Ahn Se-young & Seo/Kim Win Athlete of the Year | Dong-A Ilbo

Ahn Se-young (23), world number one in badminton women’s singles, was named the Badminton World Federation (BWF) ‘Women’s Singles Player of the Year’ for two consecutive years.

Ahn Se-young was selected as the Female Athlete of the Year in 2023, before the BWF selected the Player of the Year (group) for each specific event. He defended his Player of the Year title for three consecutive years.

BWF held the ‘BWF World Finals 2025 Gala Awards’ in Hangzhou, China on the 15th and selected Ahn Se-young as the Women’s Singles Player of the Year.

Ahn Se-young was also named ‘Female Athlete of the Year chosen by players.’ Seyoung Ahn received this award for two consecutive years, following last year when this award was first established.

Ahn Se-young became the first women’s singles player to reach 10 wins this season.

Seyoung Ahn will participate in the BWF World Tour Finals starting on the 17th and attempt to tie the record for most wins in a single season with 11.

If Ahn Se-young wins this tournament, he will be on par with Kento Momota (31, Japan), who won 11 men’s singles games in 2019.

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Meanwhile, the team of Seo Seung-jae (28) and Kim Won-ho (26) was also selected as the ‘Men’s Doubles Team of the Year’.

The two players will also challenge for their 11th win of the season at the BWF World Tour Finals.

Seo Seung-jae, the 2023 Male Athlete of the Year winner, can record 12 wins in the season if he wins this competition.

This is because Seo Seung-jae also won the Thailand Masters, which he competed in as a pair with Jin Yong (22).

Then, he will surpass Momota and become the player with the most wins in one season in badminton history.