Two wins from another season with 11 titles
An Se-young needed just 37 minutes to beat Japan's Riko Gunji 21-7, 21-13 at the Korea Open, extending her winning streak to 53 matches and moving within two victories of her 11th title of the season. The world No. 1 reached the women's singles semifinals at Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu with a season record of 69 wins and one loss, a winning percentage of 98.57%.
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The next challenge for the 24-year-old Samsung Life Insurance player is Japan's Hina Akechi, ranked No. 16, who overturned a losing record against compatriot Tomoka Miyazaki to reach the last four. Awaiting the winner is defending champion Akane Yamaguchi, who secured her place in the final on November 7.
For An, the tournament brings together three demanding tasks: extending an exceptional winning streak, managing physical discomfort after a crowded schedule, and trying to regain a home title that Yamaguchi won against her last year.
An has already won 10 tournaments this season. Another trophy in Yeosu would bring her level with her total of 11 last season, giving her consecutive seasons at that mark. Her immediate assignment, however, is a semifinal against a player arriving after one of the tournament's most striking upsets.
How An took control against Gunji
Gunji, the world No. 20, briefly put An under pressure at the start of their quarterfinal. An trailed 3-5 before winning five consecutive points to move ahead 8-5. The decisive passage came shortly afterward: from 10-7, she collected 11 points without reply to finish the opening game.
That run turned a competitive beginning into a 21-7 result. Gunji scored only seven points in the entire game, while An's final scoring burst alone produced 11. An combined soft shots that dropped close behind the net with forceful smashes into the corners, making her opponent cover both the front and back of the court.
A net hairpin is a delicate shot that passes close over the net and falls sharply on the other side. A smash sends the shuttle steeply downward at speed. By switching between them, An made Gunji respond to very different kinds of pressure rather than settle into a comfortable exchange.
An opened another gap in the second game, moving from 3-2 to 7-2 with four consecutive points. She kept the lead and closed the game 21-13, completing the match without needing a deciding third game.
Her defense supplied one of the clearest examples of her control. During one exchange, An made two diving defensive returns and still won the point. A straight smash that landed on the line and the final smash across the court showed that she could turn a successful retrieval into an attacking opportunity.
What 69 wins in 70 matches means
An's 98.57% winning percentage comes from dividing 69 victories by 70 matches. Put simply, she has lost once across her entire international season so far. Her only defeat came against China's Wang Zhiyi in the All England Open final in March.
The 53 consecutive victories describe her current unbeaten stretch, while the 69 victories describe her full season. Both figures matter: one measures how long she has gone without losing since the All England final, and the other captures her results across the year.
Her opening match in Yeosu had taken the streak to 51 and her season record to 67 wins and one loss. Two more victories brought those totals to 53 and 69 respectively. The progression helps explain why each round now carries significance beyond the tournament itself.
An has also kept her time on court relatively short. From the opening round through the quarterfinals, she won three consecutive matches without dropping a game, with each match lasting less than 40 minutes. That has limited her playing time during a week in which her physical condition has been a concern.
A busy schedule behind the home campaign
An considered whether to enter the Korea Open after competing at the Asian Games, Denmark Open and French Open. She had been experiencing discomfort around her knee and calf; knee and foot pain was also described during the opening round.
Her results in Yeosu have been decisive, but the physical demands remain part of the story. Repeated lunges, rapid changes of direction and defensive dives were visible features of the Gunji match, even as An completed it in straight games.
Against Bulgaria's world No. 38 Kaloyana Nalbantova in the round of 32 on November 4, An won 21-6, 21-8 in 39 minutes. She began the opening game with six consecutive points and led 11-1 at the interval in the second.
Across the Nalbantova and Gunji matches, An won 84 points and conceded 34. Those two scorelines show the scale of her advantage at the beginning and end of her route to the semifinals, while the intervening round also ended in straight games.
For the spectators in Yeosu, her decision to compete has meant watching the world No. 1 pursue another title at home. For An, reaching the trophy still requires two more matches after an already demanding run through international competition.
Akechi changes the semifinal picture
Hina Akechi earned her meeting with An by beating world No. 7 Tomoka Miyazaki 13-21, 23-21, 21-8. Before that quarterfinal, Akechi had lost all seven of their previous meetings. She was also nine places below Miyazaki in the world rankings.
Miyazaki took the first game 21-13, putting Akechi one game from another defeat in the matchup. Akechi then survived a close second game, winning 23-21. Badminton games normally finish at 21 points, but a player must lead by two when the score reaches 20-20, subject to a maximum of 30.
The deciding game was much less close. Akechi won 21-8, a margin of 13 points, to complete the comeback and claim her first victory over Miyazaki.
An had an 8-0 record against Miyazaki, who had been a possible semifinal opponent. Instead, she will face Akechi, whose quarterfinal demonstrated an ability to recover after losing the first game and to overturn a difficult history against a familiar rival.
An's semifinal was scheduled for November 7. The quarterfinal is dated November 6 in the tournament coverage, although November 5 also appears in an account of the same match. No result for An's semifinal was given.
Yamaguchi books her return to the final
Akane Yamaguchi, the world No. 2, secured the other place in the final by defeating Taiwan's Lin Xiang-ti 21-16, 21-12 on November 7. The match lasted 36 minutes and put the defending champion into her second consecutive Korea Open final.
Lin, ranked No. 18, had reached a career best of No. 15 in June. She advanced to the semifinals by beating South Korea's Kim Min-seon 21-6, 21-8 in 32 minutes, but Yamaguchi presented a much tougher challenge.
At 6-6 in the opening game, Yamaguchi won four consecutive points and later extended her advantage to 16-10. In the second game, she built a 10-4 lead through precise play near the net and fast, flatter exchanges known as drives.
A final against An would revisit last year's Korea Open title match, which Yamaguchi won. Since that defeat, An has beaten her 10 consecutive times, including meetings at the Asian Games in September and the Denmark Open final in October.
Yamaguchi, 29, spoke after her opening victory about wanting another opportunity against An while concentrating first on reaching the final.
If I face An Se-young, it will be in the final, so I want to focus on doing my best in each match to reach the final. Although I've been struggling to beat her recently, I believe I've been playing better in our matches. I want to challenge her again and again.
Yamaguchi has now completed her part of that route. Whether the rematch happens depends on An's semifinal against Akechi.
Ten trophies already on An's season list
An's 10 titles span individual tournaments and major championships. She has won the Malaysia Open, India Open, Asian Championships, Singapore Open, Indonesia Open, world championships, China Masters, Asian Games, Denmark Open and French Open.
The Korea Open is a BWF World Tour Super 500 event. An's season total includes competitions outside that particular tournament category, such as the world championships and Asian Games. Her pursuit of an 11th trophy therefore counts titles across those different competitions.
Last season's total of 11 gives the clearest comparison for her current target. Winning in Yeosu would match that number, with two more victories required after the Gunji quarterfinal. It would also add a home title to a season already containing victories across Asia and Europe.
Her route to that target has become more specific as the draw has narrowed: first Akechi, then Yamaguchi if An advances. The potential final would place the defending Korea Open champion opposite the player who has dominated their recent meetings.
The key dates in Yeosu
An's progress has unfolded quickly, with the opening round, quarterfinal and scheduled semifinal falling within four days. The main steps are:
- November 4: An beat Nalbantova 21-6, 21-8 in 39 minutes, extending her streak to 51 victories.
- November 6: An beat Gunji 21-7, 21-13 in 37 minutes, reaching 53 consecutive wins and the semifinals.
- November 6: Akechi defeated Miyazaki in three games to become An's next opponent.
- November 7: Yamaguchi beat Lin 21-16, 21-12 to reach the final, while An's semifinal against Akechi was scheduled for the same day.
South Korea also had a dramatic quarterfinal success in men's doubles. World No. 1 pair Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho defeated Chinese opponents after an extraordinary closing rally in the deciding game.
Leading 20-19, the Korean pair played a rally lasting 46 shots. Seo returned an attack while lying flat on the court, then eventually struck the smash that sealed victory. Their finish gave the home crowd another memorable moment alongside An's more decisive singles performance.
Key Points
- An Se-young beat Riko Gunji 21-7, 21-13 in 37 minutes to reach the Korea Open semifinals.
- Her winning streak reached 53 matches, with a season record of 69 wins and one loss.
- Hina Akechi became An's next opponent after ending seven consecutive defeats against Tomoka Miyazaki.
- Defending champion Akane Yamaguchi reached the final by beating Lin Xiang-ti in straight games.
- An needs two more victories to claim her 11th title of the season and match last year's total.
