An Se-young played down the chances of breaking her own record of 11 titles in a year after the South Korean phenomenon clinched her third Malaysia Open women’s singles title on Sunday.
The world number one was in a class of her own to dispatch China’s Wang Zhi Yi in straight games 21-15, 24-22 for her first silverware of 2026.
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“I do not think about titles. I never give up and I always play with confidence. I’m happy to win here,” said An, who overturned a 13-19 deficit in the second game as Wang came close to levelling the scores.
An’s 56-minute success means she becomes the sixth women’s singles shuttler to win the Malaysia Open three consecutive times.
Other names who have done so include Cecilia Samuel (Malaysia: 1950-1955), Tan Gaik Bee (Malaysia: 1961-1963), Susi Susanti (Indonesia: 1993-1995), Zhang Ning (China: 2004-2006) and Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu-ying (2017-2019).
An’s success at the Axiata Arena comes on the back of a stellar 2025 season which saw her clinch 11 titles to equal Kento Momota’s record of most wins in a calendar year in the singles competition.
The 23-year-old reigning Olympic gold medalist also won 73 of her 77 matches played last year which saw her achieve a 94.8% win rate.
An said she will next head to the India Open which starts on Tuesday, but will assess her physical condition before deciding to compete.
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