‘Shuttlecock Empress’ Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance) is heading toward exceeding $3 million in accumulated prize money.
Ahn Se-young defeated Wang Zhiyi (China) with a game score of 2-0 in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) 2026 Malaysia Open women’s singles final, which ended on the 11th. It was his first win in 2018, and he has been ranked first for five consecutive years since the Denmark Open in October of last year. He also achieved 9 consecutive wins against Wang Zhiyi, ranked 2nd in the rankings. By dominating the first competition of the Super 1000 series, he took a step toward achieving the ‘Super 1000 Slam’ by winning all 4 competitions.
Ahn Se-young ranked first in the career prize money rankings as of December 31, 2025, announced by badminton recording media ‘Badminton Ranks’ on the 11th, with $2,671,417. Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan), who dominated an era, surpassed ‘Living Legend’ Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) in the men’s division.
This record is based on players active between 2007 and 2025 and does not include prize money related to the Continental Championship, World Championship, or Olympic Games. Ahn Se-young’s accumulated prize money on the BWF official website is $2,569,466 as of the 12th. Badminton Ranks said that retroactive adjustments were made to some players after verifying prize money details based on website data.
Ahn Se-young added $101,500 (about 148 million won) as prize money for winning the Malaysia Open. Based on the Badminton Ranks calculation, the cumulative prize money is approximately $2,773,000. Based on the website, it is about $2.672 million.
The Malaysia Open is the Super 1000 series tournament with the largest prize money. The Indian Open, which is being played this week, is Super 750. The All England Open, which is likely to take place in March, is also a Super 1000 tournament.
Last year, Ahn Se-young became the first female singles player to record the most wins (11 wins), the highest winning percentage (94.8%), and the most prize money ($1,003,175) in a single season. With this year’s Malaysia Open, he increased his cumulative number of BWF World Tour wins to 33, ranking second in this category. The cumulative prize money is expected to exceed $3 million within the first half of the year at the earliest. Seyoung Ahn is once again aiming to break the first record.
Reporter Ahn Hee-soo anheesoo@edaily.co.kr
