A look at women's singles title contenders in BWF World Tour Finals 2023

Published at :December 10, 2023 at 12:23 PM

Modified at :December 30, 2023 at 7:09 PM

(Courtesy : SonyLiv/BWF)

Defending champion Akane Yamaguchi pulled out due to an injury.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has recently revealed the crème de la crème – the top eight players/ pairs across all the five disciplines for the highly anticipated BWF World Tour Finals 2023, a pinnacle event in badminton each year. Competing for a hefty $2.5 million prize pool, elite competitors earned their spots by amassing points from a rigorous series of 14 tournaments held over a span of 52 weeks.

Top 10 performances in this period were considered while selecting the best eight players/pairs, a process that runs parallel to the standard BWF world rankings.

List of women’s singles title contenders at BWF World Tour Finals 2023

An Se Young (Korea)

An Se Young’s name this year can be interchangeably used for consistency. The wonder women won eight out of the 10 BWF World Tour tournaments she participated this year breaking Chen Yufei’s record. Furthermore, the South Korean faced only three defeats this year.

She became the first Korean women’s singles player to be crowned world champion in August. In the next couple of months, she went on to clinch the Asian Games 2023 title.

China Open Super 1000: Winner
Japan Open Super 750: Winner
Korea Open Super 500: Winner
Singapore Open Super 750: Winner
Thailand Open Super 300: Winner
All England Badminton Championships: Winner
Indonesia Masters Super 750: Winner
India Open Super 750: Winner
Indonesia Open Super 1000: Semifinals
Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500: Semifinals
Malaysia Open Super 1000: Semifinals
German Open Super 300: Runner-up

Chen Yufei (China)

Toyko Olympics 2020 gold medalist Chen Yufei, was very much consistent throughout the year. Except the India Open and Japan Open, she reached the semifinals of all of the tournaments she participated in. She played a crucial role in Sudirman Cup win by defeating An Se Young in the gold medal match.

Last year, in BWF World Tour Finals 2022, Chen Yufei knocked out An Se Young in the group stage match. However, the world no.1 Korean shuttler has won five out of eight encounters this year amongst them.

China Masters Super 750: Winner
Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500: Runner-up
French Open Super 750: Winner
Denmark Open Super 750: Winner
Indonesia Open Super 1000: Winner
All England Badminton Championships Super 1000: Runner-up
Malaysia Open Super 1000: Semifinals
German Open Super 300: Semifinals
Singapore Open Super 750: Semifinals
Korea Open Super 500: Semifinals
China Open Super 1000: Semifinals

Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei)

Tai Tzu Ying, BWF World Tour Finals 2022 runners-up, had a decent year by finishing third in BWF World Tour Finals qualification. She had a super consistent first half and except for Hong Kong Open and China Masters, she reached quarterfinals of every tournament she participated in this season.

Her biggest win of the year was Badminton Asia Championships 2023 (Continental Championships, not a part of BWF World Tour tournaments)

French Open Super 750: Runner-up
China Open Super 1000: Semifinals
Japan Open Super 750: Semifinals
Korea Open Super 500: Runner-up
Taipei Open Super 300: Winner
Singapore Open Super 750: Semifinals
All England Badminton Championships Super 1000: Semifinals
Malaysia Open Super 1000: Semifinals

Carolina Marin (Spain)

Carolina Marin returned for a full season this year after recovering from an ACL injury. The three-time world champion reached the final on four occasions but could breach the final barrier only once at the Orleans Masters. She showed glimpses of good form and looks set to be back on track ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024.

Denmark Open Super 750: Runner-up
Indonesia Open Super 1000: Runner-up
Thailand Open Super 300: Semifinals
Orléans Masters Super 300: Winner
Madrid Spain Masters Super 300: Semifinals
Indonesia Masters Super 500: Runner-up

Han Yue (China)

Han Yue had a great European leg this season winning her maiden Super 500 tournament at the Arctic Open. She reached the quarterfinals of 11 BWF World Tour tournaments this year. Unsurprisingly, she faced a stiff competition from the much experienced He Bing Jiao to find a spot in the BWF World Tour Finals – only two per each country qualify for the competition.

In the end, He Bing Jiao had to retire mid-way during the China Masters due to an injury, which made Han Yue’s entry easier.

China Masters Super 750: Runner-up
Denmark Open Super 750: Semifinals
Arctic Open Super 500: Winner
Malaysia Masters Super 500: Semifinals
Thailand Masters Super 300: Runner-up
Indonesia Masters Super 500: Semifinals

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Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia)

For Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, this year was filled up with many firsts. Always considered talented, Tunjung won her first BWF World Tour Super 300 (Madrid Spain Masters 2023) title by upsetting PV Sindhu for the very first time in their eighth encounter. She also became the first ever Indonesian women’s singles player to win a BWF Super 500 tournament – Kumamoto Masters Japan 2023.

Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500: Winner
Hong Kong Open Super 500: Semifinals
Japan Open Super 750: Semifinals
Malaysia Masters Super 500: Runner-up
Madrid Spain Masters Super 300: Winner
Swiss Open Super 300: Semifinals

Beiwen Zhang (USA)

Beiwan Zhang made her mark this season and had an excellent comeback to the BWF World Tour circuit. The most memorable moment of the year has to be the title triumph at Australian Open 2023. She further went onto win the Hylo Open and had several semifinals finish. With good consistency, Beiwan Zhang got back into the top 10 in BWF World Rankings.

Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500: Semifinals
Hylo Open Super 300: Winner
Australian Open Super 500: Winner
Canada Open Super 500: Semifinals
Taipei Open Super 300: Runner-up
Orléans Masters Super 300: Runner-up
Swiss Open Super 300: Semifinals

Kim Ga Eun (Korea)

Kim Ga Eun finished 11th in the Race to BWF World Tour Finals 2023 this season. She received a late entry for the competition after defending champion Akane Yamaguchi withdrew due to an injury. The 25-year-old had a consistent second half and won her maiden BWF Super 300 title in her own backyard at Korea Masters.

Korea Masters Super 300: Winner
Australian Open Super 500: Runner-up
China Masters Super 750: Semifinals

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