Lakshya Sen ends title drought, beats Yushi Tanaka in final to win Australian Open
India's Lakshya Sen defeated Japan's Yushi Tanaka 21-15, 21-11 in the final to win the men's singles title at the Australian Open, ending his wait for his first title in 2025.
Ace Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen capped off his resurgent run at the Super 500 Australian Open with a comfortable triumph over Japanese Yushi Tanaka in the final on Sunday. Lakshya defeated the Japanese 21-15, 21-11 in the final to clinch his first title in 2025, ending a long-standing title drought.
Lakshya looked sharp on the court right from the word go in the final and produced a commanding display to wrap up a straight games victory in just 38 minutes. It was a brilliant display from the world no.14 as he had little time to recover after downing second seed Chou Tien Chen in a gruelling semi-final on Saturday, which lasted 86 minutes.
Lakshya celebrated in style after his win over Tanaka in the final as he closed his ears with both his hands, gesturing that he was shutting the outside noise. It was the 24-year-old's response to his critics, who were raising questions about his abilities after his struggles on the BWF tour earlier this year.
It was probably one of the easiest finals Lakshya had played in his career so far, as Tanaka failed to trouble the Indian shuttler throughout the match. Lakshya let the Japanese fall into the trap of his own mistakes and showcased his attacking flair to win the final in straight games.
Lakshya Sen clinches third Super 500 title
Lakshya's triumph at the Australian Open 2025 marks the third Super 500 title of his career so far. He defeated compatriot Ayush Shetty before beating Chou Tien Chen in the semi-final and Tanaka in the summit clash to win his first BWF title since his victory at the Syed Modi International last year.
Sen, who missed out on the podium at the Paris Olympics last year, struggled for consistency in 2025 as he managed to reach only two finals in BWF events. He lost to China's Li Shifeng in the Hong Kong Open final in September this year, before ending his drought in Sydney with his first title of the year on Sunday.
Despite his victory, Lakshya won't qualify for the World Tour Finals, but the Indian shuttler would be happy to have ended the year with a title in his bag.