Sindhu fails to crack open An Se Young code, goes down fighting in French Open final

PV Sindhu’s attempt to break the An Se Young code faltered yet again as the Indian shuttler went down to reigning the Olympic and world champion in the women’s singles final at the French Open 2026 badminton tournament in Paris on Sunday.

The two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who is ranked 11th in women’s badminton, went down fighting to world No. 1 An Se Young in a thrilling three-game encounter. The Korean won 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 in just over an hour at the Arena Grand Paris.

The Andhra Pradesh shuttler has now lost all 11 of her head-to-head matches against An Se Young, who extended her winning streak to 50 matches with Sunday’s victory. The South Korean boasts a 66-1 record in 2026 and the French Open was her 10th title this year.

Sindhu overcomes a fighting Akechi to set up title clash against World No.1 An Se Young

The Indian player, meanwhile, was aiming to win her seventh career World Tour title and the second of the season after the Japan Open back in July.

Sindhu breaks free in first game

The first game saw An Se Young and PV Sindhu go toe-to-toe in the early exchanges with the lead continuously shifting between the two shuttlers. However, with the score at 11-all, it was Sindhu who gradually broke free.

Sindhu used her reach and court sense brilliantly to frustrate the South Korean ace and took the lead. It was only the second time that Sindhu had taken a game from An Se Young in 11 meetings.

An Se Young of Korea picked up six consecutive points to race to a 15-9 lead in the match and secured her fourth French Open badminton crown fairly comfortably from that point on. Pics: BWF/Badminton Photo

The previous instance came in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Badminton Asia Championships, where Sindhu took the opener before An Se Young recovered to win 18-21, 21-5, 21-9.

An Se Young comes back strongly

An Se Young, the top seed, responded immediately in the second game. The South Korean shuttler led 11-7 at the break before doubling down and restoring parity in the match.

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The decider saw Sindhu keep up with An Se Young in the early exchanges but the Indian shuttler eventually ran out of steam. The Korean shuttler picked up six consecutive points to race to a 15-9 lead in the match and secured her fourth French Open badminton crown fairly comfortably from that point on.

Sindhu’s runner-up finish also continued India’s wait for a women’s singles champion at the French Open. Aparna Popat was the last Indian woman to win the title in 1998, while Saina Nehwal finished second in 2012.

Speaking on the closely contested final, Sindhu said: “When you’re playing with the top athletes, you have to be at your 100% every single point. I know it’s not going to be easy and you have to fight for every point. That’s what we were doing.” She added that the long rallies made it challenging to convert opportunities, but remained positive about the lessons from the match.

PV Sindhu and An Se Young pose with their trophies after the French Open final in Paris on Sunday

Reaching the title clash marks Sindhu’s second BWF World Tour Super 750 final of the 2026 season, following her title victory at the Japan Open in July.

Reflecting on her recent form Sindu said, “I’m absolutely looking forward for much more better badminton from me. I’m happy with this, but I think there’s a lot of space, a lot of room still there. So I’m looking forward for it.”

Sindhu’s run to the final marks the 10th time an Indian entry has reached the championship round of a BWF World Tour event (Super 300 and above) outside India this season. This officially surpasses the previous record of nine finals set in 2023, cementing 2026 as the most successful year ever for Indian representation on the international circuit.