Hylo Open 2026: Workload management and recovery behind Lakshya Sen's title win

Lakshya Sen believes learning to manage his workload and being patient with his recovery were crucial to his Hylo Open triumph, as he looks to carry the momentum into the final tournaments of the 2026 season.

Sen, who clinched his second Hylo Open title after defeating Indonesia's Jonatan Christie in straight games in the men's singles final, admitted that injuries and fitness concerns had disrupted his campaign following his run to the All England Open final in March.

The Indian had to withdraw from the French Open after experiencing shoulder pain following the Denmark Open.

However, rather than rushing back into competition, Sen decided to prioritise his recovery and arrive at the HYLO Open in better physical condition.

"I mean, I've been doing the same kind of routines here and there, but again, certain tournaments you take a different approach. The tournaments that were important this year, like Asian Games and all the big tournaments, we had a good preparation phase before that and tried to be really fresh," Lakshya Sen said in a media interaction arranged by the Badminton Association of India (BAI).

"But other than that, we have been playing a lot of tournaments, so just trying to manage the load and, at times, listen to your body. If it's not ready, it's not ready," Sen said.

He explained that withdrawing from the French Open was part of that approach, allowing him to prepare for the Hylo Open rather than compete while not fully fit.

"As I said, it was important that I don't play the French Open and be really prepared for Hylo because I knew that I'm playing the right game, I'm confident about the results, but at times, I just have to not rush and play all the events out there, and stay patient for the body to be 100% fit, and then compete again," he added.

Sen's season had started on a promising note, with the Indian reaching the All England final. However, subsequent injury concerns prevented him from consistently reproducing his best performances.

Reflecting on the period, the 25-year-old said he had been dealing with niggles but maintained that his confidence had not taken a significant hit.

"Nothing major concerns of injury. I've had a couple of good performances here and there, right from the Thomas Cup, and then even the Asian Games that I played, the team event. Certain matches were important at times.

"So, I've been right there in terms of the game that I'm playing, and especially from the Australian Open, that confidence has always been up there. But due to certain niggles here and there, I couldn't really perform to my level best," he said.

The Indian's victory in Germany was also a result of gradually finding his rhythm during the tournament. Sen had to recover from losing the opening game in his first-round match before navigating two more three-game encounters. However, he finished the campaign with straight-game victories over France's Toma Junior Popov in the semi-finals and Christie in the final.

Sen admitted that he was initially rusty, particularly with his shot selection, but felt increasingly comfortable as the tournament progressed.

"First few matches, again, as I said, I skipped the French Open, so the first one or two rounds, I was still a bit rusty, like in the shot selection, and also starting the first game was a little bit difficult against players.

"Especially in the first round, where I lost the first game and then won the second and third. As the tournament progressed, we got much more familiar with the court and the environment around there. The touch and the feel definitely got better from the first two rounds," he said.

The Indian also explained how patience was central to his tactical approach against Christie, whose attacking ability made it difficult to finish rallies quickly.

"I had a very good cushion of six-seven points, and I was just trying to play the right patient game against him, because at times it was hard to hit through just like that on the first attempt. I had to wait for the right chances," Sen said.

He added that his coach had encouraged him to remain patient when Christie began finding his rhythm towards the end of the opening game.

"The coach was telling me to just stay patient in the rally, because not a lot of errors were coming out from his side, specifically in that part of the game. I had to be very patient against him at that time and wait for the right chances to hit," he explained.

With the Hylo Open title behind him, Sen will turn his attention to the Japan Masters and Hong Kong Open, with qualification for the BWF World Tour Finals still a possibility.

"I'm still in the race for the World Tour Finals, and two more tournaments to play, so looking forward to that," he said.

Sen also revealed that preparations for the proposed 15-point scoring format had already begun, with him and his coaches incorporating matches to 15 points into their training sessions.

"Even though we are still playing 21, whenever we practise, we are playing matches to 15," he added.