SportsPosted at: Oct 25 2026 8:07PM


Sindhu finishes French Open runner-up as India sets World Tour record

Paris, Oct 25 (UNI) Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu finished runner-up at the French Open 2026, losing to world number one An Se Young of South Korea in the women’s singles final on Sunday, as India recorded its most successful season in the BWF World Tour history.
Sindhu went down 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 in a 61-minute battle at the Arena Grand Paris, with top seed An clinching her fourth French Open title.
Despite the defeat, Sindhu’s run to the final marked the 10th time an Indian entry reached the title round of a BWF World Tour event (Super 300 and above) outside India this season, surpassing the previous record of nine finals set in 2023.
Sindhu started strongly in the final, matching the Korean’s intensity and capitalising on early errors to take the opening game 21-16. The Indian held her nerve to draw level at 11-all before pulling away, registering only the second occasion in 11 career meetings that she had won a game against An.
The world number one responded emphatically in the second game, raising her consistency and extending rallies to take it 21-11 and force a decider.
The third game remained closely contested until 9-9, after which An’s court coverage and defensive resilience helped her pull away and seal the title.
Reflecting on the contest, Sindhu said competing against the world’s leading players required her to give her best on every point.
“When you're playing with the top athletes, you have to be at your 100 per cent 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 said.
Sindhu acknowledged that the long rallies made it difficult to convert opportunities but said she remained positive about the experience and the lessons it offered.
“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. So I'm looking forward for it,” she added.
The French Open final was Sindhu’s second BWF World Tour Super 750 title-round appearance of the season, following her title-winning campaign at the Japan Open in July.
While Sindhu missed out on the French Open crown, her performance added to a landmark season for Indian badminton, with the country surpassing its previous record for finals appearances on the international circuit outside India.
The achievement underlined the growing depth of Indian badminton, with 2026 emerging as the most successful year for Indian representation in BWF World Tour finals.
UNI BDN
Tags: #Sindhu finishes French Open runner-up as India sets World Tour record
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