Sindhu’s French Open campaign ends with runner-up finish

Paris: India’s ace shuttler PV Sindhu finished runner-up at the BWF French Open, a Super 750 tournament, after losing to world No. 1 An Se Young of South Korea in the women’s singles final here on Sunday.

The two-time Olympic medallist suffered a 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 defeat against the reigning Olympic champion at the Arena Grand Paris, missing out on becoming the first Indian woman since 1998 to win the French Open title.

Aparna Popat won the French Open in 1998, a feat no Indian woman has matched since.

Sindhu started strongly, taking the opening game 21-16. However, An bounced back in the second and third games to secure the title and extend her dominance over the Indian.

An has now defeated Sindhu in all 11 of their meetings, extending her head-to-head record against the Indian to 11-0.

For Sindhu, this was her second Super 750 final of the year, following her title-winning run at the Japan Open in July, where she beat three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the final. It was Sindhu’s first BWF title since December 2024 and her maiden Super 750 crown.

The world No. 11 reached her maiden French Open final after overcoming Japan’s Hina Akechi 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 in the semifinal. Her campaign in France also included a hard-fought opening-round win over Thailand’s Supanida Katethong, followed by straight-game victories over Japan’s Riko Gunji and Chiu Pin-chian of Chinese Taipei.

An entered Sunday’s final with an impressive 65-1 win-loss record in 2026. With her victory, she extended her winning streak to 50 matches. She has won all the finals she has contested this year, except the All England Open.