Shunsuke Togami (Photo WTT)
Two-time defending men’s singles champion Hugo Calderano’s reign came to an end by the hands of Shunsuke Togami, who beat the Brazilian superstar 7-11, 12-10, 11-8, 4-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7 to claim the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana title.
Togami had lost out to Calderano in each of their last four international encounters, including once in Ljubljana back in 2023. However, all but one of their previous showdowns went right to the final game, and fate would see the two go the distance again on Sunday.
It was nip and tuck right from the start as Calderano laid down an early marker, sweeping the opening game by four points, but the two-time defending champion would soon find himself in a scrap as Togami began to enter his element.
In their last WTT showdown, the ‘Thrill from Brazil’ recovered a 1-2 deficit to hold off his Japanese rival at Saudi Smash 2024, so Calderano had no reason to panic yet. With two of the next three games going in his favour, Calderano kept his dream of a three-peat alive.
The man who’s been here and done it twice before, the odds were still very much in Calderano’s favour heading into the decider, with the prospect of an 11th WTT Series title closing in. However, as fate would have it, Togami would have the last laugh in this one, emptying the tank to cross the finish line ahead of his Brazilian counterpart.
Sending shockwaves around Hala Tivoli, Togami locked up his first singles title at WTT Star Contender level, and his second title of the week following his men’s doubles success alongside Hiroto Shinozuka.
While Hugo Calderano’s time as champion came to an end, Ljubljana saw one of its former champions reclaim the throne over in the women’s singles draw, with Hina Hayata matching her efforts from 2024.
Hayata, who knocked out top seed Miwa Harimoto with a sublime semifinal display, found herself on the backfoot in Sunday’s final as Zhu Yuling took two of the opening three games. The Macao player had never lost out to Hayata in any of their previous encounters, a record she was adamant to keep intact in Ljubljana to win 8-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 10-12, 11-9.
Saving championship point at 10-9 down in the sixth, Yuling refused to go down without a fight, forcing a seventh and deciding game, where she’d save another championship point. However, she merely delayed the inevitable as Hayata eventually stuck the landing, delivering a crunching backhand winner out wide before breaking out into joyous celebration.
The first title up for grabs on the final day of tournament went to Lim Jonghoon-Shin Yubin, who added another mixed doubles trophy to the list with a 11-3, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7 victory over Dang Qiu-Sabine Winter.
Jonghoon-Yubin, who held aloft four mixed doubles trophies last season, including the 2025 title in Ljubljana, have not once looked troubled throughout this week’s action, dropping just a single game enroute to Sunday’s final.
The WTT Finals Hong Kong 2025 champions made a quick start to the title clash, banking the early momentum with a statement 11-3 win in game one. While the margins tightened up in the second game, the Korean duo only trailed Qiu-Winter for one point, limiting their German rivals to very little.
Appearing at only their second WTT Series event as a pair, it hasn’t taken long for Qiu-Winter to strike up a fruitful partnership. Their quarterfinal victory over Singapore Smash 2026 champions Calderano-Bruna Takahashi, just the other day, illustrated the German duo have all the necessary tools to compete with the very best.
Qiu-Winter would finally make their presence felt in game three of Sunday’s final, but in the end, they were outshone by a pair that’s been here and done it before many times over.
The scores were tight all the way to 4-4 in game four, but from that point on it was one-way traffic, as Jonghoon-Yubin raced off into the distance, bringing home another WTT Series title.
From an individual standpoint, what a month it has been for Jonghoon. At WTT Contender Skopje 2026 he pocketed the men’s doubles crown, before kicking on to take the men’s singles and men’s doubles honours at WTT Contender Zagreb 2026. Add this latest success from Ljubljana to the mix, and that’s four titles in June alone.
