Ahn Se-young set a new record for the most wins in a single season in badminton women’s singles history by reaching the top of 11 competitions in 2025. Photo Yonhap News
(Reporter Kim Ji-soo, Xports News) Taiwanese media praised Korean badminton’s remarkable achievements in 2025. Ahn Se-young of the women’s singles was called ‘Queen’, and the achievements of Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae, who made new history in the men’s doubles, were also highly evaluated.
Taiwanese media outlet ‘Tai Bao’ reported on the 2nd that “Korea’s badminton world reached its peak in 2025,” and that “Ahn Se-young, the ‘queen’ of women’s singles, dominated the field and won 11 titles.”
He also explained, “The men’s doubles team of Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae also achieved the feat of winning 11 championships and 12 titles in one season in 37 years,” adding, “In the same year, two groups of Korean players reached the top of the Badminton World Federation (BWFA) World Tour Finals, and the BWF official website also published a special article.”
Ahn Se-young defeated China’s Wang Zhiyi, ranked second in the world, in the BWF Walt Tour Finals 2025 women’s singles final held at the Olympic Sports Center in Hangzhou, China on December 21 last year.
Ahn Se-young set a new record for the most wins in a single season in badminton women’s singles history by reaching the top of 11 competitions in 2025. Photo Yonhap News
Starting with the Malaysia Open in January last year, Ahn Se-young won a total of 11 trophies, including three Super 1000 tournaments including the All England Open and Indonesia Open, five Super 750 tournaments including the India Open, Japan Open, China Masters, Denmark Open, and French Open, the Australian Open, a Super 500 tournament, the Orleans Masters, a Super 300 tournament, and the World Tour Final.
In world badminton history, winning 11 times in a single season was a height that only Japan’s men’s singles legend Kento Momota had previously conquered. Not only did Ahn Se-young stand shoulder to shoulder with Momota, but she also set a new record for the most wins in a season for a women’s singles player.
Ahn Se-young did not stop there, but left his mark in history as the first player in badminton history to exceed $1 million (KRW 1.5 billion) in prize money in a single season. Trophy hunting will continue in the new year, starting with the Malaysia Open on January 6.
Seung-jae Seo (left) and Won-ho Kim, who set the record for the most wins in a single season in men’s badminton doubles in 2025. Photo Yonhap News
Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae also changed the history of badminton in 2025. Like Ahn Se-young, she won the BWF World Tour Finals last year and kissed her 11th trophy of the season. They achieved the feat of winning the most wins in a men’s doubles season, surpassing Chinese doubles legends Li Yongbo and Tian Bingyi’s record of 10 wins in a season in 1988.
In the case of Seo Seung-jae, he showed off his spirit by winning 12 times in the 2025 season alone, including the Thailand Masters in February of last year. He set the record for the most wins by a player in a single season in the BWF World Tour system.
BWF praised the team, saying, “As 2025 draws to a close, fans and experts will be analyzing the performance of the Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae team for a long time,” and added, “A season that has shown such consistent perfection is difficult to repeat.”
‘Tai Bao’ praised, “The three stars of Korean badminton swept 23 championships in 2025,” and “Ahn Se-young became the first player in badminton history to exceed $1 million in season prize money,” and “The pair of Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae achieved a total of 11 championships in 10 major tournaments, including the World Championship.”
Korean badminton, led by the pair of Ahn Se-young, Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae, aims to win at least three gold medals at the World Championships and the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
In the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Ahn Se-young led the way to gold medals in the women’s singles and women’s team event, but the men’s national team unfortunately only received no medals.
Photo = Xports News DB
Reporter Jisoo Kim jisoo@xportsnews.com
