Dina Meshref (Photo WTT)
Dina Meshref has recorded another historic result, beating World No.5 Wang Yidi 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7 in the opening round of the WTT Champions Macao.
Earlier this season, Meshref became the first Egyptian player to reach the Round of 16 at a WTT Grand Smash when she beat then-World No.14 Shi Xunyao at US Smash 2026. Before heading to Macao, Meshref’s previous outing on the WTT Series saw her go out in the opening round of Europe Smash – Sweden 2026, after being drawn against eventual champion Wang Manyu. And again Meshref was thrown in at the deep end this time around, being drawn against another of China’s best players straight off the bat here in Macao.
“It definitely means so much to me, this victory, winning against the Chinese again in, like, two or three months. It’s something I never imagined that would happen. I’m very, very happy with it. I’m so grateful, ” said Meshref.
But the 32-year-old Meshref made a fantastic start to game one, and her backhand was causing Wang all sorts of problems, as the Egyptian was constantly creating angles that her Chinese counterpart just couldn’t deal with. At 6-6, Meshref started to build, scoring 12 of the next 16 to not only take the opener, but go 4-0 up in the second.
“I actually watched a lot of her games against left-handed players, and I thought I have to capitalise on that, on my backhand strokes, especially deep to her forehand. You know, you always have to find a way to, like, fit your game to the opponent’s game. So, I think what helped a lot is watching, again, a lot of matches of her against left-handed players.” Dina Meshref
Meshref, who was fighting to reach the Round of 16 at a WTT Champions event for only the third time, and the first time since 2024, called a Time Out after Wang narrowed the gap to 6-9. Without a coach in her corner, she sat in silence on her bench, alone with her thoughts, and the plan she devised worked, as she instantly got the two points she needed to move within one game of a huge upset.
Meshref was on the cusp of a straight-games win after leading 9-8 in the third, but Wang refused to go down easily and hit three vital winners to give herself a lifeline.
With the score tied at 6-6 in Game Four, Meshref again brought her backhand into play, taking all the sting out of the No.3 seed’s serve, and Wang couldn’t find the answers as the World No.35 set up three Match Points.
Definitely very, very grateful; I never imagined it could have gone that way. I think it’s just consistency, hard work, and you just keep going, no matter how the results are, no matter how the draws are. Sometimes the draws are very tough, and those big events, but I’m very, very happy with that, and yeah, very grateful. Definitely also to my family, who kept pushing me.” – Dina Meshref
Meshref, who earlier this year rose to World No.30, her highest ranking in more than 18 months, was overcome with emotion when she got the win, with tears of joy streaming down her face.
Meanwhile, Bernadette Szocs has beaten Sabine Winter at the fourth time of asking on the WTT Series, eliminating the No.6 seed from 11-9, 11-9, 11-13, 11-1.
Heading into this match, Szocs had never taken a game against Winter on the WTT Series. Winter, on the other hand, was not in great form heading into this one, winning only two matches on the tour since reaching the semifinal of Singapore Smash 2026, despite breaking into the Top 10.
Szocs made an electric start to the match, going up 4-0 and 8-4 before Winter came roaring back to level the score. Sensing the frustration creeping in, the Romanian’s coach called an early Time Out, and after an intense debate, Szocs returned to the table and smashed the winners she needed to take the first game.
On the other side of the table, it was Winter’s turn to call a Time Out, as the disappointment mounted after six of the last eight points went to Szocs and the German went 3-0 down in the second.
Winter continued to fall behind, and at 7-3 all hope seemed to be lost, but the World No.9 rallied, levelling at 9-9. However, another momentum shift came, as Szocs got Game Point, and converted when a net ball completely wrong-footed her opponent.
Just one game away from exiting a WTT Champions event in the first round for a second time in a row, Winter threw everything at Szocs, saving three Match Points in a game she trailed from the start.
With all three previous games decided by just two points, everyone inside Macao East Asian Games Dome was preparing themselves for another closely fought contest, but Szocs had other ideas, blowing Winter away with seven points in a row before adding another four to take the match.
Another huge upset has sent shockwaves through the women’s singles main draw as Ying Han went to war with Kuai Man and emerged the victor in 6-11, 11-8, 11-3, 10-12, 11-6.
As the match got underway, Kuai looked comfortably the better player and demonstrated some beautiful table tennis in the opening game of her clash against World No.17, going wide and setting up several forehand smashes against the chopping German.
Things looked even more comfortable for US Smash 2026 finalist Kuai at the start of the second as she built a 4-1 advantage, but suddenly Han showed up, drawing level at 6-6 and then riding that momentum to convert her first of two Game Points.
In the blink of an eye, this match had suddenly flipped out on its head, with 17 of the last 19 points putting Han in a commanding position in the third, as the defender sat on a comfortable 7-0 lead before converting her second of eight Game Points. Han, who was facing Kuai for the first time in her career, was now one game away from handing China another early exit here in Macao.
“I thought in this moment, if I continue to play like passive, there’s no chance. And I started to play more aggressively, more offensively, and it worked. I just told myself before, just try to win every single point and let me see,” said Ying Han.
Game three was a real chess match, with Han’s chop shots drawing Kuai into long, drawn out rallies, one of which lasted a staggering 54 shots. Kuai, who is still looking for her first WTT Series title this year, was able to find a formula that kept her neck and neck with Han in the fourth, and the answer was a patient approach before suddenly unleashing forehand piledrivers.
But as the fourth game progressed, Han would not go away and was agonisingly close to completing the upset, dropping Match Point before her 22-year-old opponent confirmed this one would go to five games.
Kuai was feeling the effects of being drawn into a match that had already gone on for more than 40 minutes, and as the sweat dripped from her brow, Han continued her cool, calm and collected chop, and was fully in the driving seat at 6-2, an advantage she rode all the way home.
Immediately after that match ended, Truls Moregard’s returned to table tennis action for the first time since losing in the first round at his home WTT Grand Smash last month, and pulled off a stunning comeback against Germany’s Patrick Franziska winning 5-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9.
Franziska is renowned for his habit of beating some of the world’s best players, having previously recorded wins over the likes of Ma Long, Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong. Heading into this match, the German was leading in their WTT head-to-head, having won two of their three matches, but this time Moregard claimed the win.
In the day’s other matches, Darko Jorgic continues to build on the performances that saw him make the semifinal of Europe Smash – Sweden 2026, beating Chinese Taipei’s Feng Yi-Hsin 11-7, 11-6, 11-7.
Kanak Jha was visibly delighted when he beat Huang Youzheng over five games 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 9-11, 11-6.
The last match of the first session saw Alexis Lebrun cruise past Manav Thakkar 14-12, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3.
