An Se Young closes historic 2025 season with BWF World Tour Finals victory

An Se Young crossed 1 million USD in prize money for the season.

The Korean superstar An Se Young capped off one of the greatest seasons in badminton history by winning the women’s singles title at the BWF World Tour Finals 2025 on Sunday, November 21, sealing several records

With her victory in the season-ending championship, An Se Young became the first women’s singles player ever to win 11 titles in a single season, also equalling the all-time singles record set by Kento Momota in 2019.

In the process, she also etched her name into financial history, becoming the first badminton player, across all disciplines, to earn more than 1 million USD in prize money in a single season, finishing 2025 with total earnings of 1,003,175 USD.

The World No.1 also posted the highest win rate in singles history for a season featuring more than 60 matches, winning 94.80% of her matches, eclipsing the legendary marks set by Lin Dan in 2011 and Lee Chong Wei in 2010.

In the final match in Hangzhou, she faced China’s world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi, and was pushed to her physical limits in an-hour-and-36-minute battle.

She claimed the opening game 21–13 before Wang mounted a comeback to take the second 21–18. In the decider, despite struggling with a leg cramp, Young sealed the match with 21–10 win and secured her record-breaking 11th title of the year.

Also Read: BWF World Tour Finals 2025: All you need to know about prize money & points on offer

The win also extended An Se Young’s flawless 8–0 head-to-head record against Wang Zhiyi in 2025.

Nevertheless, her performance throughout the tournament was equally outstanding, as she went unbeaten across all five matches at the World Tour Finals, going through a demanding group that included world champion Akane Yamaguchi.

She opened her campiagn with a three-game win over world No. 6 Putri Kusuma Wardani (21–16, 8–21, 21–8), then cruised past Tomoka Miyazaki 21–9, 21–6.

In the final match of the group, she fought back to beat world champion Akane Yamaguchi 14–21, 21–5, 21–14, before defeating Yamaguchi again in the semi-final 21–15, 21–12.

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