Liang Jingkun (Photo WTT)
Second seeded Liang Jingkun has been sent packing out of the WTT Contender Muscat in the first round. Huang Youzheng upstaged No.2 seed Liang Jingkun 12-10, 11-6, 11-9 to advance to the second round of the competition..
A former WTT Champions event winner and the current World No.7, there were big expectations resting on Jingkun’s shoulders heading into the week, with a first title win since May 2024 at the forefront of his ambitions.
However, while he denied two game point opportunities early on against up-and-comer Youzheng, those saves wouldn’t lead to success. The clear underdog in the match-up, Youzheng played with a real sense of freedom against a player with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and just shy of the 22-minute mark, a stunning 3-0 win was his.
Elsewhere in the men’s singles draw, Patrick Franziska put a rocky start behind him to steady the ship, overturning a two-game deficit to deny Yiu Kwan To’s bid for an upset 10-12, 10-12, 11-9, 11-7, 11-3.
But Franziska’s German compatriot Ricardo Walther was less fortunate. Despite picking up two of the opening three games against qualifier Navid Shams, an astonishing late twist would see Walther leave the arena in frustration, as Shams saved match point deep in the fifth to steal it at the last 8-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7, 15-13.
The top-seeded entries in the women’s singles event navigated their way to the second round with confidence.
Shi Xunyao, who defends her title at WTT Contender Muscat, needed just three games to brush aside Huang Yu-Jie 11-8, 11-7, 11-4, while No.2 seed Cheng I-Ching crushed Charlotte Lutz’s spirits in the opposite half of the draw 15-13, 11-7, 5-11, 11-5.
Arguably the biggest upset of the day’s Women’s Singles action came courtesy of Anna Hursey, who found late inspiration to oust No.8 seed Linda Bergstrom from contention with a 4-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7 victory.
However, Loy Ming Ying’s remarkable week has come to a close. The 15-year-old lit up the qualifying rounds, taking down the top qualifying seed on her way to the main draw. But the Singaporean teenager would fall just short of another head-turning win on Wednesday, as Wang Xiaotong held her nerve to stage a late comeback winning 11-6, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8.
