PETALING JAYA: South Korea’s An Se-young ended her 2025 season on a high after successfully won her second World Tour Finals title and becoming the first badminton player to earn more than US$1mil in prize money in a single season.
The world No. 1 defeated China’s Wang Zhiyi 21-13, 18-21, 21-10 in the final yesterday to pocket US$240,000 (RM978,480).
Se-young had already amassed US$763,175 (RM3,113,858) in prize money before arriving in Hangzhou, and the latest triumph pushed her earnings beyond the million-dollar mark.
The victory, however, did not come easily as the 23-year-old had to overcome home favourite Zhiyi in front of a packed and vocal crowd at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre.
She also battled cramps in a gruelling 96-minute match before sealing the title. It appeared as though she may pull out at 20-10 in the deciding game but she persevered to earn the winning point.
The win marked Se-young’s 11th title of the season, equalling the record for the most titles won in a single year, previously set by Japan’s Kento Momota in 2019.
Following in Se-young’s footsteps were her women’s doubles teammates, Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee, who claimed the title after defeating Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto 21-17, 21-11 in 69 minutes.
In the mixed doubles event, China’s Fen Yanzhe-Huang Dongping emerged victorious, overcoming fellow countrymen Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin 21-12, 21-17 to lift the trophy.
The biggest surprise of the finals came in the men’s singles event, where Christo Popov stunned Shi Yuqi 21-19, 21-9 to claim the title.
Popov’s victory made him the first French player to win a World Tour Finals crown.
