An Se-young reaches French Open quarterfinals with 47th straight win

World No. 1 beats Sharma again in 37 minutes

An Se-young extended her winning streak to 47 matches and moved within three victories of a third consecutive French Open title by defeating India's Tanvi Sharma 21-11, 21-14 in the women's singles round of 16 on October 22, 2026.

The South Korean world No. 1 needed 37 minutes at Arena Grand Paris near Paris to secure her quarterfinal place. The official BWF results confirm the top seed's 21-11, 21-14 victory over Sharma in 37 minutes on October 22. Her season record now stands at 63 wins and one defeat, a winning rate of approximately 98.4% across 64 matches.

Sharma, ranked No. 24, had already faced An five days earlier in the Denmark Open quarterfinals. The Indian player led early in both games in France, but An recovered each time, using patient defense and attacks into the corners to take control.

The victory came amid reports that An was experiencing Achilles tendon pain after the Denmark Open final. She nevertheless completed her second consecutive victory in France without losing a game, keeping her pursuit of a 10th title this season on course.

An's own comments provided details of the injury: she slipped during the Denmark Open final and complained of pain in her right Achilles tendon. She said she still felt discomfort and a pulling sensation, though not severe pain, and was doing everything she could to recover.

An said the Denmark Open court was slippery and that other players had also indicated it was slippery. She expressed regret that the umpire dismissed her request to have the court wiped, saying that while she respected the decision, issues directly linked to injuries called for a more lenient approach. Her current goal, she said, was to finish without getting injured.

An will next face China's Han Yue, who defeated Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt. Another win could bring a semifinal meeting with Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, whom she defeated in the Denmark final.

Sharma's fast start meets a quick response

Sharma put the top seed under immediate pressure. Four consecutive points helped her establish a 5-1 lead in the opening game, giving the player born in 2008 an early opportunity to unsettle the tournament favorite.

An responded with five points in succession to move ahead 6-5. By the interval, which comes when the leading player reaches 11 points, she held an 11-8 advantage. Sharma's opening burst had forced a response, but An had already turned the score around before the break.

An then widened the gap through a combination of retrieving difficult shots, drawing errors and directing attacks toward different corners. Sharma finished with only three more points after the interval as An closed out the game 21-11.

The opening game showed why Sharma's early lead was difficult to sustain. Getting ahead required a short burst of successful attacks; staying ahead required repeatedly finding a way through An's defense while covering the court against her replies.

A close second game turns at 15-14

Sharma again started strongly in the second game, winning the first three points and later moving 9-5 ahead. Her drop shots, which send the shuttle just over the net, and sharp diagonal attacks made An work to recover ground.

An answered with another run of five consecutive points. She extended rallies and kept returning Sharma's attacks, eventually reaching the interval with an 11-10 lead. The margin was much narrower than in the opening game, and Sharma remained close after play resumed.

At 15-14, An led by just one point. She then won five points in a row to reach 20-14 and earn match point. Sharma's final shot landed outside the court, giving An the last point and a 21-14 victory.

Badminton singles matches are played over the best of three games, so winning the first two ended the contest. An's decisive finish also meant she avoided a third game at a time when her physical condition was drawing attention.

Two meetings in five days show the gap

An had beaten Sharma 21-15, 21-13 in their Denmark Open quarterfinal five days before the French encounter. Across the two meetings, she won all four games, although Sharma again found ways to trouble her early in Paris.

The combined scores offer a useful comparison. Sharma collected 28 points in Denmark and 25 in France, while An scored 42 in each match. The French result was slightly more decisive on points despite Sharma establishing leads in both games.

Sharma's attacking passages gave her openings, particularly when her drop shots and diagonal placement moved An around the court. An's longer periods of control decided the outcome: she recovered from four points behind in each game and produced the strongest scoring run at the finish.

For Sharma, the two tournaments brought repeated exposure to the world's leading player within less than a week. Her French Open campaign ended in the last 16, while An advanced with another opportunity to add to a season already containing nine titles.

Schulz win kept the opening rounds short

An began her French Open campaign by beating Denmark's Amalie Schulz, ranked No. 45, 21-6, 21-4 in the round of 32. That match lasted 25 minutes, and Schulz collected only 10 points across the two games.

Against Sharma, An spent 12 minutes longer on court and conceded 25 points. Her first two matches therefore totaled 62 minutes of play, with four games won and none lost. Those relatively short contests form part of the immediate picture as she competes after the Denmark tournament.

The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscles to the heel and helps a player push off, jump and change direction. Those movements are central to badminton, where players repeatedly move between the net, the sides and the back of the court. No medical assessment, recovery timetable or change to An's playing schedule was given.

Her route through the two European events so far has been:

• Five days before the French round of 16: An defeated Sharma 21-15, 21-13 in the Denmark Open quarterfinals.
• Denmark Open final: An beat Yamaguchi 21-23, 21-14, 21-18 to retain the title.
• French Open round of 32: An defeated Schulz 21-6, 21-4 in 25 minutes.
• October 22: An beat Sharma 21-11, 21-14 in 37 minutes to reach the French quarterfinals.

Han awaits in the quarterfinals

Han Yue, ranked No. 9 and seeded seventh, secured her place against An by defeating Mia Blichfeldt, ranked No. 14. BWF records confirm Han's 11-21, 21-13, 21-8 victory in 52 minutes on October 22. Han opened her tournament by defeating Denmark's Line Christophersen.

Blichfeldt advanced past reigning European champion Kirsty Gilmour 21-9, 24-22. The Danish player won the first game comfortably but needed extra points in the second. At 20-20, badminton normally requires a lead of two points to finish a game, with a maximum score of 30.

An has already beaten both Han and Blichfeldt this season. In New Delhi, she defeated Blichfeldt in the round of 16 and Han in the quarterfinals. The next round will bring another meeting with an opponent she has faced successfully this year.

The quarterfinal is An's immediate task, with a semifinal against Yamaguchi still dependent on both players advancing. Yamaguchi, ranked No. 2 and seeded third in France, was scheduled to meet India's Ashmita Chaliha in the round of 16.

A possible Yamaguchi rematch follows Denmark battle

An needed three games to defeat Yamaguchi in the Denmark Open final, recovering after losing the opener 21-23. She took the next two games 21-14 and 21-18 to claim her second consecutive title at that tournament.

The result extended An's winning streak against Yamaguchi to 10 matches. Their latest final was still a demanding contest: Yamaguchi won a tight opening game and remained within three points in the deciding game.

The Denmark victory brought An's career title total to a reported 47, alongside a claim that she had surpassed Indonesia's Susi Susanti for the most women's singles titles. Her 47 consecutive match victories are a separate tally, measuring her current unbeaten run rather than the number of tournaments she has won.

A French semifinal between An and Yamaguchi would therefore renew a rivalry only days after their Denmark final. An first needs to win her quarterfinal, while Yamaguchi must complete her own route through the draw.

French title would bring season total to 10

An arrived in France with nine titles this season. Winning the French Open would give her 10, complete consecutive tournament victories in Denmark and France, and secure a third French crown in succession.

Her benchmark is the 11 titles she won in 2025, described as the women's singles record for a season. A victory in France would leave her one title short of matching that total. Two further titles after France would take her beyond it.

Japan's Kento Momota also won 11 singles titles in 2019, providing another comparison for the scale of An's season. With nine titles already secured, she is pursuing a total reached by very few players, while still needing to navigate the final three rounds in France.

The 63-1 match record gives another measure of her consistency. She has lost only once in 64 matches this season, and her current run of 47 victories accounts for almost three quarters of those matches. The streak and the title chase now continue together in the quarterfinals.

India also loses Shetty as other matches await

Sharma's exit was followed by an injury retirement for India's Ayush Shetty in the men's singles round of 16 at the tournament, which carries a total prize purse of $950,000.

Shetty stopped against Japan's sixth seed Kodai Naraoka while trailing 17-21, 6-11. His injury was not specified. He had reached the round by defeating fellow Indian Kidambi Srikanth in his opening match.

India still had women's singles matches scheduled later that day. Double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu was due to face Japan's Riko Gunji, while Chaliha was set to play Yamaguchi.

Chaliha's match also mattered to An's possible semifinal route. A meeting between An and Yamaguchi remained a prospect rather than a confirmed fixture, with other players still competing for those places.

Key Points

• An Se-young defeated Tanvi Sharma 21-11, 21-14 in 37 minutes to reach the French Open quarterfinals.
• The world No. 1 extended her winning streak to 47 matches and improved her season record to 63-1.
• An recovered from early deficits in both games, then won the final six points from 15-14 in the second.
• Han Yue will be her quarterfinal opponent after beating Mia Blichfeldt 11-21, 21-13, 21-8 in 52 minutes, with a possible Akane Yamaguchi rematch later.
• A French Open title would be An's third in succession at the tournament and her 10th title this season.
• India's Ayush Shetty retired injured against Kodai Naraoka, while PV Sindhu and Ashmita Chaliha had matches scheduled later that day.