[스포티비뉴스=장하준 기자] Ahn Se-young heads to the court again. As soon as a hectic year comes to an end, we stand at the starting line of a new season.
According to the Korea Badminton Association, the Korean badminton team, including Ahn Se-young, will leave the country on the night of the 31st and move to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The first event of the new year is the Malaysia Open, which opens on January 6. This is a Super 1000 level competition, and it is a stage where you can gauge the flow of the early season.
The break wasn’t long. Ahn Se-young won the World Tour Finals on the 21st, completing an unprecedented record of 11 wins in a single season. It is a forced march to the international competition again just 10 days later. The schedule is to prepare for the next fight immediately after reaching the top of the world.
There is a reason. According to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) regulations, singles players ranked 1st to 15th in the world are required to participate in the Super 1000 and Super 750 competitions. Even after the Malaysia Open ends, the India Open (Super 750), which opens on January 13, will continue. In fact, it is only after competing in two competitions in a row that one can finally catch their breath.
Ahn Se-young’s actions last season were truly overwhelming. He achieved three Super 1000 crowns at the Malaysia Open, All England Open, and Indonesia Open, and reached the top five times at the Super 750 tournaments, including the India, Japan, China, Denmark, and French Opens. To this, the Australian Open (Super 500) and Orleans Masters (Super 300) were added, and the finale was concluded by winning the World Tour Finals, which was the last stage of the season.
A new record was also written. The cumulative prize money for the season exceeded $1 million, including $240,000 in prize money for winning the World Tour Finals. This is the first time in badminton history that a player has earned more than $1 million in prize money in a single season. According to BWF statistics, Ahn Se-young’s season prize money amounts to $1,003,175. He almost doubled his previous record set in 2023.
The win rate is also amazing. They played more than 70 games this season and finished with a 94.8% win rate. This is a figure that no one has ever reached in both men’s and women’s singles. The numbers alone are enough to explain a season of dominance.
Overseas perspectives have also changed. Chinese media acknowledged the gap by describing Ahn Se-young as “the artificial intelligence of women’s singles,” while Malaysian media evaluated her as “almost the only active player who has approached the realm of immortality.” Taiwanese media even mentioned changes in the system for the next season and predicted that Ahn Se-young’s dominance could be further solidified.
This is the first gateway to 2026 after a record-breaking year in 2025. Despite the non-stop schedule, Ahn Se-young picks up the racket again. The journey toward a new season and another record has already begun.
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