An Se-young

An Se-young entered her first international competition when she was only 13 years old, participating in the 2015 Asian Junior Championships where she finished as quarter-finalist in the U15 girls' singles and doubles. An won her first international junior title at the U15 Korea Junior Open in 2015. An increasingly dominated the 2016 U15 junior tournaments, winning the girls' singles title at the Jakarta Open Junior International, Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix, Asian Junior Championships, and Korea Junior Open; she also won the women's doubles title at the Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix and the Korea Junior Open.

In 2017, An Se-young competed in the U17 and U19 competitions, where she managed to win the U17 Korea Junior Open, but at the Asian and World Junior Championships, she was unable to win any medals in the individual event. Meanwhile, in the mixed team, An succeeded in helping her team win the Asian junior mixed team title and also won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships.^[8] At the end of the year, An, 15 years old, was selected for the national senior team, becoming the first ever middle school student to join the South Korean national team.^[12]

She was then entrusted to strengthen the Korean team at the 2018 Asian Games, but did not manage to win any medals in the individual or team events.^[13][14] In the 2018 Indonesia International Challenge, An managed to reach the final round.^[15] She then won her first senior international title at the 2018 Irish Open, beating compatriot Kim Ga-eun in the final.^[16]

An Se-young won her maiden World Tour title at the 2019 New Zealand Open, beating the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Li Xuerui of China in the final.^[11] Her breakthroughs continued by winning the Canada Open,^[17] Akita Masters,^[18] French Open,^[19] and Korea Masters.^[20] The continuously improving performance she displayed in 2019 brought her into the women's singles top 10 in the BWF world rankings.^[21] In recognition of her achievements, the BWF awarded her the 2019 Most Promising Player of the Year.^[21][22]

Due to COVID-19, An only participated in five tournaments in 2020, with her best result being runner-up at the Thailand Masters,^[23] and together with the national team winning a silver medal at the Asian Women's Team Championship.^[24] In 2021, in her debut at the Olympic Games, she was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Chen Yufei.^[25] An then made her first final in a Super 1000 tournament, the Denmark Open, but she was unable to finish the match, and had to settle for runner-up to Akane Yamaguchi.^[26] At the Indonesia badminton festival held in Bali, An managed to win all three tournaments after in the final she beats Yamaguchi in the Indonesia Masters,^[27] Ratchanok Intanon in the Indonesia Open,^[28] and P. V. Sindhu in the World Tour Finals.^[29]

In 2022, An reached five finals in the BWF World Tour, winning the Korea Open,^[30] Malaysia Masters,^[31] and the Australian Open;^[32] and also finished as runners-up in the All England and Japan Opens.^[33][34] She also claimed the bronze medals in the women's singles at the Asian and World Championships.^[35][36] Together with the South Korean women's team, she clinched the Uber Cup.^[6]

An marked huge milestones for Korean badminton in 2023. She became the first ever Korean women's singles to win the World Championships title in 2023 BWF World Championships,^[4] and was the first Korean women's singles to win the Asian Games in 29 years.^[5] She also won the gold medal in the women's team at the Asian Games.^[7] In the BWF World Tour, she claimed eight titles out of ten finals,^[37] and topped the women's singles ranking on 1 August 2023.^[38]

In the first half of 2024 season, An played seven individual tournaments, won 3 titles in the Malaysia, French, and the Singapore Opens,^[39] and also became finalist in the Indonesia Open.^[40] An clinched the gold medal in the women's singles final at the Paris 2024 Olympics, defeating China's He Bingjiao 2–0, marking South Korea's first gold in this event since Bang Soo-hyun's victory in 1996.^[41] Following her triumphant gold medal victory at the Paris 2024 Olympics, An Se-young entered a period of both reflection and recovery. After a brief hiatus to address long-standing injury concerns and navigating internal discussions with the Badminton Korea Association (BKA),^[42] she made a highly anticipated return to the international circuit at the Denmark Open, where she impressively reached the final and secured the runner-up position.^[43] Continuing her post-Olympic momentum, she showcased her unwavering resilience by clinching the title at the China Masters.^[44] She concluded her competitive season by finish as the semi-finalist in the World Tour Finals in December. An was honored as the BWF Female Player of the Year for the second year in a row.^[42]

A strong performance shown by An in the beginning of the 2025 season, where she emerged champion in the Malaysia and India Opens in January.^[45][46] In the next tournament in March, An is winning a tournament in France, the Orléans Masters.^[47] Carrying the momentum of that win, An won the All England Open the next week, gaining her second Super 1000 titles of the year.^[48] An continued her pursuit for S1000 "clean sweep" by winning the Indonesia Open in June.^[49] The next month, An extended her good form, winning the Japan Open.^[50] An lost in two successive semifinals in China Open and 2025 BWF World Championships after that.^[51][52] An recovered well after those two tournament and snatched her second China Masters title.^[53] In October 2025, An was elected as BWF Athletes' Commission.^[54] An failed to win in her home tournament Korea Open,^[55] but bounced back by snatching both Denmark Open and French Open titles in two consecutive weeks.^[56][57] An broke her own record of most titles in one season for the womens' singles in November when she won her tenth title which was Australian Open.^[58] An also sealed the season with a World Tour Finals win in December, making it her eleventh title of the year, equalling the long-lasting record of Kento Momota.^[59] For her achievements, she also awarded as Women's Singles Player of the Year for the third consecutive time and Women's Player's Player of the Year by the BWF.^[60]

An also maintained her form into 2026 when she won the Malaysia Open for three consecutive years.^[61] She then proceed to win the India Open the next week after.^[62] The next month, An became the member of Korean women's badminton team that won the Badminton Asia Team Championships for the first time ever.^[63] In March, An's 36 match winning streak ended as she lost in the final of All England Open against Wang in straight sets.^[64]

Key

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 2026 All England Open.

More information Players, Matches ...

Players	Matches	Results		Difference
		Won	Lost
Chen Yufei	29	15	14	+1
Han Yue	11	9	2	+7
He Bingjiao	14	9	5	+4
Li Xuerui	1	1	0	+1
Wang Zhiyi	23	18	5	+13
Zhang Yiman	3	3	0	+3
Tai Tzu-ying	15	12	3	+9
Yip Pui Yin	1	1	0	+1
Saina Nehwal	2	1	1	0
P. V. Sindhu	8	8	0	+8

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More information Players, Matches ...

Players	Matches	Results		Difference
		Won	Lost
Gregoria Mariska Tunjung	11	11	0	+11
Putri Kusuma Wardani	9	9	0	+9
Aya Ohori	6	6	0	+6
Nozomi Okuhara	5	5	0	+5
Akane Yamaguchi	32	17	15	+2
Sung Ji-hyun	5	2	3	–1
Carolina Marín	10	6	4	+2
Porntip Buranaprasertsuk	2	2	0	+2
Ratchanok Intanon	14	13	1	+12

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