World badminton star An Se-young advised young athletes to focus on enjoying training and competition rather than demanding constant victories from themselves, as reported by the Badminton Europe Confederation on Feb. 18, 2026. The 24-year-old reigning world number one, competing for Samsung Life Insurance, delivered the message through a social media interview published by the European governing body.

Advice from the World Number One

Badminton Europe shared a video clip featuring the South Korean singles standout speaking directly to youth players across the sport. “I think many badminton children would want to win every match,” An said in the interview. “However, it’s important to enjoy the games and enjoy the practice. Positive things are always important.” The European governing body echoed the sentiment, emphasizing that maintaining a positive mindset and appreciating the daily training routine matters just as much as capturing trophies.

A Historic Run at the Denmark Open

An’s counsel carries significant weight given her current dominance on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour. On Feb. 17, 2026, she advanced to the women’s singles final at the BWF Super 750 Denmark Open in Odense, defeating Japan’s 11th-ranked Nozomi Okuhara 2-0 (21-16, 21-8) at the Jyske Bank Arena. The victory marked her tenth final appearance of the season, stretching her active win streak to 43 matches and lifting her overall 2026 record to 60 wins against just one loss—a 98.4% win rate.

Her sole defeat of the year came in March against China’s Wang Zhiyi in the final of the All England Open. Since then, An has remained unbeaten across every tournament she has entered. According to the official Denmark Open website, the South Korean star reached her third tournament final in Odense, positioning herself to claim the women’s singles record for most tournament victories.

Chasing International Records

An currently shares the record for international career titles with Indonesian legend Susi Susanti at 46. A victory in the Denmark Open final would give her the top spot outright. Standing across the net in the title match is Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, the world number three whom An has defeated in their last nine consecutive meetings, including last month’s final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

If An defeats Yamaguchi, she will secure her sixth tournament title and her ninth individual tour title of the season, excluding her Asian Games gold medal. That performance keeps her on pace to challenge her own single-season record of 11 titles, set in 2025 when she equaled the historic mark established by Japanese men’s singles legend Kento Momota.