SportsBadminton
Sindhu takes first game but An Se Young wins French Open final in Paris
The world No. 1 came back to win 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 for a fourth French Open title, her 11th straight win over the Indian and 50th match won in a row.
Key points
- An Se Young beat P V Sindhu 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 in a little over an hour.
- It was An's 11th straight win over Sindhu and her fourth French Open title.
- Sindhu was chasing a second title of 2026 after the Japan Open in July.
P V Sindhu took the first game off An Se Young, the only game the Korean dropped all week, but the world No. 1 recovered to win the French Open final 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 at the Arena Grand Paris on Sunday.
The defeat, in a little over an hour, was Sindhu’s 11th in 11 meetings with the South Korean. An took her fourth French Open title and her third in a row, and extended a winning run that now stands at 50 matches.
How the final turned
Sindhu began on the attack and drew errors from an opponent who had not dropped a game all week. She caught up at 11-all and then pulled clear to take the opener 21-16. It was only the second game she has ever won against An; the first came at the 2023 Badminton Asia Championships.
The second game changed after a 30-shot rally that An won. She led 11-7 at the interval, and although Sindhu saved three game points, An levelled the match at 21-11.
Sindhu was ahead early in the decider, but An’s court coverage and defence slowly took over. A run of points opened up a lead the Indian could not close, and An finished it off 21-12.
What Sindhu said
Sindhu, who beat Japan’s Hina Akechi in a three-game semi-final on Saturday, said afterwards that matches at this level leave no room for a let-up.
“When you’re playing with the top athletes, you have to be at your 100% every single point.”
She said she saw room to improve and was looking forward to “much more better badminton”.
A strong week despite the loss
The run to the final was Sindhu’s second podium finish of 2026, after she won the Japan Open in July, and her second Super 750 final of the season. A win would have given her a seventh title on the BWF World Tour.
Her final was also the 10th time this season that an Indian entry has reached a World Tour final at Super 300 level or above outside India, one more than the previous best of nine in 2023.
No Indian woman has won the French Open singles title since Aparna Popat in 1998. Saina Nehwal was runner-up in 2012.
For An, the title was her 10th of the season, and she has lost only once in 2026.