PV Sindhu to meet An Se Young in French Open 2026 women's singles final
PV Sindhu will face World No. 1 An Se Young in the women’s singles final of the BWF French Open 2026 at the Arena Grand Paris on October 25, with the title match scheduled to start at 11 am local time (3:30 pm IST). Sindhu advanced to the final after beating Japan’s Hina Akechi 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 in a 73-minute semi-final on Saturday.
Sindhu heads into the Paris final seeking a second title of the season after capturing the Japan Open in July and is making her first final appearance at the Grand Paris Arena and in a Super 750 event. An Se Young arrives as the two-time defending champion and World No. 1, having lost only one match all season while winning six of the seven tournaments she entered. Her sole defeat this year came to Wang Zhiyi in the All England Open final in March; since then An Se Young has added titles at the Singapore Open, Denmark Open, Indonesia Open and China Masters on the BWF World Tour as well as the BWF World Championships, Asian Championships and Asian Games gold.
Sindhu took control early in the semi-final, winning the opening game 21-10 before Akechi claimed the second 22-20 after holding the lead through the latter stages. The decider was tightly contested with scores level on multiple occasions, Akechi drawing level at 14-all and moving ahead 16-15 before Sindhu produced six consecutive error-free points to close out the match 21-16.
The Paris final will be the pair’s 11th meeting on tour and their third encounter this year; Sindhu has not beaten An Se Young in their previous 10 meetings. They met earlier this season at the Indonesia Open and the Singapore Open, with An Se Young winning in straight games on both occasions.
This appearance in Paris constitutes Sindhu’s second BWF World Tour Super 750 final of the season, the earlier Super 750 success being her Japan Open title in July. A victory in Sunday’s final would be the first time Sindhu has defeated An Se Young in head-to-head competition.
“I have to give her a good fight, a tough fight. Every point matters. I know we’ve played a lot of times and she’s been doing really well. She’s been at her top form. “But I think tomorrow is a different day. Every day is a new day. I just have to go out there and give my best. Rest just decides on that particular day. So yeah, I’m ready to give a fight.” Sindhu said.
The women’s singles title match will be played at the Arena Grand in Paris on October 25 (Sunday) and is scheduled to begin at 11 am local time (3:30 pm IST).
