An Seyoung Relinquishes No.1 Spot, Missing Tai Tzu Ying’s Record

dd yy October 8, 2024 0

An Seyoung will relinquish her position as the world No. 1 in women’s singles next week, with Chen Yufei from China taking over the top spot. An Seyoung will also miss the opportunity to become the third player in history, after China’s Li Xuerui and Tai Tzu Ying, to finish a year ranked first.

Regarded as a prodigious talent, An Seyoung won the Japan Open Championship in 2023 and first became the world No. 1 in women’s singles on August 1 of that year, making her the first Korean woman to hold the title in 27 years. She held the No. 1 ranking for 62 consecutive weeks. However, following her gold medal win in women’s singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, An Seyoung has been sidelined due to injury. After returning home, she harshly criticized the Korean Badminton Association for their negligence and unfair treatment, revealing that during her seven years in the national team, she suffered bullying, had to do laundry for senior players, and even wash their underwear, which sparked a significant uproar.

An Seyoung‘s long absence from competitions will result in her handing over the world No. 1 title next week. Since the BWF established the world ranking system in 2002, only two players have finished a year ranked No. 1 in women’s singles: Li Xuerui from 2013 to 2014 and Tai Tzu Ying in 2017 and 2021.

Tai Tzu Ying first ascended to the world No. 1 ranking after winning the Hong Kong Super Series in 2016. She continued her dominance into the 2017 season, capturing five Super Series titles, along with gold medals at the Taipei Universiade and the Asian Championships, totaling seven international titles that set an unprecedented record for badminton in Chinese Taipei.

In January 2021, Tai Tzu Ying achieved an impressive 1 gold and 2 silver medals at three tournaments in Thailand, including her third title at the year-end finals. She also earned silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics and the World Championships, and in that year, she received the BWF Player of the Year award, becoming the first from Chinese Taipei to achieve this honor.