Ying Han (Photo WTT)
Ying Han produced the first big upset of WTT Champions Frankfurt, beating Wang Yidi in straight games 11-8, 12-10, 11-4 as the German made a perfect start to her home event at Süwag Energie Arena.
This women’s singles match was the first time the defender Han had faced Yidi, but the 43-year-old German has recorded impressive victories over Chinese players in the past, including beating Kuai Man at WTT Champions Macao and Wang Manyu and Chen Yi at WTT Champions Doha.
Han took a 9-5 lead in the opener after saving several forehand shots with impressive chop blocks before launching an attack herself, causing Wang to miss the table, but the Chinese World No.5 recognised her opponent’s brilliant play in that exchange, giving her a nod of approval after conceding the point.
World No.16 Han then recovered from being 4-7 down in the second to double her lead, then stormed through the third to seal the win.
Han’s win against Yidi is another incredible chapter in her recent history. In January 2024, she tore her right Achilles at WTT Star Contender Doha. In her first match back at WTT Star Contender Bangkok, she ruptured her left Achilles tendon, ruling her out of the Paris Olympics.
Following that match, Wim Verdonschot got his WTT Champions men’s singlesdebut off to a flying start, beating Simon Gauzy 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7.
After saving two game points but still losing the opener, Verdonschot, who beat Darko Jorgic at China Smash 2026 en route to the Round of 16, came bouncing in game two. In the third, it was Verdonschot’s turn to drop two game points but still take the game, and he sealed the historic win by hitting five in a row to set up four match points.
In the first match of the day, there was another win for Germany, as Annett Kaufmann beat Doo Hoi Kem 11-1, 9-11, 14-12, 11-9.
The wins kept rolling in for Germany with six victories from six matches on the second day of action, including Dimitrij Ovtcharov taking down Omar Assar 12-10, 9-11, 11-5, 11,9 to set up a clash with compatriot Dang Qiu.
Despite being two veterans of the game, this was the first WTT meeting between them, and in the second, Ovtcharov went up 9-3, but then Assar came roaring back, hitting eight points in a row to steal Game Two.
Ovtcharov, a quarterfinalist in Frankfurt last year, turned the screw in the second, storming to an 8-3 lead and not looking back.
The defeat means that Assar has now lost 17 WTT Champions matches on the spin, with his last win coming in Frankfurt in 2023, the event’s first edition.
The other German match in the second session of the day saw Nina Mittelham brush aside Elizabeta Samara 11-8, 11-9, 11-5.
Mittelham was unplayable in this one, pulling out all the tricks, including a stunning round-the-net forehand that was hit low and with so much whip that there was no way the Romanian could get it, as she cruised to a straight-games win in just 23 minutes.
One of the matches of the day saw Lim Jonghoon produce a heroic comeback against Anton Kallberg, winning 1-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8. After conceding eight on the bounce in the first, then saving two game points but losing the second, it looked like it would be a tough night for the Korean player.
But the mixed doubles expert came back fighting and took games three and four without falling behind on his way to completing an outstanding fightback.
