Hyderabad: PV Sindhu has secured a spot in the BWF World Tour Finals event for the first time since qualifying in 2022. Also, it will be her first appearance at the event since 2021, when she finished as the runner-up. She had qualified in 2022 but pulled out of it due to an injury. Sindhu will now be participating in the 2026 edition, which will be held in Hangzhou, China, from December 9-13.

A total of five players - An Se-young of South Korea, Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, Wang Zhi Yi of China, Chen Yu Fei of China and PV Sindhu - have confirmed their place at the event so far. The tournament will feature eight participants, so three spots are still remaining. Tomoka Miyazaki, Nozomi Okuhara, Ratchanok Intanon, Pornpawee Chochuwong, Putri Kusuma Wardani and Line Christophersen are in contention for the remaining spots for the event to be played in Hangzhou.

How did Sindhu qualify for the World Tour Finals? 

Sindhu secured two titles this year and also finished as runner-up once. Her first title victory came on July 19, when she outplayed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-17, 21-17 to win the Japan Open. In October, she made it to the final of the French Open but signed off as runner-up after facing a 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 defeat to An Se Young in the title clash. 

The star Indian shuttler then went on to win the Hylo Open, beating Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt 21-12, 21-14 in the summit clash. During her title run in the Hylo Open held 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 set. 

Sindhu latest BWF rankings 

According to the latest BWF world rankings, Sindhu is currently in sixth place with 74,421 points. It is the highest position for the 31-year-old in the global rankings since December 2022. However, World Tour qualification has a separate system, and in that, she is fifth in the race with 81,060 points. 

How race to BWF World Tour qualification is calculated?

The points for the World Tour rankings are calculated on the basis of points earned from eligible tournaments. Only the 14 best results of a player are considered, including a maximum of three results from Super 100 tournaments. The top eight players in the World Tour rankings qualify, with a maximum of two players from the same country.

Sindhu’s performance at World Tour Finals 

Sindhu was away from the tournament from 2023 to 2025. She had qualified in 2022, but had to withdraw from the tournament due to a stress fracture in her left ankle. Sindhu won the BWF World Tour Final in 2018, defeating Nozomi Okuhara. She was eliminated in the group stage in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, she made it to the final but suffered a defeat against An Se Young in the final.