Felix Lebrun (Photo WTT)
Defending men’s singles champion Lin Shidong is out of the running at Singapore Smash crashing out 14-12, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 12-10 to French superstar Felix Lebrun in an epic quarterfinal.
Renewing their electric rivalry for the fifth time on the WTT stage, the head-to-head sat in Lebrun’s favour heading into the match, and Shidong looked determined to do something about it, fired up from the first point as he caught Lebrun cold in the opening exchanges.
Building a 1-6 lead, it looked inevitable that Shidong would be first to put his name on the scoreboard, but back came Lebrun, who quickly found his footing to flip the script, stealing game one 14-12 to leave the 2025 champion ruing his luck.
Shidong hit back in the second, but would soon find himself up against the ropes as Lebrun pinned him into the corner, beating Shidong in the fast exchanges to ramp up the pressure on Infinity ∞ Arena.
The No.3 seed was never going to go down quietly, keeping Lebrun on his toes all the way to the sixth, saving two match points to threaten a decider. But that seventh game would never materialise as Lebrun finished the job at the third time of asking, falling to his knees in celebration.
The defending champion is out, and Felix Lebrun now sets his sights on trying to eliminate another former Singapore Smash champion, facing Wang Chuqin in the next round.
Chuqin booked his ticket to the last four in style, producing his crushing best to end Jang Woojin’s week 11-6, 11-8, 11-7, 11-3, and will now stand opposite Lebrun in a repeat of the China Smash 2025 final. In the closing game, Jang Woojin required a medical time out and struggled to get going again upon his return to the table.
“It’s such a shame. I can totally relate to how he feels. I’ve been there myself. Back at WTT Finals Hong Kong, I was preparing for my match the night before, and on match day I still looked forward to it. But during practice, there was a moment when I suddenly felt like I couldn’t move anymore. I could literally feel the pain with every breath. So I truly understand what he’s going through. He’s an excellent player with great tenacity and a strong desire to win. No matter the score, he always tries to fight his way back with a great will to win. I know it must feel terrible for him to see the match end this way. I feel sorry for him and wish him a speedy recovery,” said Chuqin.
Sabine Winter is back in the headlines after beating Chinese star Wang Yidi 4-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 in a dramatic women’s singles quarterfinal.
The two players met in an unforgettable title clash at last year’s WTT Champions Montpellier 2025, a match that saw Wang save championship point to deny Winter a fairy-tale ending in Southern France.
That heartbreaking moment was still fresh in the mind heading into the showdown, and the early signs in this encounter didn’t paint an encouraging picture for the German, who dropped games one and three against a player who rarely offers a slither of hope.
However, a remarkable turnaround would follow as Winter cracked the code. Even with the momentum against her, she’d somehow find her way back, and there was nothing Wang could do to stop her.
“Well, I’m not sure if I can already believe it. It’s a bit crazy that yeah, on the one hand I beat Wang Yidi, on the other hand that I’m in the semifinals of a Smash event, the biggest WTT event. I think I need a while to get that in my brain and realise it, but of course I’m already very happy. But I guess soon I’d be even more happy,” said Winter.
Already knocking out former World No.1 Zhu Yuling in the previous round, Winter would recover not one, not two but three games on the bounce to add Wang Yidi’s name to her list of scalps, and next up it is Wang Manyu.
Wang Manyu secured her ticket to the semifinals with another commanding performance on Infinity ∞ Arena, seeing off Miwa Harimoto in six games 11-8, 11-2, 9-11, 11-5, 12-14, 11-6 as Wang continues her pursuit of the title she won here in 2024.
