An Se-young entered her first international competition when she was only 13 years old, participating in the 2015
Asian Junior Championships where she finished as quarter-finalist in the U15 girls' singles and doubles. An won her first international junior title at the U15 Korea Junior Open in 2015. An increasingly dominated the 2016 U15 junior tournaments, winning the girls' singles title at the Jakarta Open Junior International, Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix, Asian Junior Championships, and Korea Junior Open; she also won the women's doubles title at the Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix and the Korea Junior Open. In 2017, An Se-young competed in the U17 and U19 competitions, where she managed to win the U17 Korea Junior Open, but at the
Asian and
World Junior Championships, she was unable to win any medals in the individual event. Meanwhile, in the mixed team, An succeeded in helping her team win the Asian junior mixed team title and also won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships. She was then entrusted to strengthen the Korean team at the
2018 Asian Games, but did not manage to win any medals in the individual or team events. In the 2018 Indonesia International Challenge, An managed to reach the final round. She then won her first senior international title at the 2018
Irish Open, beating compatriot
Kim Ga-eun in the final. An Se-young won her maiden World Tour title at the
2019 New Zealand Open, beating the 2012 Olympic gold medalist
Li Xuerui of China in the final.
Akita Masters,
French Open, and
Korea Masters. The continuously improving performance she displayed in 2019 brought her into the women's singles top 10 in the BWF world rankings. In recognition of her achievements, the BWF awarded her the 2019
Most Promising Player of the Year. Due to COVID-19, An only participated in five tournaments in 2020, with her best result being runner-up at the
Thailand Masters, and together with the national team winning a silver medal at the
Asian Women's Team Championship. In 2021, in her debut at the
Olympic Games, she was eliminated in the quarter-finals by
Chen Yufei. An then made her first final in a Super 1000 tournament, the
Denmark Open, but she was unable to finish the match, and had to settle for runner-up to
Akane Yamaguchi. At the Indonesia badminton festival held in Bali, An managed to win all three tournaments after in the final she beats Yamaguchi in the
Indonesia Masters,
Ratchanok Intanon in the
Indonesia Open, and
P. V. Sindhu in the
World Tour Finals. In 2022, An reached five finals in the BWF World Tour, winning the
Korea Open,
Malaysia Masters, and the
Australian Open; and also finished as runners-up in the
All England and
Japan Opens. She also claimed the bronze medals in the women's singles at the
Asian and
World Championships. Together with the South Korean women's team, she clinched the
Uber Cup. and topped the women's singles ranking on 1 August 2023. In the first half of 2024 season, An played seven individual tournaments, won 3 titles in the
Malaysia,
French, and the
Singapore Opens, and also became finalist in the
Indonesia Open. An clinched the gold medal in the women's singles final at the
Paris 2024 Olympics, defeating China's
He Bingjiao 2–0, marking South Korea's first gold in this event since
Bang Soo-hyun's victory in 1996. Following her triumphant gold medal victory at the Paris 2024 Olympics, An Se-young entered a period of both reflection and recovery. After a brief hiatus to address long-standing injury concerns and navigating internal discussions with the Badminton Korea Association (BKA), she made a highly anticipated return to the international circuit at the
Denmark Open, where she impressively reached the final and secured the runner-up position. Continuing her post-Olympic momentum, she showcased her unwavering resilience by clinching the title at the
China Masters. She concluded her competitive season by finish as the semi-finalist in the
World Tour Finals in December. An was honored as the BWF Female Player of the Year for the second year in a row. In the next tournament in March, An is winning a tournament in France, the
Orléans Masters. Carrying the momentum of that win, An won the
All England Open the next week, gaining her second Super 1000 titles of the year. An continued her pursuit for S1000 "clean sweep" by winning the
Indonesia Open in June. The next month, An extended her good form, winning the
Japan Open. An lost in two successive semifinals in
China Open and
2025 BWF World Championships after that. An recovered well after those two tournament and snatched her second
China Masters title. In October 2025, An was elected as BWF Athletes' Commission. An failed to win in her home tournament
Korea Open, but bounced back by snatching both
Denmark Open and
French Open titles in two consecutive weeks. An broke her own record of most titles in one season for the women's singles in November when she won her tenth title which was
Australian Open. An also sealed the season with a World Tour Finals win in December, making it her eleventh title of the year, equalling the long-lasting record of
Kento Momota. For her achievements, she also awarded as Women's Singles Player of the Year for the third consecutive time and Women's Player's Player of the Year by the BWF. An also maintained her form into 2026 when she won the
Malaysia Open for three consecutive years. She then proceed to win the
India Open the next week after. The next month, An became the member of Korean women's badminton team that won the
Badminton Asia Team Championships for the first time ever. In March, An's 36 match winning streak ended as she lost in the final of
All England Open against Wang in straight sets. In April, An won her first
Asian Championships title, beating Wang in the final in three games. == Achievements ==