‘10 titles but only W1 bil. ?’ Even Chinese fans question An Se-young’s prize money
An Se-young hits a return to Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani during the women's singles final match at the Australia Open badminton tournament in Sydney, Nov. 23. AFP-Yonhap
Badminton star An Se-young has set a new record for the most women’s singles titles in a single season, winning 10 international tournaments this year — yet even fans in China say her earnings are far too low compared with her dominance.
An has earned more than 1 billion won ($740,000) in prize money this season. Despite the historic achievement, Chinese media and badminton followers say her compensation does not match her unprecedented performance.
Currently ranked first worldwide, she has begun training at the Jincheon National Training Center ahead of the 2025 BWF World Tour Finals, which will take place in Hangzhou from Dec. 17 to 21.
With the tournament lineup finalized, promotional posters were released this week. Although An has held the top global ranking for more than a year, she appears second on the poster after Japan’s Yamaguchi Akane, who won the world championships in Paris in August. World champions receive automatic invitations to the finals, regardless of ranking.
An’s season has been one of the most dominant in badminton history. She won 10 World Tour titles across tournaments in Malaysia, England, Indonesia, India, Japan, China, Denmark, France, Australia and Orleans, breaking the single-season record of nine that she set last year.
An Se-young reacts after her victory in the women's singles final match at the Australia Open in Sydney, Sunday. AFP-Yonhap
Chinese outlet NetEase highlighted her performance, saying it was her “destiny to leave her name on women’s singles this season,” reporting her win rate at 94 percent and her finals record at 10 wins out of 11. The report referred to her as a “six-sided” or “hexagonal” player — a term used in China to describe athletes with no weaknesses.
Chinese fans also expressed surprise that her total prize money has only now exceeded 1 billion won.
Some posted comments such as, “Badminton prize money is minor compared with her results,” and “She won 68 matches and lost four all year … and earns $1 million?” Others compared her income with that of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, who earned $19.1 million this year.
If An wins the World Tour Finals, she will become the first badminton player to surpass 1 million dollars in a single season. But even that figure trails far behind earnings in global sports such as football, basketball, motor sports, tennis and combat sports.
An Se-young kisses the trophy after her victory in the women's singles final match at the Australia Open in Sydney, Sunday. AFP-Yonhap
Chinese fans largely agree that An is the top favorite to win the women’s singles title in Hangzhou. Some of the highest rates of interest in the sport come from China, where badminton is extremely popular.
While An’s sponsorship income has increased since her Olympic gold medal win in Paris last year, analysts say prize money remains a separate issue. Given her year-round schedule and consistent high-level play, concerns continue to grow in China and elsewhere that the financial rewards for badminton’s top performers are disproportionately small.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.