(Reporter Kwon Dong-hwan, Xports News) Will the introduction of the ‘15-point system’ gain momentum? It was revealed that Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance, world No. 1) played on the court for nearly 3,500 minutes in 2025.
Badminton Ranks, a badminton media outlet, looked at the major records of the 2025 badminton women’s singles through social networking services (SNS) on the 30th of last month (Korean time).
The media focused on Ahn Se-young’s record, which dominated the 2025 season. Ahn Se-young wrote a new history in badminton by reaching the top of 11 international competitions in 2025 and becoming the first female singles player to win 11 gold medals in a single season.
The media also said, “Ahn Se-young set several major records in 2025. She recorded the most appearances (77 games), the most wins (73 wins), the most championships (11 times), the most finals (12), the most semifinals (14), and the most quarterfinals (15).”
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Ahn Se-young also attracted attention by ranking high in the category of most playing time in a single season.
The media said, “China’s Wang Zhiyi (world’s second) spent the longest time on the court (3,538 minutes). Ahn Se-young played 3,479 minutes. Wang Zhiyi’s 3,538 minutes is the third longest in women’s singles history, following Ahn Se-young’s 4,072 minutes and Chen Yu-fei’s 3,900 minutes in 2023.”
Ahn Se-young, who set a new record for the most playing time in women’s singles in a single season by playing a whopping 4,072 minutes in the 2023 season, played 3,479 minutes while reaching the finals of most competitions in the 2025 season, ranking second in women’s singles playing time last season.
On the 21st of last month, Ahn Se-young played against Wang Ziyi for 1 hour and 36 minutes in the women’s singles final of the 2025 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals and won the championship with a game score of 2-1 (21-13 18-21 21-10).
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As Ahn Se-young played many games again, there were concerns among fans about the possibility of injury, but starting from the 2026 season, BWF changed the scoring system from the existing ’21-point 3-set system’ to ’15-point 3-set system’ to ease the burden on Ahn Se-young.
The BWF Board of Directors recently approved the introduction of a 15-point 3-set system and plans to vote on changes to the scoring system at the annual general meeting in April. If the number of votes is met and passed, the new scoring system will be introduced worldwide starting in late 2026.
BWF Secretary-General Thomas Lund also sent an official statement to Yonhap News on the 28th of last month, saying, “This system reform is to create an environment in which top star players such as Ahn Se-young can play for a longer period of time,” and explained that it is a measure to reduce the burden on world-class star players such as Ahn Se-young.
Photo = Yonhap News
Reporter Kwon Dong-hwan kkddhh95@xportsnews.com
The categories of this article follow the classification of media outlets.
