SEOUL – Badminton world No. 1 An Se-young said she was “very proud” after winning an incredible 11th title of the year at home in the Korea Open on Nov 8.

The 24-year-old beat Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-12, 15-21, 21-16 in the final in Yeosu to extend an unbeaten run that stretches back to March.

She also equals her single-season record tally of 11 titles that she set in 2025. The only other player to reach that mark is retired former men’s singles world No. 1 and two-time world champion Kento Momota in 2019.

An has been head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in 2026, but she said she still had to be on her guard against world No. 2 Yamaguchi.

“She’s a player who can always keep the score close so I tried to keep the intensity up all the way until the end,” An told the Badminton World Federation.

“When the match was over, I was very proud of myself. It felt a bit different because it’s my home tournament.”

It was An’s 11th straight win over the 29-year-old former world champion.

Yamaguchi’s most recent win over An came in the final of the Korea Open in 2025.

“Whenever we play each other, sometimes I win and sometimes she does, so I didn’t think too much about last year’s result,” said An.

“Yamaguchi is a player who brings different styles into every match, so I knew it wouldn’t be easy and it wasn’t.”

Of the titles An did not win in 2026, she finished runner-up at the All-England Open and pulled out injured from the Japan Open.

She claimed her second world crown in August in New Delhi and became the first woman to win two Asian Games singles titles in Nagoya in September.

“We don’t play many matches in Korea so this feels like a dream moment,” said An.

“I’m just so proud and happy that so many people in Korea are now supporting badminton.” AFP