Badminton player Ahn Se-young is responding to an opponent’s attack in the final of the World Tour Finals last month. AFP Yonhap News
Ahn Se-young (24), world No. 1 in badminton women’s singles, is looking even higher in the new year. It is not easy just to maintain the strongest position, but Ahn Se-young sets herself an even higher goal and pushes herself again.
Ahn Se-young, who is participating in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open, the first tournament of 2026, said in a local interview after defeating Canada’s Michelle Lee in the round of 32 on the 6th, “My ultimate goal is to finish the year without losing even once.” Seyoung Ahn said, “I always try to forget everything I’ve already accomplished and start over. I try to chase more titles. That habit is what keeps me going. Collecting titles is what drives me.”
Ahn Se-young participated in 15 competitions last year and swept 11 championship trophies. With 73 wins and 4 losses in 77 matches, a winning rate of 94.8%, he broke the record for the highest winning rate of the season, surpassing past men’s singles legends Lin Dan (China) and Lee Chongwei (Malaysia).
Ahn Se-young has already created a season that will be remembered in badminton history, but he is not satisfied with that. After winning the World Tour Finals last year, she said, “I want to play like the male players. I think I can do something similar someday,” and at the Malaysia Open, the first tournament of the new year, she set a new goal of having a perfect season without a single loss.
“I always try to forget everything I have already accomplished and start over.”
Strong start to ‘undefeated season’, advancing to the quarterfinals of the BWF Malaysia Open for the first time this year
Overseas media: “The more challenges you face, the wider your horizons become… You have already conquered the sport.”
An undefeated season is almost impossible. There is no precedent in badminton history.
Ahn Se-young knows best that it is not easy. Se-young Ahn said of her new goal, “I know it is very difficult,” and added, “Everything feels more difficult because many players are analyzing my game and preparing for me.”
Ahn Se-young won 2-1 in the round of 32 on the 6th after a struggle against world number 12 Lee. It was revealed from the first game of the new year how difficult Ahn Se-young’s goal of an undefeated season was. Nevertheless, Ahn Se-young did not collapse in the crisis and eventually won.
In the round of 16 held on the 8th, he showed his full potential.
She defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 2-0 (21-17 21-7) in 37 minutes. He turned the tide by scoring three points in a row at 13-15 in Game 1, and gained momentum by scoring consecutive points again at 16-16. In Game 2, they won comfortably by overwhelming their opponents with 11 consecutive points from the beginning.
Regarding Ahn Se-young, the New Straits Times, a local Malaysian media outlet, wrote, “As the challenges from competitors become more intense, Ahn Se-young broadens his horizons.”
At the same time, “Ahn Se-young has already conquered the sport of badminton. Now his goal is to redefine the standard of ‘dominance’ itself. All other players must find a way to keep up with that speed,” he said, praising Ahn Se-young’s outstanding performance and ‘number one mind’.
The Malaysia Open is the first stage toward the goal of an undefeated season. Se-young Ahn will meet Denmark’s Line Højmark Kiersfeld (ranked 26th in the world) in the quarterfinals on the 9th. China’s Han Yue (ranked 5th in the world), a strong quarterfinal opponent, withdrew in the round of 16.
Ahn Se-young won the Malaysia Open in succession in 2024 and 2025. Following Suzy Susanthi (Indonesia), Jiang Ning (China), and Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan), she will attempt to become the fourth player in history to win three consecutive Malaysia Open titles.
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