor Korea Open at Jinnam Stadium in Yeosu.
This was An's 11th international victory of the year, tying the record first set by the men's singles player Kento Momota of Japan in 2019 and equaled by An herself in 2025.
This year, An has won eight tournaments on the BWF World Tour and gold medals at the Badminton Asia Championships, BWF World Championships and Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
An has lost just once in 72 matches all season - the lone defeat coming against Wang Zhiyi of China in the All-England Open final in March.
An also extended her winning streak against world No. 2 Yamaguchi to 11 matches.
An, who previously won the Korea Open in 2022 and 2023, said she became emotional in the final hearing rousing cheers from Korean fans.
"I felt so happy knowing there are so many badminton fans here," An said of a sellout crowd of 3,500.
"It is always great to win on home soil. I even got goose bumps hearing their cheers. I would like to thank these fans for their support. Sometimes, during a match, I get discouraged when I make mistakes. But these fans helped me play with confidence even after errors."
On winning 11 titles in back-to-back seasons, An said, "I am proud of myself for this accomplishment.
"I think I have grown up mentally from last year," she added. "I have also learned how to turn things around when I am running on fumes."
An will take some time off before the BWF World Tour Finals, starting December 9 in Hangzhou, China.
BWF TOP 10 RANKINGS
WOMEN: An Se-young (Korea), 122,287 points; Akane Yamaguchi (Japan), 103,726; Wang Zhiyi (China), 101,389; Chen Yufei (China), 87,351; Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand), 77,546; PV Sindhu (India), 74,421; Tomoka Miyazaki (Japan), 71,406; Pornpawee Chochuwong (Thailand), 70,277; Putri Kusuma Wardani (Indonesia), 69,903; Nozomi Okuhara (Japan), 68,930.
MEN: Christo Popov (France), 89,932; Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand), 89,465; Anders Antonsen (Denmark), 85,525; Chou Tien Chen (Chinese Taipei), 82,230; Alex Lanier (France), 81,565; Victor Lai (Canada), 79,845; Shi Yuqi (China), 79,525; Kodai Naraoka (Japan), 78,740; Jonatan Christie (Indonesia), 78,631; Alwi Farhan (Indonesia), 73,699.