Paris: For twenty minutes on Sunday, the scoreboard read like a correction. P.V. Sindhu, attacking from the first rally, pushed An Se-young to 15-9 with a run of sharp smashes, held her nerve through the closing points and took the opening game of the French Open final 21-16.
It was only the second time in her career that Sindhu had taken a game off the world No. 1. The first had come long ago, and in the ten meetings before this final she had not won any of them.
Then An found her range. The Korean, top seed and Olympic champion, raced to 3-0 in the second game, led 11-7 at the interval, stretched it to 19-8 and closed it out 21-11. Her movement from the backcourt to the net had changed gears, and she began mixing delicate net shots with full-blooded smashes. Asked afterwards what she changed, An said: "Sindhu is very strong, aggressive player. So, I focussed on my defence, and next I can catch my timing. In the first game, she tried to rush to me, in the second game, I tried not to rush."
The decider was the one Sindhu will replay. She led 3-1, was pegged back, then opened an 8-5 advantage — and that was the hinge. An levelled at 8-8, went ahead at 9-8, and took an 11-9 lead into the interval having won six of the last seven points. From 13-9 the gap grew to 18-10. Sindhu saved three match points before a shot sailed long and handed An eight.
"I fought for every point, I could win the first game and I was happy about it," Sindhu said. "Even in the third set, I should have maintained the lead from 8-5. But unfortunate that she converted that into 11-9. So that's where I felt the difference was. But a lot of positives to take from this match. Going forward, I need to work on them."
She also said the lopsided head-to-head had not changed her approach. "It's a fresh day, new day and it's a new game. Anything could happen."
The title was An's fourth at the French Open and her third in a row, her tenth of the 2026 season by one count and eleventh by another, and it stretched an unbeaten run to 50 matches.
For Sindhu, 31 and a two-time Olympic medallist, it was her second Super 750 final of the year, after winning the Japan Open in July. She had reached the final by beating Hina Akechi 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 in a 73-minute semifinal.
An's plan for the evening was simpler. "Today, I celebrate with a great restaurant, French or Korean food."