PV Sindhu loses French Open final to An Se Young in three games

PV Sindhu fell to world No. 1 An Se Young in the women’s singles final of the 2026 French Open Super 750, losing 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 after making a strong start on Sunday. Sindhu claimed the opening game, but An recovered decisively to secure her fourth French Open crown and her 11th title of 2026.

The result brought a spirited run from the Indian shuttler to an end in the USD 950,000 tournament. Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, had not previously beaten An in their 11 meetings, but she pushed the Olympic champion hard and became only the second player to take a game from her in their career meetings.

Sindhu strikes first in French Open final

Sindhu began with intent, using her reach and attacking strokes effectively to take the first game in 20 minutes. The early stages were closely contested, with a series of net exchanges and rallies taking the score from 4-4 to 7-7. During one of those exchanges, An sent a shuttle towards Sindhu’s face after pouncing on it at the net.

Sindhu moved two points ahead at the interval after an overhead cross-court smash. She continued to make her reach count, building a 15-11 advantage as An made judgement errors at the backline. An narrowed the gap to 13-15 after a long lift and a Sindhu smash into the net, but the Indian regained control.

An sent a shot long as Sindhu reached 19-14. A disguised slice then gave Sindhu six game points. The Korean saved two through a deceptive drop and an angled cross-court return, but another long shot handed Sindhu the opening game, 21-16.

The momentum changed quickly after the interval in the second game. An opened a 3-0 lead before Sindhu responded with a cross-court smash to make it 2-4. Sindhu remained within a point at 4-5 through a body smash, but An’s touch at the net helped her move to 7-5.

A perfect net shot and a 30-shot rally allowed An to preserve her advantage, before two powerful smashes gave her a four-point cushion at the break. She extended it to 13-7, and a run in which nine of the next 10 points went her way took her to 17-8. An earned 12 game points, with Sindhu saving three before the world No. 1 converted to level the match.

An Se Young takes control in deciding game

The deciding game again featured long rallies, with Sindhu dealing with An’s shot quality as well as the side drift. A 36-shot rally ended with Sindhu going wide, but she responded well to establish a 8-5 lead.

That advantage proved pivotal. An caught up at 8-8 with a smash and went ahead 9-8 after winning at the net. A body smash and a shot away from Sindhu’s backhand gave the Korean a two-point lead at the interval. Having won six of the final seven points of the opening half, An carried that momentum forward to lead 13-9.

The world No. 1 then extended her advantage to 18-10. A further long shot from Sindhu gave An eight match points, and she converted the first to complete a 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 victory.

Sindhu said the turning points came after she had led in the second and third games. “I fought for every point, I could win the first game and I was happy about it,” she said. “Even in the third set, I should have maintained the lead from 8-5. But unfortunate that she converted that into 11-9.”

Despite the defeat, Sindhu identified positives from a final in which she took the opening game from the season’s dominant player. An added another French Open title to her record, while Sindhu’s performance showed her ability to compete closely with the world No. 1 across a three-game final.