Egypt\u2019s young star Hana Goda produced arguably the day\u2019s biggest result in the women\u2019s singles, defeating Chinese Taipei\u2019s Cheng I-Ching 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 to secure her first ever World Cup main draw appearance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At only 19, Goda was composed and clinical throughout the match and the win was made all the more significant by the fact it was her first ever victory over I-Ching, a vastly more experienced and higher ranked opponent. With her place in the next round confirmed, Goda stands as the sole African representative remaining in the Macao, China carrying the hopes of the continent into the next stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a crazy feeling right now. I honestly can\u2019t believe it because I felt dominant throughout the match, but to beat a player like Cheng I-Ching with that scoreline is incredible. I had never passed the group stage before and I lost to her last time, so the pressure was definitely there. I just told myself, \u2018Come on, just play. If you get too scared, it will be really bad.\u2019 I\u2019m just so grateful I stayed focused and made it through,\u201d said Goda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Top seed and two-time defending champion Sun Yingsha secured her place in the main draw with a comfortable 11-6. 11-4. 11-7 win over Egypt\u2019s Dina Meshref. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yingsha now sets her sights on something that has never been done in Women\u2019s World Cup history \u2013 a third consecutive title. Only China\u2019s Fan Zhendong has ever achieved three consecutive World Cup wins, making Yingsha\u2019s pursuit one of the tournament\u2019s most compelling storylines as we enter the knockout stage. She has given little away in the group stage, and arrives in the main draw as the clear favourite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Yingsha\u2019s progress was expected, what teammate Qin Yuan produced today was anything but. Making her World Cup debut at only 19, Yuan showed maturity well beyond her experience defeating defeating ninth seed and World Cup veteran Japanese star Hina Hayata 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9 to secure her spot in the Round of 16. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hayata one of the tournament\u2019s strongest players, took the third game to stay in the contest but Yuan held firm in the fourth, closing out a result that truly announced her arrival to the World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps the most heartwarming story of the day, however, belonged to Germany\u2019s Sabine Winter. Ten years after her last main draw appearance at the World Cup in Philadelphia 2016, Winter fought her way back to the knockout stage, defeating Wale\u2019s Anna Hursey 13-11, 11-8, 11-5 in a match that captured everything that makes the group stage so compelling. A decade in the making, and worth every moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI feel great! This is the first time I have qualified for the knockout stage under this new system, so I am very happy about that. It has been a long time since I was last in the final stages\u2014ten years now\u2014so I\u2019m really looking forward to the next match,\u201d said Winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the men\u2019s singles, reigning champion Hugo Calderano final\u2019s group match was anything but straightforward. The Brazilian was taken to five games by Sweden\u2019s Kristian Karlsson in a match that could have gone either way, ultimately scraping through by the narrowest of margins 11-13, 11-5, 11-1, 4-11, 11-9 to secure his place in the next round. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A reminder that even the reigning champion is not immune to the pressure of the group stage but ultimately Calderano found a way through and will be looking to improve on his form over the next few days as he seeks to reclaim his title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China\u2019s Wen Ruibo also booked his place in the main draw, defeating France\u2019s Simon Gauzy 11-8, 14-12, 11-9. The two are teammates in the European league in the French Club Hennebont in the European league, however this was their first meeting on the international circuit. After a scare on Day 2 against Algeria\u2019s Stephane Ouaiche, Ruibo, making his World Cup debut at just 19 showed composure and quality when it mattered most to secure his spot in the round of 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Top seed Wang Chuqin also came through his final group match, defeating Australia\u2019s Finn Luu 11-4, 12-10, 11-3 to confirm his place in the next round, a rematch of their recent encounter at the WTT Singapore Smash. Having never won a World Cup title, the World No. 1 arrives in the knockout rounds with ambitious goals and the form to suggest this could be the week he finally claims the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France\u2019s F\u00e9lix Lebrun, who missed out on the main draw entirely at last year\u2019s World Cup, made sure there would be no repeat. The sixth seed was pushed all the way by Sweden\u2019s Anton Kallberg in a tense five-game contest, but produced his best when it mattered most, closing out 11-6, 10-12, 11-5, 5-11, 11-7 to earn his place in the knockout stage. After the heartbreak of 2025, Lebrun will be determined to make every match count from here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt feels amazing. It was such a tough match, so I\u2019m really happy to get through this group stage. It was a very difficult group, so I\u2019m just happy and proud of how I performed to reach the main draw.\u00a0Matches against Anton are always tricky. Every time we play, it\u2019s close. He is an amazing player and his game always presents problems for me, so just getting through this match is a great result,\u201d said Lebrun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France\u2019s Thibault Poret provided the day\u2019s most dramatic moment, saving a match point at 10-9 in the fifth game to defeat Germany\u2019s Benedikt Duda in a five-set thriller 11-9, 7-11, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10. It was a nervous finish for the singles World Cup debutant, but Poret kept his composure at the critical moment to seal a memorable first World Cup group win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am feeling super happy with my performance today. I have no words to describe this feeling!\u00a0When I was down 10-9 in the fifth, I just told myself to focus on playing that one point. I had to fight to come back to 10-10, and to be successful in the end makes me so happy.\u00a0Now that I have made it into the main draw, I am just going to take a rest and call my family. We will see what the draw brings tomorrow,\u201d said Poret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Germany\u2019s Dimitrij Ovtcharov produced one of the great escapes of the group stage, defeating China\u2019s Liang Jingkun 8-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 12-10 in a match that had everything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ovtcharov found himself in deep trouble at 0-2 down, but refused to fold, battling back to level at 2-2 before saving a match point in a tense decider to clinch the win 12-10. It was a remarkable display of resilience from the German veteran, and the perfect way to bring the curtain down on three days of group stage action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom the very beginning, I felt I played my best game in game one. I put some really strong balls on the table, but he was quite everywhere. Watching his match yesterday and how he went into the match today, I felt this was how we used to see him play\u2014to be one of the absolute best players in the world.\u00a0I felt, \u2018OK, I can\u2019t give so much more,\u2019 because I felt I\u2019m already playing really well. On the third set, I changed my tactics a little bit,” said Ovtcharov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pressure went away, and I tried to really shoot and hit very hard. Everything came on the table, so the momentum broke a little bit. Set three and set four was kind of the final set\u2014who wins goes to the next stage. It was very, very tight, and yeah, I\u2019m happy that this time I came out on top. Since we played last year in Singapore, I had a few match balls there and it was a good, tough loss, so I think now it\u2019s quite fair to be even. It was a really nice match and a fantastic audience and arena.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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