An Se-young Continues Dominance, Reaches All England Open Final

World No. 1 An Se-young of South Korea defeated Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Chen Yu-fei of China 2-1 (20-22, 21-9, 21-12) in the semifinals of the 2026 BWF World Tour Super 1000 All England Open, securing her place in the final. The match took place at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, England on March 8th (Korean time).

A Challenging Rivalry

Prior to today’s match, Chen Yu-fei held a 14-14 record against An Se-young, making her a particularly challenging opponent. Chen Yu-fei, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic champion, has demonstrated consistent performance this season, including a win at the Indonesia Masters and a bronze medal at the Malaysia-India Open earlier in the year. The two players were scheduled to meet in the semifinals of the Malaysia Open, but Chen Yu-fei withdrew due to injury.

Match Details: An Se-young’s Overwhelming Performance

The match saw An Se-young take control, despite dropping the first game in a deuce. She responded with a dominant performance in the second game, winning seven consecutive points and ultimately taking the game 21-9. In the third game, An Se-young continued her flawless play, not allowing Chen Yu-fei to gain momentum. After a 1-hour and 13-minute battle, An Se-young’s stamina and concentration proved decisive.

The day before the match, An Se-young expressed her enjoyment of winning, stating, “I never get tired of winning. I enjoy my game and I am happy every time I win.” She similarly acknowledged the importance of her rivalry with Chen Yu-fei, saying, “The 14-14 record with Chen Yu-fei gives me a chance to grow further. This rivalry makes me develop.”

Extending the Winning Streak

With this victory, An Se-young extended her winning streak in international competitions to 36 matches. This is the second-longest undefeated streak in women’s singles history, trailing only Indonesian legend Susi Susanthi’s 57 consecutive wins. An Se-young has not lost a match since the Denmark Open in October of the previous year and has now reached the semifinals of the All England Open for the fifth consecutive time.

Aiming for History

An Se-young is now attempting to become the first Korean badminton singles player to win two consecutive All England Open titles. Previous Korean champions have achieved consecutive wins in doubles events, but no singles player has accomplished this feat. She will face the winner of the match between Wang Ziyi (China) and Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) in the final.

Korean Success in Doubles Events

Korean players also saw success in the doubles events. The women’s doubles team of Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee defeated Tan Pearly and Tina Muralitharan (Malaysia) 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) to advance to the final. The men’s doubles world No. 1 team, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, also progressed to the semifinals, defeating France’s Christo Popov and Thomas Popov 16-21, 21-7, 21-14. They will face Indonesia’s Raymond Indra and Nicolaus Joaquin in the semifinals.

If Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho win the tournament, they will become the first Korean pair to win consecutive All England Open men’s doubles titles in 40 years, since Kim Moon-soo and Park Joo-bong in 1986. The pair won 12 titles in 2025, including the All England Open and World Championships.