South Korea’s An Seyoung claimed her 11th international title of the 2025 season. The remarkable milestone was achieved in the BWF World Tour Finals held on Sunday, December 21, in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China. Seyoung defeated world no. 2 and defending champion Wang Zhiyi of China by sets of 21-13, 18-21, 21-10 in a 96-minute intense battle.
Seyoung earlier defeated Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals clash in straight sets of 21-15, 21-12. On the other side, Wang defeated Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon to earn her spot in the finals.
Seyoung is also the first badminton player to make $1 million in prize money in a year. In the BWF World Tour Finals, she was awarded $240,000 as the winner. Before that, she had earned a total sum of $763,000.
Seyoung is now levelled with former men’s singles icon Kento Momota of Japan, who had also set the mark of securing 11 titles in a single season. The Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist has made 12 final appearances in 15 World Tour events of the 2025 season. She missed out on just one title this season when she lost against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the Korea Open.
Sharing her excitement on the victory, Seyoung said, “Winning my 11th title, I feel really happy and proud of this achievement. I’ll enjoy this win today.”
Meanwhile, Christo Popov is the first French player and third European to win the BWF World Tour Finals 2025 after defeating China’s world champion Shi Yuqi by sets of 21-19, 21-9. The victory was the first major title of his career.
The world no. 8 previously defeated Japan’s Naraoka Kodai in the semi-finals match by sets of 21-19, 21-8, held on Saturday.
Mixed doubles winner
In the mixed doubles event of the BWF World Tour Finals, China’s pair of Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping defeated Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin in a commanding victory by sets of 21-12, 21-17. The win was Feng and Huang’s eighth title of the 2025 season and the first in the tournament as a pair. Meanwhile, Huang claimed her second title in the tournament, having previously won alongside Wang Yi Lyu in the 2018 edition.
Another major milestone achieved by Feng and Huang is that this was their 10th final appearance of the season, highlighting their consistency and top-level performance in the mixed doubles.
