Paris: PV Sindhu finished runner-up at the French Open 2026 on Sunday, 25 October, after a fighting women’s singles final against world No. 1 An Se Young of South Korea at the Arena Grand Paris. Sindhu won the opening game but could not sustain the momentum, losing 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 in just over an hour against the reigning Olympic and world champion.
The first game offered a glimpse of the Sindhu of old. Attacking with confidence and moving well, the Indian took it 21-16, only the second time in 11 meetings between the two that she has taken a game off An, the previous occasion coming in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Badminton Asia Championships. For a set, the final looked like a genuine contest.
An, however, responded the way champions do. The South Korean tightened her defence, quickened the rallies and took control of the second game, winning it 21-11. The decider followed a similar pattern, with An pulling away to win 21-12 and seal the title. It extended her head-to-head lead over Sindhu to 11-0 and stretched her remarkable winning streak to 50 matches.
The numbers behind An’s season are staggering. Her 2026 record now stands at 66 wins and just one defeat, and the French Open title is her 10th of the season. It is also her fourth French Open title and, according to reports, her third consecutive triumph in Paris, a dominance of a single tournament that few players in the modern game can match.
For Sindhu, ranked world No. 11, the runner-up finish still represents a significant week. The two-time Olympic medallist and 2019 world champion was aiming for her seventh BWF World Tour title and her second of 2026, after winning the Japan Open in July. This was her second BWF World Tour Super 750 final of the year, and reaching it required a run of considerable resilience.
Her route to the final told its own story. She opened by beating Supanida Katethong of Thailand 21-14, 8-21, 23-21 in a three-game scrap, then defeated Riko Gunji of Japan 21-12, 21-16 and Chiu Pin-chian of Chinese Taipei 21-13, 21-14. In the semi-final she overcame Hina Akechi of Japan 21-10, 20-22, 21-16, holding her nerve in another deciding game.
Speaking afterwards, Sindhu struck an optimistic note about where her game is heading. “I’m absolutely looking forward for much more better badminton from me. I’m happy with this, but I think there’s a lot of space, a lot of room still there,” she said, according to reports. It was the assessment of a player who sees a final not as a ceiling but as a staging post.
The final also underlined the scale of the challenge facing every other women’s singles player at present. An’s combination of court coverage, patience and finishing power has made her close to unbeatable this season, and Sindhu’s first-game success will at least offer a tactical reference point for future meetings, even if the overall record remains one-sided.
For Indian badminton, the week in Paris is a reminder that Sindhu remains a force at the highest level. Finals at Super 750 events are not reached by accident, and a run that included three three-game victories speaks to fitness and temperament as much as shot-making. The next task is converting such weeks into titles, and closing the gap to a rival who currently sets the standard for the sport.
Sindhu leaves Paris with a runner-up medal and, by her own account, belief that better badminton is still to come. On Sunday’s evidence, that belief is not misplaced.
