An Se-young China Masters 2026 Final
An Se-young China Masters 2026 Final
World No. 1 An Se-young is one victory away from completing a hat-trick of China Masters titles after producing another commanding performance in Shenzhen. The South Korean defeated Japan’s world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi 21-13, 21-15 in the women’s singles semifinal on Saturday, September 5, booking her place in the final of the BWF World Tour Super 750 event.
The victory was An’s seventh consecutive win over Yamaguchi and came just two weeks after she defeated the Japanese star in the final of the World Championships in New Delhi. An has now once again overcome one of her biggest rivals without dropping a game.
Waiting for her in Sunday’s final will be Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki, who produced one of the biggest results of the tournament by defeating China’s world No. 2 and second seed Wang Zhiyi 21-19, 23-21.
For An, the equation is straightforward: win one more match and she will become a three-time consecutive China Masters champion.
An Se-young China Masters 2026 Run Continues
An entered the semifinal as the tournament’s top seed and world No. 1, but Yamaguchi represented a familiar and potentially dangerous challenge.
The Japanese third seed had already reached the last four without dropping a game and arrived in Shenzhen with considerable experience against An. The two had also met in the World Championships final only weeks earlier.
An, however, once again found the answers.
She won the semifinal 21-13, 21-15, completing the match in 43 minutes. More importantly, she never allowed Yamaguchi to force a deciding game.
The result also maintained An’s perfect record in this year’s China Masters. She had already defeated Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti 21-11, 21-3 in the round of 32, China’s Han Qianxi 21-14, 21-7 in the round of 16 and fellow South Korean Kim Ga-eun 21-11, 21-10 in the quarterfinals.
Across those four matches, An has won all eight games she has played.
An Se-young Finds the First Opening
The semifinal began with both players attempting to establish control, but An was the first to create a meaningful advantage.
The opening game was level at 6-6 before the South Korean produced a five-point burst to move ahead 11-6 at the interval.
That run proved crucial.
Yamaguchi tried to close the gap, but An’s consistency kept preventing the Japanese player from building sustained momentum. The world No. 1 continued to put pressure on Yamaguchi through the rallies and eventually took the opening game 21-13.
It was another example of An’s ability to remain patient early in a contest before turning a close scoreline into a sizeable advantage.
For Yamaguchi, the second game became a test of whether she could change the pattern.
Six Points Give An the Edge Again
The answer came quickly.
An started the second game with another decisive run, taking six consecutive points and immediately putting Yamaguchi under pressure.
The Japanese star refused to give up and attempted to change the rhythm of the contest, but An continued to absorb the attacks and turn defence into opportunities.
When An reached 15-9, she produced another important attacking shot to strengthen her advantage.
Yamaguchi continued to fight, but the gap was proving too difficult to close.
An eventually finished the second game 21-15, sealing another straight-game victory over one of the strongest players on the women’s circuit.
The 43-minute semifinal was therefore decided without the need for a third game.
Yamaguchi Wanted to Challenge An
There was confidence from Yamaguchi before the semifinal.
Asked how she planned to break through An’s defence, the Japanese star acknowledged the South Korean’s strength but insisted she was beatable.
Yamaguchi said An was “certainly very strong” but “by no means” unbeatable, adding that she wanted to try different challenges during the match.
An, meanwhile, also expected a difficult contest.
The world No. 1 had warned that either player could win and that the result would depend on who performed better on the day.
Once the match started, however, An’s consistency again proved decisive.
Seven Straight Wins Over Yamaguchi
The latest result has made an already impressive rivalry even more one-sided in recent months.
An has now defeated Yamaguchi seven consecutive times, with the current streak dating back to the Denmark Open last October.
Their latest meeting before Shenzhen came in the 2026 World Championships final in New Delhi.
An won that match in straight games to claim her second world title, and she followed it by beating Yamaguchi again in the China Masters semifinal.
The back-to-back victories underline how difficult it has become for Yamaguchi to find a consistent way through An’s defence and court coverage.
For the Japanese star, Saturday’s defeat also ended her China Masters campaign in the semifinal stage.
An’s Road to the Final Has Been Clinical
An’s performance in Shenzhen has been remarkably consistent from the opening round.
She began her campaign with a 21-11, 21-3 win over Lin Hsiang-ti. The scoreline showed how quickly she was able to establish control against the world No. 17 from Chinese Taipei.
In the round of 16, An defeated China’s Han Qianxi 21-14, 21-7.
The quarterfinal brought another all-South Korean contest, with An beating Kim Ga-eun 21-11, 21-10.
Then came Yamaguchi.
An won another straight-game match, meaning she has reached the final without surrendering a single game throughout the tournament.
That gives her a perfect 8-0 game record going into Sunday’s title clash.
Miyazaki Delivers the Big Upset
While An was defeating Yamaguchi, Tomoka Miyazaki was busy producing the tournament’s other major headline.
The Japanese ninth seed defeated China’s Wang Zhiyi, the world No. 2 and second seed, 21-19, 23-21 in the other women’s singles semifinal.
It was a significant result because Wang had been one of the leading contenders for the title and had enjoyed a strong run in front of the home crowd.
Miyazaki, however, held her nerve in a tense second game. With Wang pushing the contest beyond 21 points, the Japanese player closed it out 23-21 to secure her place in the final.
The result sets up an all-Asian final between two players at very different stages of their careers.
An arrives as the established world No. 1.
Miyazaki arrives as the challenger who has just eliminated the world No. 2.
Miyazaki Survives a Tough Route
Miyazaki’s road to the final has been considerably more demanding than An’s.
The Japanese player needed three games to get past compatriot Hina Akechi, winning 21-19, 17-21, 21-19.
She then faced India’s teenage star Tanvi Sharma in the round of 16 and again needed three games, eventually winning 21-17, 18-21, 21-16.
Miyazaki found a more comfortable rhythm in the quarterfinals, defeating Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova 21-12, 21-11.
The biggest test came next.
Against Wang Zhiyi, Miyazaki won both games by narrow margins to reach the final.
Her route has therefore included several pressure-filled moments, particularly in deciding stages. That resilience could be crucial when she faces An.
A Familiar Opponent Awaits An
The final will not be An and Miyazaki’s first meeting.
In fact, An has dominated their previous encounters.
The two players have met six times, with An winning all six matches. Their meetings have included contests at the China Masters, Indonesia Open, Orleans Masters, Korea Open, Denmark Open and BWF World Tour Finals.
The South Korean has arrived in the final without dropping a game and has just beaten Yamaguchi for the seventh consecutive time.
The Japanese challenger has eliminated Wang Zhiyi and survived several difficult matches on her way to the title clash.
On paper, An’s record makes her the clear favourite.
But Miyazaki has already shown during this tournament that rankings do not tell the whole story.
One more match will decide it.
For An, victory meansan-se-young-china-masters-2026-final a third straight China Masters crown.
For Miyazaki, victory would mean defeating the world No. 1 for the first time and claiming one of the biggest titles of her career.
The Shenzhen final is therefore set: the world No. 1 against the world No. 9, a two-time champion against a first-time finalist, and a three-peat within reach for An Se-young.
