An Se-young chooses Yonex despite larger offer from Li-Ning

According to JoongAng Ilbo, An Se-young — the world’s number one women’s singles player from South Korea — has officially joined Yonex as her new apparel sponsor.

This decision comes as surprising — considering Li-Ning had offered a contract worth 14 billion won for 4 years to the Paris Olympics gold medalist.

An Se-young’s remarkable achievements were key factors in this contract negotiation — including her gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games and Paris Olympics despite competing with injuries.

An Se-young’s partnership with Yonex has also brought significant changes to Korean national team sponsorship policies — now allowing players to sign individual contracts, different from the previous collective contract system.

This decision becomes a setback for Li-Ning, which previously lost agreements with several top athletes, including:

• Chinese National Team
• Jonatan Christie
• Anthony Sinisuka Ginting
• Gregoria Mariska Tunjung