PV Sindhu qualifies for season-ending BWF World Tour Finals after 4 years

PV Sindhu has secured her place at the BWF World Tour Finals, earning a return to the season-ending championship after four years. The two-time Olympic medalist will participate in the prestigious tournament for the first time since 2021, having qualified for the 2022 edition, but withdrew due to injury.

The 2026 World Tour Finals will be held in Hangzhou, China from December 9-13. It will be Sindhu’s sixth appearance in the tournament where she will be looking to add to her tally her memorable triumph in 2018. She remains the only Indian to win the women’s singles title at a season-ending tournament.

World number one An Se-young, Akane Yamaguchi, Wang Zhiyi and Chen Yufei have also secured their place in the eight-member women’s singles alongside Sindhu. Six other shuttles remain in contention, with the qualification deadline set for November 24.

Sindhu’s qualification is the culmination of an encouraging turnaround in a season that has had its share of frustrating moments. The 31-year-old began to find her rhythm in May when she reached the quarter-finals at the Singapore Open before reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open. She also reached the second round of the Indonesia Open, but lost both times to world number one An Se-young. BWF/X

She made her biggest breakthrough at the Japan Open in July, where she defeated three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi 21:17, 21:17 in the final. The Super 750 triumph was her first individual title since December 2024 and ended a more than two-year wait for a BWF World Tour crown. However, consistency remained elusive. Sindhu suffered a round of 16 exit at the China Open and crashed out at the same stage at the World Championships in August.

At the Asian Games in September, she reached the quarterfinals of the women’s singles, but went down to China’s Chen Yu Fei in three games. A tough spell followed, a quarter-final at the Arctic Open and an opening-round defeat at the Denmark Open. But Sindhu found her feet during the European swing and reached the French Open final in October. She took the opening match against An Se-young before the South Korean won the match 16-21, 21-11, 21-12.

Sindhu carried that momentum into the Hylo Open in Germany, where she produced a dominant campaign, winning all five matches in a row. In the final, she defeated Denmark’s Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt 21-12, 21-14 to win her second title of the season. The Super 500 crown earned her 9,200 ranking points and lifted her to sixth in the world rankings, sealing her qualification for the World Tour Finals.

With two titles and a finals appearance this season, Sindhu will head to Hangzhou with renewed confidence as she looks to challenge the world’s best again.

– The end