BWF French Open: PV Sindhu finishes runner-up after losing to An Se Young in women’s singles final

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu concluded her campaign as the runner-up at the French Open 2026, losing a hard-fought match against world number one An Se Young of Korea in the women’s singles final in Paris on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Sindhu produced a courageous performance before settling for a 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 defeat at the Arena Grand Paris, as the top-seeded Korean secured her fourth French Open title.

With this, Sindhu fell short of becoming the first Indian since 1998 to win the French Open title. Notably, Aparna Popat won the French Open in 1998, setting a benchmark that no Indian woman has matched since.

How The Finals Unfolded  

Sindhu started on the front foot, bringing great intensity and sharp court control right from the opening shuttle. Taking advantage of some early errors from the world champion, the Indian ace drew level at 11-all before pulling clear to take the first game 21-16. It marked only the second time in 11 career meetings that Sindhu managed to take a game off the Korean star.

An bounced back with her trademark consistency in the second game. After a tight opening phase, the top seed took complete control with a long run of points to win 21-11 and force a decider.

The momentum stayed with her into the third game where, following a 9-9 deadlock, An used her exceptional court coverage and defense to pull away and wrap up the match in 61 minutes.

Sindhu Reacts After Her Loss

For Sindhu, this was her second Super 750 final of the year, after she lifted the Japan Open title in July, beating three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the final. It was her first BWF title since December 2024 and a maiden Super 750 crown.

Speaking after the closely contested final, Sindhu said, "When you're playing with the top athletes, you have to be at your 100% every single point. I know it's not going to be easy and you have to fight for every point. That's what we were doing."

She added that the long rallies made it challenging to convert opportunities but remained positive about the lessons from the match.

Reflecting on her recent form, the Indian ace said, "I'm absolutely looking forward to much better badminton from me. I'm happy with this, but I think there's a lot of space, a lot of room still there. So I'm looking forward for it."

Sindhu's Run To Final

Sindhu, the World No. 11, reached her maiden French Open badminton summit clash after overcoming Japan’s Hina Akechi 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 in the semifinal.

Her campaign in France saw her survive a dramatic opening-round battle against Supanida Katethong of Thailand before beating Riko Gunji of Japan and Chiu Pin-chian of Chinese Taipei in straight games.

Sindhu's run to the final marks the 10th time an Indian entry has reached the championship round of a BWF World Tour event (Super 300 and above) outside India this season. This officially surpasses the previous record of nine finals set in 2023.