Wang Chuqin (Photo WTT)
Defending champion Wang Chuqin pulled off an impressive fightback in his opening men’s singles match at WTT Finals Hong Kong 2025, keeping his dream of winning a fourth consecutive Finals alive, beating Sora Matsushima 6-11, 9-11, 11-4, 12-14, 12-10, 11-4, 11-9.
Chuqin was staring right down the barrel of defeat after Matsushima went 1-3 up. But the 25-year-old, who had the backing of thousands of fans inside Hong Kong Coliseum, showed grit and determination, edging a close fifth game 12-10 before storming the next one 11-4 to force a showdown for a spot in the quarterfinals.
With momentum now firmly in his sails, Chuqin stuck the landing, finishing up 11-9 in the decider to squeeze through.
This is the third time Chuqin and Matsushima have faced each other in as many months, with China’s World No.1 coming out on top at WTT Champions Macao and at China Smash..
“I only won by a fluke. Matsushima played remarkably well, and honestly, there wasn’t much I could do in the first half of the match. I’d say winning the fifth game made the whole difference for me. At one point, I literally thought I was going to pack my bags and go. But somehow I managed to take that game, and after that, I started to find my groove again,” said Chuqin.
And just before Chuqin ’s win, fans were treated to another defending champion, as last year’s women’s singles winner Wang Manyu took to the court against Japan’s Miwa Harimoto.
The pair also left everything out there, as they battled it out over six games before the World No.2 from China prevailed 11-6, 11-8, 11-13, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7.
Manyu has now won all three of her matches against the teenage ace and, in the previous two matches, hadn’t dropped a game. But this matchup was far from plain sailing, as Manyu had to halt continuous comeback attempts from the teenager.
Harimoto, who at 17 is the event’s youngest player, clawed the match back from the brink. Trailing 8-3 in the third game, she flipped it on its head, winning 11-13 before pushing Manyu all the way to six games. However, in the end, it was not meant to be for Harimoto as Manyu held her nerve to see off the teenager 4-2.
Renewing her rivalry with Zhu Yuling for the fourth time this season, Chen Yi finally found the breakthrough she was looking for, beating the Macao, China player for the first time. she won the thriller 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9, 4-11, 11-8.
Having lost to Yuling three times in 2025, the frustrating run of results gave Chen Yi extra determination to flip the script at Hong Kong Coliseum.
150 days on from Yuling’s historic title win over Chen at United States Smash 2025, the latter would score her revenge.
Playing with a spring in her step, Chen Yi looked to impose her authority early on, and she delivered on that front, banking two of the opening three games. But Yuling was never going to go down without a fight, and the former World No.1 kept things tight, taking a crucial fourth game 10-12 to keep things interesting.
The two players continued to trade blows, matching each other stride-for-stride, leading to the event’s first decider. Having ended up on the wrong side of the equation in all of their previous encounters, this was a chance for Chen Yi to make a statement, and she lived up to the mark, coming through in the clutch to see off Yuling for the first time.
“It was an extremely tough match from start to finish, with the momentum constantly shifting. I might have been more aggressive in one game, and then she fought harder in the next. In the decider, I think it came down to my decisiveness in service and third-ball attacks from midgame onward, ” said Chen Yi.
The event’s No.3 seed Chen Xingtong was also forced to play six games, as she knocked out Shi Xunyao 7-11, 11-3, 8-11, 12-10, 14-12, 11-8.
With the tie level after four games, it seemed like Xingtong had established a foothold in the proceedings, building a 7-2 lead. But Xunyao was determined to make her Chinese compatriot fight for the quarterfinal spot.
Xunyao bagged five points in a row to level things up, and then came from behind again to set up Game Point, but she failed to convert, and Xingtong capitalised, taking the game 14-12. The 28-year-old won her third game in a row, this one finishing 11-8, to seal her spot in the quarterfinals.
“I kept a positive mindset and activated myself well. On the technical front, however, I didn’t perform very well and made a lot of unforced errors. Even so, I learned to tolerate my own mistakes on the court and not let it get to me when my hands didn’t do what I had in mind. I lost our last encounter, so I placed a lot of importance on today’s match. I think she’s not feeling well today. I saw her coughing in the arena and guessed she’d just recovered – I was lucky,” said Xingtong.
Alexis Lebrun also caught the eye on Wednesday afternoon, pulling off a big win over two-time WTT Champions runner-up Dang Qiu, winning 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8.
The result propels Lebrun to his first men’s singles quarterfinal at WTT Finals level, adding to his recent semifinal run at WTT Champions Montpellier 2025 and runner-up finish at WTT Star Contender Muscat 2025.
Earlier, fans were treated to a six-game thriller in the opening match of the men’s singles event, as Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju knocked out Benedikt Duda to progress to the quarterfinals for only the second time on the WTT Finals stage.
The fierce battle was the first time the pair had met on the international stage in two years, but Yun-ju was made to fight to keep his 100 per cent record over the German, winning 12-10, 6-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 13-11.
The first game was a close affair, with former World No.5 Yun-ju edging it 12-10, before Duda came roaring back, storming the second 6-11, at one point leading 1-9.
Duda looked lively on court, running a looping semi-circle before taking his place at the table and jumping on his toes before the serve, eager to play.
The bouncing, larger than life figure of Duda was ruthless at the table, taking any opportunity he could to blast the ball towards Yun-ju, who struggled to return and could only watch as the 1.88m tall figure opposite him took a 1-2 lead.
With an early exit on the cards for Yun-ju, the 24-year-old had no choice but to go for it, and the left-hander started hitting through the ball with venom.
The early afternoon crowd at the Hong Kong Coliseum also played their part in urging Yun-ju back into the tie as the cries of “Come on” in Mandarin became more frequent. They roared and applauded as one of the match’s best points, a powerful rally, went Yun-ju’s way as a netball wrong footed Duda.
With Yun-ju now leading 3-2, it was now Duda’s turn to dig deep, and it looked like he would force a final game after going 5-0 up. But three consecutive points after a Time Out got Lin back into the tie. He drew things level at 10-10, before converting Match Point to take it 13-11.
The pair left everything out on court, and a distraught Duda dashed his towel to the floor when he returned to his corner.
Hong Kong, China’s Wong Chun Ting-Doo Hoi Kem were unable to get a winning start to their home event, as the World No.1 pairing of Lin Shidong-Kuai Man threw down the mixed doubles gauntlet 11-9, 11-4, 11-4.
Shidong-Man were in control from the off, wrapping up the match in just 19 minutes and only falling behind once, when the Hong Kong, China duo scored from their serve to start the second game.
Meanwhile, megastars Wang Chuqin-Sun Yingsha made a flying start to their mixed doubles campaign event, defeating Manush Shah-Diya Chitale 11-7, 11-6, 11-8.
In other matches Japan’s Sora Matsushima-Miwa Harimoto, beat Spain’s Alvaro Robles-Maria Xiao 11-9, 11-9, 15-13 while Korea’s Lim Jonghoon-Shin Yubin took down the Brazilian pair of Hugo Calderano-Bruna Takahashi (13-11, 11-7, 11-5).
