BWF’s first-ever pure prize money exceeds $1 million, ‘new history’
Departing at 10:10 on January 1st… A ‘World Class’ New Year with no rest
‘Monster’ with 94.8% winning rate, aims to win 2nd consecutive Malaysia-India Open
Badminton Ahn Se-young will participate in the HSBC Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals, which will be held in Hangzhou, China from the 17th to the 21st. Newsis
[파이낸셜뉴스] The countdown to “Happy New Year” will ring at 0:10 a.m. on January 1st.
‘Shuttlecock Empress’ Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance) will be standing at the departure hall of Incheon International Airport, not at a fancy party venue.
Ahn Se-young, who became the most expensive player in world badminton history, opens the door to 2026, the year of Byeong-o, without any time to catch his breath. The goal is clear. The stage where he proved his worth is the title defense heading to Malaysia and India.
2025 was a monumental year for Ahn Se-young, in which she achieved both wealth and fame.
Last season, she became the first player in BWF (Badminton World Federation) history to exceed $1 million in prize money in a single season.
The cumulative prize money is 1,003,175 dollars, which is a huge amount of money, equivalent to about 1,438 million won in Korean currency. Badminton shattered the common belief that the prize money was smaller than golf or tennis. The scale is such that it can be called a walking ‘one-person small business’.
Seyoung Ahn (Samsung Life Insurance). /News1 DB ⓒ News1 Reporter Kim Young-woon /Photo = News1
Looking at the report card, this amount makes sense. Se-young Ahn swept the championship trophies in a total of 11 competitions, including 3 Super 1000 competitions (Malaysia, All England, and Indonesia) last year. He tied the record for most wins in a single season set by Kento Momota (Japan) in 2019, and broke the record for the highest win rate of all time with an astonishing win rate of 73 wins out of 77 (94.8%).
Although she gained great wealth and fame, ‘rest’ was a luxury for the empress. The badminton team, including Ahn Se-young, will head to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by plane at 0:10 on January 1, the first day of the new year.
The ‘Malaysia Open (Super 1000)’, which starts on the 6th, and the ‘India Open (Super 750)’ which follows, are the fields where Ahn Se-young won both titles last season. Ahn Se-young, who must defend her title as champion, will have to endure a forced march of about three weeks until she returns to Korea on the 19th.
Immediately after winning the last World Tour Finals, Ahn Se-young said, “I am so thrilled that I wonder if this is true. I am proud of the 11 titles,” but also expressed her undiminished competitive spirit, saying, “I want to come back stronger in 2026 and break more records.”
Ahn Se-young is playing against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the women’s singles final of the 2025 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 500 Korea Open held at Suwon Indoor Gymnasium in Gyeonggi-do on the 28th. Newsis
Ahn Se-young has already risen to the ranks of legends. The only opponent that Ahn Se-young of 2026 must overcome is ‘Ahn Se-young of 2025.’ Fans’ attention is now focused not on the prize money she will earn, but on the history she will write.
Meanwhile, along with Ahn Se-young, the men’s doubles team of Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae, and the women’s doubles team of Baek Hana-Lee So-hee and Kim Hye-jung and Kong Hee-yong are also leaving the country, aiming for their first victory of the new year.
jsi@fnnews.com Reporter Jeon Sang-il
※ Copyright ⓒ Financial News, unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited
