Miyu Nagasaki (Photo WTT)
WTT Finals Hong Kong 2025 continued to dish out drama, with Miyu Nagasaki’s stunning 10-12, 14-12, 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-4 comeback win over Mima Ito in the women’s singles.
Meeting face-to-face on the world stage for the first time since 2018, there was an air of unpredictability heading into the clash, and there was nothing to separate the two early on, with the opening two games going the full distance.
Former World No.2 Ito would eventually build up a commanding 1-3 match score advantage, but there was still time for Nagasaki to reverse her fortunes. Picking up a crucial fifth game, the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana 2025 champion would put spectators on the edge of their seats, saving three match points at 7-10 down in the sixth to force a decider.
A stunned Ito couldn’t quite believe the match wasn’t in the bag, and at 4-1 down in the seventh, she would go for the time-out. However, that stop in play wasn’t enough to knock Nagasaki off course, the latter holding her arms aloft with a huge smile on her face as she closed out one of the comebacks of the week in Hong Kong, China.
There was another all-Japanese showdown in the top half of the draw, with Satsuki Odo and Honoka Hashimoto leaving everything out on the table.
A spectators dream to watch, all-out attack met unshakable defence as Odo and Hashimoto put on a show for the fans in attendance, fighting tooth and nail for each and every point. But in the end, it was offense that prevailed, Odo’s aggression breaking down Hashimoto’s resistance in the end to win 11-8, 11-7, 11-6, 12-10.
Sun Yingsha’s pursuit of a fourth women’s singles title saw her face off against Wang Yidi in a repeat of both the 2021 and 2023 championship matches, and Thursday’s game again went the World No.1’s way in 11-3, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7.
Yingsha, who has held the No.1 spot for over three years, dominated early proceedings at Hong Kong Coliseum. A tight second game, followed by Yidi taking a 3-0 lead in the third, was as close to threatening an upset as the 28-year-old got.
The emphatic Yingsha went 3-0 up in the third, forcing Wang to call a time-out to compose herself. But Yingsha just picked up where she left off, twice stretching her lead to five points before going on to put the result beyond doubt.
“I didn’t expect to win 4-0. I went into the match with a good mindset, feeling relaxed and without much burden. Since this is the last international event of the year, my physical strength and energy have dropped a bit, but that’s normal and something all players experience. As long as I’m on the court, I just hope to get into the zone as much as I can, said Yingsha.
In another women’s singles match, Kuai Man made light work of Hina Hayata to progress to the quarterfinals, with a 11-5, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 win.
Two of the highest-seeded players faced off in a six-game thriller to end the night, with Felix Lebrun booking his slot in the quarterfinals, beating Hugo Calderano 5-11, 12-10, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7.
Earlier this year, Calderano became the first player from the Americas to lift the prestigious Men’s World Cup. Lebrun, on the other hand, was the first French player to reach a WTT Grand Smash singles final, when he progressed to the last match at China Smash 2025.
And there was barely anything separating the two heavyweights at Hong Kong Coliseum, as the pair traded powerful shots and long rallies to settle the tie.
Lebrun had to fight off the relentless Brazilian throughout. Having already come from behind, Calderano scored four points in a row after conceding twice at the beginning of the sixth as he threatened to take the match to a deciding game. But Lebrun scored an impressive string of points for the win.
“Hugo is an amazing player, World Cup champion. He can play just a bit better than me during some moments of the match, and also he’s so powerful. So, when he puts it all on the table, it’s very hard to play against him. So I just say to myself, continue like this. I’m really into the match. I look at the score when it was 6-4 for him, and I was like, okay, I will try to win this set, and if I lose it, I’m into the 7 set with confidence,” said Lebrun.
Simon Gauzy’s return to the WTT Finals for the first time in four years was an exciting affair against Tomokazu Harimoto, with the Japanese star progressing to the quarterfinals after a hard-fought 5-11, 11-5, 11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 11-7 victory.
France’s Gauzy made a lively start to proceedings playing at speed and quickly establishing an unassailable lead in the first game. Harimoto then asserted himself in the second game before edging a much tighter match-up in the third.
But life comes at you fast at Hong Kong Coliseum, and Gauzy turned on the style, romping to a 6-0 lead before levelling things up overall.
Harimoto, who earlier this year won his home event, WTT Champions Yokohama 2025, then took a crucial fifth game and, knowing just how important winning that one was, cut an emotional figure on court, loudly cheering every big point he scored. After six highly entertaining games, it was the Japanese superstar who came up trumps.
Lin Shidong bagged a statement win on Infinity ∞ Arena, outclassing fellow Chinese superstar Liang Jingkun 15-13, 11-3, 11-4, 11-9.
Clashing in a repeat of the Singapore Smash 2025 final, the opening game of the showdown proved critical. Recovering an 8-10 deficit, Shidong would save two more Game Points to steal it 15-13, and from that moment on, there was no stopping the former World No.1.
“Reaching deuce is totally normal for us because we’re so familiar with each other’s game. I was trailing for most of that game until it reached 8-10. It wasn’t easy to turn it around, but I think I managed it because I thought through every shot and executed decisively,” said Shidong.
Shidong moves on to the quarterfinals where he’ll meet another Chinese powerhouse in Xiang Peng, who confirmed his ticket to the last eight with a 7-11, 11-9, 16-14, 11-9, 11-13, 11-5 victory over An Jaehyun.
