Jang Woojin (Photo WTT)
Men’s singles No.12 seed Jang Woojin was put through his paces on Tuesday evening at Singapore Smash 2026, fighting back from an early deficit to see off Vladimir Sidorenko 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7.
Woojin , who just last month made a stunning run to the WTT Champions Doha 2026 final, was pushed to the limit in Smash Arena, feeling the full brunt of Sidorenko’s force as the qualifier produced his aggressive brand of table tennis at a high level.
Sensing a real opportunity to stage an upset, Sidorenko refused to back down, taking the match right down to the wire. But Woojin would eventually get the job done, keeping his cool in the heat of pressure to avoid an early exit in the Lion City.
At the very summit of the draw, Wang Chuqin remains perfect two matches in, adding another 3-0 victory to the one he picked up on the opening day.
Brushing aside Shunsuke Togami without so much as a scratch picking up a 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 victory, Chuqin, the Singapore Smash 2024 champion powered into the last 16 where he’ll meet a familiar face in Anders Lind, who beat the Chinese superstar at China Smash 2024.
The 19-year-old picked up an unforgettable win earlier in the week to earn her right to compete in the second round.
Meanwhile, over in the women’s singles action, Singaporean hearts were broken as Ser Lin Qian saw her campaign come to an end.
Despite putting up another admirable fight, Lin Qian would ultimately be undone by one of the world’s best players, as former WTT Grand Smash finalist Chen Yi proved a step too far for the local hero, bowing out 8-11, 11-13, 7-11.
The action continues today with several mouth-watering clashed in store.
Alexis Lebrun and Patrick Franziska are set to lock horns for the fourth time on the WTT stage. The previous three WTT meetings have all gone in Franziska’s favour, but their most recent encounter came on the international stage and went Lebrun’s way.
Back in 2022, they played out a 4-2 thriller at WTT Feeder Dusseldorf II, and the German went on to lift the men’s singles title.
Two of China’s rising stars will also collide in this round of 32 tie that promises to have fans on the edge of their seats.
Last season, Xiang Peng proved he is a force to be reckoned with by winning WTT Champions Incheon 2025, laying claim to his first title at that level aged 22. His opponent, Huang Youzheng has already got one title to his name in 2026, taking the men’s singles title at last month’s WTT Feeder Doha and is one win away from his best WTT Grand Smash result.
Hunting her fifth Women’s Singles WTT Grand Smash title, defending champion Sun Yingsha needs no introduction. The World No.1 continues her quest for glory in Singapore against Romania’s Elizabeta Samara, a veteran who has been competing on the pro scene for 22 years, and last season fought her way to an eye-catching quarterfinal finish at WTT Champions Frankfurt 2025.
Should Samara pull off a huge upset, she will match her best WTT Grand Smash result, previously reaching the round of 16 at Singapore Smash 2023.
