'Win rate of 98.5% — is this real?' An Se-young reaches French Open final, chases 10th title of season

Badminton world No. 1 An Se-young of Samsung Life Insurance has advanced to the French Open final, extending her extraordinary season win rate past 98 percent and moving one step closer to a 10th title of the year.

According to Yonhap, An defeated Okuhara Nozomi of Japan, ranked ninth in the world, 2-0 (21-12, 21-19) in 45 minutes in the women's singles semifinals at the French Open in Tremblay-en-France, France, on Saturday.

The victory lifted An's season record to 65 wins and one loss, giving her a win rate of 98.5 percent.

An has now won all seven of her career meetings against Okuhara, once again demonstrating a level of play in a class of its own.

She dominated the opening game from start to finish, winning by nine points without ever allowing her opponent to close the gap. In the second game she fell behind 3-7 early on, but immediately reeled off seven consecutive points to flip the score. After allowing the match to level at 11-11, she locked in with sharp concentration and closed out the win.

An cruised into the final with her two closest rivals already eliminated — world No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China and No. 3 Yamaguchi Akane of Japan both suffered shocking 0-2 defeats in the round of 16.

An will face the winner of the other semifinal between P.V. Sindhu of India and Akech Hina of Japan in the final.

With no rival capable of matching her, An stands alone at the top of the sport. A win in the final would give her a 10th tournament trophy this season. She has claimed gold at every individual event she has entered this year — nine in total, including the Asian Games — with the All England Open, where she took silver, the lone exception.

A title on Saturday would also make her a three-time consecutive French Open champion — having won in 2019, 2024 and 2025 — and give her a record fourth French Open crown overall.