A 98.6% win rate—can she even be human? An Se-young makes Yamaguchi her latest victim, blitzing to 11 wins for a second straight year—a first ever

[Financial News] At this point, simply calling her “good” falls far short. She is nothing short of an “overwhelming force disrupting the ecosystem” and a “spine-tingling dominance” rewriting the entire history of world badminton.
The world’s strongest player, An Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), toppled Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) on home soil and planted her flag at 11 wins, tying the all-time record for most titles in a single season, completing an unprecedented feat beyond anyone else’s reach.
On the 8th, An Se-young lifted the trophy after defeating her longtime rival Yamaguchi 2-1 (21-12, 15-21, 21-16) in the women’s singles final of the BWF World Tour Super 500 Korea Open at Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.

The record An Se-young set with this victory is the kind of figure you’d expect to see only in a comic book. Of the 12 individual tournaments she entered this season, she finished runner-up at just one—the All England Open Badminton Championships—and swept the trophies at the other 11 in a phenomenal display. Her win rate this season stands at an astonishing 98.6%. A perfect “monster” has emerged, seemingly forgetting how to lose whenever she picks up a shuttlecock and steps onto the court.
After crushing her way through the first set 21-12, An Se-young briefly faltered in the second, taking a hit as Yamaguchi mounted a tenacious comeback and won 21-15. But in the decisive third set, An’s fierce determination flashed again. With the home crowd roaring, she raised her focus to its highest level, drove Yamaguchi to the brink with her trademark flawless defense and sharp attacks, then closed out the match 21-16 and roared.
The historic significance of this 11th win is beyond imagination. Until now, the only players to reach 11 wins in a single badminton season were Japan’s Kento Momota, a men’s singles player who was at the peak of his career in 2019, and An Se-young last year.

But An Se-young is the first player, male or female, to go beyond that and achieve 11 wins in two consecutive seasons. She has boldly inscribed her name in the “realm of the gods,” a place no one in the history of world badminton had ever reached.
Through injuries, opponents’ efforts to contain her and every other adverse condition, An Se-young keeps claiming victory without wavering. The astonishing 98.6% win rate now declares to the world that she has gone beyond simply being No. 1 in the rankings and fully joined the ranks of the “GOAT (greatest of all time),” a symbol of badminton itself.
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