PV Sindhu takes the first game, but An Se Young wins the French Open final again

PV Sindhu finished runner-up at the French Open in Paris on Sunday, losing the women’s singles final to world No. 1 An Se Young of South Korea 21-16, 11-21, 12-21.

Sindhu used her reach and attacking strokes to take the opening game in 20 minutes. It was only the second time in her career that she had won a game against An, whom she has now played 11 times without a win.

An pulled away in the second game after the scores were level at 7-7, and took it 21-11. Sindhu opened up an 8-5 lead in the decider, but An caught up at 8-8, went ahead at the interval and closed out the match.

The title was An’s fourth at the French Open, a Super 750 event with $950,000 in prize money. She has reached the final in Paris in three consecutive editions.

“I fought for every point, I could win the first game and I was happy about it,” Sindhu said after the match. She felt the third game turned when An converted her 8-5 lead into 11-9. “But a lot of positives to take from this match. Going forward, I need to work on them,” she said.

Sindhu, 31, reached the final by beating Japan’s Hina Akechi 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 in a semi-final that lasted 73 minutes. An beat Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-12, 21-19 in the other semi-final.

This was Sindhu’s second Super 750 final of the year. The first was at the Japan Open in July, where she won the title.

“A fierce fight till the very end! 🇮🇳🏸 Pusarla V. Sindhu finishes as the runner-up at the Yonex French Open 2026 after a thrilling three-game battle against World No. 1 An Se-young. Pure grit, heart, and pride! 💪✨” the Badminton Association of India posted on X.