The Orleans Masters concluded on 9 March 2025, and An Se-Young claimed the title of women’s singles category. This 23-year-old badminton champion has had a great year till now, having won multiple titles like Malaysia Open and India Open. Now, she will continue her campaign in the All England Open as the top seed in women’s singles starting on 11 March. Not just that, she’s also on an unbeaten streak and has not lost a single game in 2025 showing her dominance and strong form in the sport.
She started her year by winning the Malaysia Open and proceeded to defend her title at the India Open, where she also made an impressive streak of winning 10 matches without a single loss. She continued her winning streak by winning the Orleans Masters on 9 March by defeating Y.F. Chen marking her third title this year. A Se-Young has had a career full of milestones and numerous accolades, so let’s take a look at her rise to stardom.
An Se-Young’s Journey: From Backyard to Badminton Stardom
An Se-Young was born on 5 February 2002 in Gwangju. She started playing badminton at the age of six in grade one at her school, Pungam Elementary School in South Korea. Her early exposure to the sport laid the foundation for the immense success that was about to come up her way. She was already competing in international competitions by the age of 13 and participated in the Asian Junior Championships in 2015, where she finished as the quarter-finalist in the U15 girls’ singles and doubles category.
She then proceeded to win her first U15 junior title at the U15 Korea Junior Open in the same year. In 2016, she dominated all the U15 Junior tournaments she appeared in and won four titles, including the Jajarta Open, Jaya Raya, and Asian Junior Championships.
An Se-Young also became a part of the national mixed team in 2017, a team that won the Asian Junior Championships. She also won the bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in the mixed team event, and at the end of the year, she was selected for the national senior team becoming the first ever school student to join the South Korea national team. Her early success and rapid rise through her junior years became a solid foundation for her future achievements. So let’s take a look at her later milestones.
Smashing Expectations: An Se-Young’s Rise To Stardom
After being selected for the national senior team at the age of 15 in 2017, An Se-Young quickly proved her dominance in the sport by winning a bronze medal at the Uber Cup in 2018. She also participated in the Asian Games in the same year, though she could not claim a win. She achieved her first victory at the Irish Open later that year.
The South Korean badminton champion won her maiden BWF World Tour title at the New Zealand Open in 2019, after which her success was unbelievable. She proceeded to claim multiple titles in 2022, including the Asian Games and the Uber Cup and became the first Korean woman to win the World Championship in 2023. She also won a gold medal in the women’s singles category at the Paria Olymoicw in 2024, which, was also Korea’s first Olympic medal since 1996. She ended her 2024 season by winning the Malaysia Open, French Open, Singapore Open, and Indonesia Open.
An Se-Young also dominated the 2025 season since the beginning by defending her title at the India Open, and Malaysia Open, and she recently bagged the Orleans Masters title. Now, she will be competing in the All England Open, starting on 11 March, and it will be thrilling to see if she manages to continue her winning streak.
