Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha conquer China Smash (Photo WTT)
Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha have conquered the WTT Grand Smash stage for the fifth time as a duo, defeating Huang Youzheng and Chen Yi 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 in the mixed doubles Final at China Smash.
With both pairs dropping just one game en route to the final, there was a real sense of excitement surrounding the first title match of the week, and spectators around Shougang Park weren’t left short-changed.
A tight first game set the tempo, whipping up a storm on Infinity ∞ Arena with world class table tennis captivating all in attendance. Down 9-6, Huang and Chen scored back-to-back points to make things interesting at 9-8, but Wang and Sun didn’t lose sight of the goal, leaning on each other’s mental strength to take a crucial opening game.
Building that early buffer would give Wang and Sun the freedom to express themselves on the table, producing sublime play all round as the two superstars tightened their grip on the match.Left with nothing to lose, Huang and Chen went for broke in the third, and began making a dent, sitting pretty at 5-7 up as they hunted a scoreboard breakthrough.
But fate just wasn’t on their side on this occasion. Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha looked unstoppable, and they would eventually confirm their ascent to champion status, flipping the third game to seal the W.
“I think although the score is 3-0, the match itself was very exciting and full of great rallies. Throughout the match, I believe Sun Yingsha and I maintained very efficient and effective communication, and our execution of tactics and techniques was very solid. I also feel that our control over the rhythm on court was quite good.” Wang Chuqin
Meanwhile, Sun Yingsha confirmed her spot in the women’s singles semifinals, holding her nerve to secure a 4-3 victory over Wang Yidi (14-12, 4-11, 11-6, 7-11, 12-14, 11-3, 11-8).
The Chinese superstars had already clashed twice this season, with Sun coming out on top in both encounters, and it was ShaSha who made the brighter start in Friday’s showdown, dictating the pace early on.
However, it didn’t take long for Wang to make her presence felt, overturning an 8-5 deficit to move into Game Point territory at 9-10. The two would continue to tussle as momentum went to and fro, but Sun would eventually find the breakthrough, clipping the net and then the edge to convert 14-12.
Wang Yidi appeared to take that final point misfortune personally, hitting back with a thunderous response in game two, quickly drawing level again. The high-octane action on Infinity ∞ Arena had fans on the edge of their seats, and the ShaSha fans would soon have their hearts in their mouths, as the World No.1 lost her footing in game three. However, she’d return to her feet none the worse and would even kick on to retake the lead.
Tension filled the arena as Wang began to assert her authority, landing the next two games to stand on the precipice of victory. But Sun Yingsha would hold her nerve, showing steely resolve to deny her compatriot for the seventh match running.
Shin Yubin came through the session’s other Women’s Singles quarterfinal clash, making a fine comeback from two games down to see off Joo Cheonhui 4-2 (14-16, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7).
The win is a historic one as Shin Yubin becomes the first Korean player to reach a WTT Grand Smash semifinal in the Women’s Singles discipline, setting a new gold standard for Korean table tennis.
Meanwhile, Yukiya Uda’s magical Men’s Singles run has come to an end, seeing his China Smash dream fade at the hands of defending champ Lin Shidong (11-8, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5).
Put through her paces on Friday evening, Chen Xingtong’s dream of landing her first WTT Grand Smash title on home soil lives on, coming through a testing showdown against Zhu Yuling (9-11, 17-15, 5-11, 12-10, 14-12, 11-3).
While this was the first time these two stars collided on the WTT stage, they had met three times before at international level, with their last encounter coming six years ago.
Zhu, who held aloft the United States Smash 2025 champions trophy in July, had demonstrated impeccable form all week in Beijing, and the Macao, China player looked the more confident early on, locking up two of the opening three games.
But an impressive turnaround from Chen Xingtong would bring the match to life, as the WTT Champions Yokohama winner lit up Infinity ∞ Arena, digging deep to win three games on the bounce as she banked her semifinal ticket in explosive fashion.
“I believe I was able to win because I didn’t give up when the momentum was against me. Mentally, I kept telling myself to hang in there. As the match went on, I was able to bring out my full physical strength, and I felt that the longer it went, the more advantage I had.” Chen Xingtong
The other Women’s Singles match in the second session saw Wang Manyu back in the spotlight.
Champion at Singapore Smash 2024, the bid for that second WTT Grand Smash title is drawing ever closer into view for Wang Manyu, who scored a ruthless 4-0 win over Miwa Harimoto (11-3, 12-10, 11-6, 11-4).
However, Chinese hearts were broken for the fairy-tale story that was Chen Junsong, with No.7 seed Felix Lebrun proving a step too far (11-6, 12-10, 7-11, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10), despite another exceptional performance from the qualifying star.
