An Se Young wins BWF World C'ships 2025, beats Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14
Synopsis
An Se Young didn't just win the BWF World Championships in New Delhi — she did it without dropping a single game across six matches, beating three-time champion Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14 in the final. Holding both the Olympic and world titles simultaneously, she is now the undisputed face of women's badminton and the only South Korean singles player ever to claim a world crown.
Key Takeaways
An Se Young defeated Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14 in the BWF World Championships women's singles final in New Delhi on 23 August .
An claimed her second world title , having won her first in Copenhagen in 2023 .
She completed the tournament without dropping a game across all six matches .
An extended her winning streak against Yamaguchi to six matches , with an overall head-to-head record of 20-15 .
Yamaguchi was denied a record fourth women's singles world title .
An remains the only South Korean singles player — male or female — to have won a BWF World Championships title.
South Korea's An Se Young reclaimed the women's singles crown at the BWF World Championships on 23 August in New Delhi, defeating three-time champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-17, 21-14 in a dominant straight-games final. The world No. 1 sealed her second world title, having previously won in Copenhagen in 2023, and completed the tournament without dropping a single game across six matches.
How the Final Unfolded
The opening game was tightly contested, with Yamaguchi edging ahead 16-15 after An had led 15-12. An responded with four consecutive points — a combination of precise winners and Yamaguchi errors — to take the first game 21-17.
In the second game, Yamaguchi again opened strongly at 4-2, but An swiftly reversed the momentum, moving ahead 7-6 and then stretching to a 11-7 lead at the interval. A 16-11 cushion put An in firm control. At 17-13, she produced the rally of the match — a long exchange finished with a delicate drop that sent Yamaguchi sprawling — before closing out 21-14.
An Se Young's Remarkable Run
An's triumph completes an extraordinary sequence at the top of women's badminton. She won her maiden world title in Copenhagen in 2023, claimed Olympic gold in Paris the following year, and took bronze at last year's World Championships in Paris. Reclaiming the crown in New Delhi, she also extended her winning streak against Yamaguchi to six matches, improving her overall head-to-head record against the Japanese star to 20-15.
Notably, An remains the only South Korean singles player — male or female — to have won a BWF World Championships title.
What It Meant for Yamaguchi
For Akane Yamaguchi, ranked world No. 2, the defeat denied her an unprecedented fourth women's singles world title. The three-time champion threatened to turn the match around on multiple occasions but was ultimately undone by An's composure and clinical finishing under pressure.
Context and Significance
An's six-match campaign in New Delhi was flawless — not a single game conceded — underscoring her status as the dominant force in women's badminton. This comes amid a period of South Korean resurgence in the sport, with An leading the charge at every major tournament on the calendar. The victory consolidates her position as the standout player of her generation, holding both the Olympic and world titles simultaneously.
With the next major international cycle already under way, all eyes will be on whether An can sustain this level of dominance into the coming season.
Point of View
And doing so without conceding a game across six matches, places her in rare company in the history of women's badminton. What makes this particularly significant is the context: Yamaguchi is no ordinary opponent — she is a three-time world champion who repeatedly threatened to shift the momentum. That An absorbed every surge and closed out both games with clinical precision speaks to a mental and technical maturity that her rivals currently cannot match. The question for the coming season is not whether An is the best in the world — that is settled — but how long she can sustain this level before the chasing pack finds an answer.
NationPress
24 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the BWF World Championships 2025 women's singles title?
An Se Young of South Korea won the BWF World Championships 2025 women's singles title, defeating Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14 in the final held in New Delhi on 23 August. It is her second world title.
What was the score in the BWF World Championships women's singles final?
An Se Young defeated Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14 in straight games. An was in control for most of both games, conceding only brief leads to Yamaguchi before pulling away decisively.
How many BWF World Championship titles does An Se Young now have?
An Se Young now holds two BWF World Championships titles — her first came in Copenhagen in 2023 and her second in New Delhi in 2025. She also won Olympic gold in Paris in 2024.
Did Akane Yamaguchi win a record fourth world title?
No. Akane Yamaguchi, a three-time world champion, was denied a record fourth women's singles title by An Se Young's composed performance in the New Delhi final.
How did An Se Young perform across the full tournament?
An Se Young was unbeaten and untroubled throughout the New Delhi tournament, completing all six matches without dropping a single game — a flawless campaign from the world No. 1.
