South Korea’s An Se-young triumphed over defending champion Wang Zhiyi of China to clinch her 11th title of the season at the BWF World Tour Finals. The match concluded with scores of 21-13, 18-21, 21-10, equalling her with Japanese men’s singles legend Kento Momota for the most titles in a single season.
“I’m truly happy and proud of myself to have won these titles,” An remarked, despite suffering a leg injury near the match’s end in this 96-minute thriller. Wang admitted her energy waned in the final set, leading to mistakes. “But there are many positives to take from pushing An this hard,” she stated.
In a stunning upset during the men’s singles final, France’s Christo Popov, a surprising contender in the tournament, defeated newly crowned world champion Shi Yuqi of China with scores of 21-19, 21-9. The 23-year-old completed a flawless campaign at the season-ending tournament, having topped his group and then overcoming Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the semifinals. This victory makes him the first French player to win the title since the tournament began in 2018.
On the same day, Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping secured the mixed doubles title by defeating Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin in an all-Chinese final. The experienced pair dominated, winning the first game 21-12 and sealing the match 21-17 in the second.
“During the match, we kept communicating. And once we had an idea, we were both fully committed to making it work,” Feng shared. This victory marks the fourth consecutive year that China has triumphed in the mixed doubles event at the season-ending tournament, following the impressive three-peat by Olympic champions Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong.
In the women’s doubles final, South Korea’s Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee emerged victorious against Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto with scores of 21-17, 21-11, securing the title for the second consecutive year. Meanwhile, the men’s doubles saw South Korea’s defending champions Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae triumph over home favourites Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, winning 21-18, 21-14.
The season-ending tournament, hosted in Hangzhou since 2023, showcases the top eight players in the World Tour standings, with a maximum of two entries per member association. Reigning Olympic and world champions also earn automatic qualification.