PV Sindhu has secured her place at the season-ending World Tour Finals for the first time since her 2022 qualification. The competition will be held in Hangzhou, China, from December 9-13. Sindhu is among five players who have already booked their berths.
The Indian shuttler will be participating in the event for the first time since 2021, when she finished as the runner-up.
The five players who have confirmed their places are An Se-young of South Korea, Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, Wang Zhi Yi of China, Chen Yu Fei of China and PV Sindhu. There are eight qualification spots, and the race for the remaining three is still on. Tomoka Miyazaki, Nozomi Okuhara, Ratchanok Intanon, Pornpawee Chochuwong, Putri Kusuma Wardani and Line Christophersen are still competing for the remaining spots.
Sindhu’s path to the World Tour Finals
Sindhu secured two titles and finished as runner-up once, becoming one of the first five players to qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals. Her first title came on July 19, when she defeated Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-17 to win the Japan Open final. In October, Sindhu reached the final of the French Open but lost 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 to An Se-young.
However, the Indian star recovered quickly and emerged as the champion at the Hylo Open, defeating Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt 21-12, 21-14 in the final. Sindhu’s resolve came to the fore as she bounced back from a final defeat and won the Hylo Open within a span of a week.
The Hylo Open was held in Saarbrucken, Germany, from October 27 to November 1. Sindhu entered the competition as the second seed and went on to win five matches without dropping a single game. In her championship run, Sindhu beat compatriot Anmol Kharb 21-13, 21-16 in the semifinals. The win set up her final against the eighth seed of the tournament, Kjærsfeldt. She defeated the Danish shuttler in straight games in a match lasting 39 minutes. It secured her second title in 2026, following the Japan Open.
The Super 500 win earned Sindhu 9,200 ranking points. While, a run to the final and then a championship concluded two strong weeks for her in Europe.
According to the latest BWF world rankings, Sindhu currently ranks sixth with 74,421 points. This is her highest position in the world rankings since December 2022. However, World Tour qualification uses a separate system from the world rankings. She is currently fifth in the race with 81,060 points.
While the regular world rankings consider performances over a rolling 52-week period, the World Tour rankings count points earned from eligible tournaments during the ongoing season. Only a player’s best 14 results are considered, with a maximum of three results from Super 100 tournaments. The top eight eligible players qualify for the Finals, with a maximum of two players from the same country.
Sindhu at the World Tour Finals
Sindhu’s return to the World Tour Finals will be particularly significant for her. She did not participate in the tournament from 2023 to 2025. In 2022, she earned her qualification; however, she had to withdraw because of a stress fracture in her left ankle.
Sindhu won the inaugural BWF World Tour Finals in Guangzhou in 2018, defeating Nozomi Okuhara, after finishing as the runner-up at the World Superseries Finals in 2017. In 2019 and 2020, Sindhu was eliminated in the group stage. In 2021, she reached the final once more but lost to An Se-young.
The Indian shuttler will look to make a deep run in the BWF World Tour Finals once more. After winning the Hylo Open, Sindhu said, “This gives me a lot of boost, a lot of confidence.” This speaks to the confidence she will be carrying into the tournament.
Notably, the Finals will offer a combined prize fund of $3.5 million. The eight players will compete in two round-robin groups of four, with the top two from each group progressing to the semifinals. Sindhu will be aiming for her second World Tour Finals title, eight years after she won it for the first time.