An Se Young beats PV Sindhu 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 to win French Open 2026 final

An Se Young defeated PV Sindhu 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 in the French Open 2026 final in Paris on Sunday, and extended her perfect head-to-head record against Sindhu to 11 wins in 11 meetings. Sindhu took the opening game before An recovered to take the next two and claim the title.

Sindhu had arrived in Paris aiming to add a second title to her season after winning the Japan Open in July and reached the final by beating Japan’s Hina Akechi 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 in a three-game semi-final. An entered the match on a 49-match winning streak and had not dropped a game throughout the tournament. Prior to Sunday, Sindhu had taken only one game off An across their first 10 encounters, at the 2023 Badminton Asia Championships.

Sindhu set the tone in the opening game by taking the shuttle early, keeping returns tight to the net and using sharp cross-court shots to force An forward; she converted that approach into a 21-16 game one victory, her first game win against An since 2023. For the first time in their rivalry, Sindhu’s tactics briefly put the world No. 1 on the back foot.

An began to solve Sindhu’s short-return strategy in the second game, reading the shorter returns better and using them to set up her next shots. A 30-shot rally underlined the intensity of the stanza, and An closed out the game 21-11 after Sindhu had saved three game points and then played a misjudged final shot.

Sindhu opened the deciding game 8-5 and moved well early, but An gradually pushed her deeper, varying delicate net play with powerful smashes and finding better angles. From 5-8 down, An seized control and pulled away to take the decider 21-12.

Both players contested 102 points in the match, with An winning 58 to Sindhu’s 44; An also produced the longest streak of consecutive points at seven, while Sindhu’s longest run was four.

An celebrated her third consecutive French Open title. The South Korean is the world No. 1.