{"id":9690,"date":"2026-02-21T08:23:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=9690"},"modified":"2026-02-21T08:23:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:23:32","slug":"last-gasp-monfardini-stuns-top-qualifying-seed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/last-gasp-monfardini-stuns-top-qualifying-seed\/","title":{"rendered":"Last gasp Monfardini stuns top qualifying seed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gaia Monfardini pulled off another huge win in qualifying for Singapore Smash, eliminating top qualifying seed Andreea Dragoman with a last-gasp 11-7, 15-13, 7-11, 3-11, 11-5 victory under the lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monfardini had already come through one nail-biting contest in qualifying, saving match point in her opening round win over Izabela Lupulesku, and the pressure intensified further in the second round, seeing a promising two-game lead slip through her fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Italian dug deep, refusing to back down from the fight in the decider, keeping the scores tight up to 4-4. From there she\u2019d kick into high gear, dropping just one more point as she sprinted to the finish line, falling to her knees with a huge roar as she sealed her spot in the final qualifying round in epic fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same session that saw the top qualifying seed exit, the No.2 qualifying seed headed for the door as Charlotte Lutz fell short at the second hurdle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lutz entered the week looking to snap a frustrating run of form at Singapore Smash, having succumbed to early qualifying exits on each of her three previous appearances at the event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it\u2019s another premature defeat for the French player, who saw her hopes crushed 11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-4 at the hands of Chien Tung-Chuan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fresh from her late comeback win over Brianna Burgos earlier in the day, Singapore\u2019s own Chloe Lai was back at it again on Friday evening, reversing her fortunes at two games down to stun Tung Su Tsz 3-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-8, 12-10, saving match point in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lai is the last local hero left standing in qualifying. She\u2019s now just one win away from a dream spot in the main draw, facing off against Sally Moyland for that honour on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier Chloe had blown the roof off The Kallang, with the up-and-coming Singapore star finding late inspiration against Burgosto to claim a 11-8, 8-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9 win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bested in the opening qualifying round at Singapore Smash in 2023, 2024 and 2025, the early signs appeared to indicate Chloe was heading for a fourth straight qualifying round one exit, seeing two of the opening three games pass her by despite a bright start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the heartache of the last three seasons prepared Chloe for this moment, and she was determined to perform in front of the home crowd. From the jaws of defeat, the 18-year-old found late inspiration, leaving the best until last as she overturned a 6-9 deficit in the fifth to finally get her hands on that hometown win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of leaving it late, Diya Chitale came back from the brink to deny Katarzyna Wegrzyn in dramatic fashion to pick up a 9-11, 8-11, 13-11, 11-2, 11-5 win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drama continued in the men\u2019s singles action, with Iulian Chirita\u2019s session-ending clash the pick of the bunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the standout players from last year in Singapore, Chirita took down household names Kristian Karlsson and Darko Jorgic on that occasion, but very nearly saw his 2026 campaign halted by Gustavo Gomez at the first hurdle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pushed right to the limit, the Romanian required all five games to weather the storm, holding his nerve at the death to see off the Chilean 11-9 in the fifth, winning 11-5, 5-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sun Yingsha was on fire at Singapore Smash (Photo WTT)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the main draw was finalised yesterday, with defending women’s singles champion Sun Yingsha seeking her third title here, She opens her account against an unknown quantity, with one of the successful qualifiers awaiting at the first hurdle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Yingsha manages to work her way through the playing field, she could meet Kuai Man again in a repeat of last year\u2019s title match, the two players potentially colliding in next week\u2019s quarterfinals. Last year\u2019s surprise finalist Man turns her immediate attention toward Annett Kaufmann, with the rising German star providing stern opening round opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the players who could meet Yingsha in the second round is Singapore Wildcard Loy Ming Ying. The 15-year-old ace captured the world\u2019s attention at last year\u2019s Singapore Smash, performing well beyond her years. Going directly into the main draw this time around, Loy meets a player more than twice her age, with 36-year-old Elizabeta Samara standing at the opposite end of the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the other side of the draw, 2024 champion Wang Manyu meets Singapore\u2019s top-ranked player Zeng Jian in a box office opening round showdown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That side of the draw also contains Wang Yidi, who renews her rivalry with Joo Cheonhui following their tense semifinal clash from WTT Champions Montpellier 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the standout player from last month\u2019s WTT Series action in Doha, Zhu Yuling looks to build on WTT Champions and WTT Star Contender success from her time in the Qatari capital. The Macao, China player locks horns with Manika Batra in Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

World No.1 and the winner two years ago, Wang Chuqin is the name at the top of the men\u2019s singles draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kicking off his campaign against Finn Luu, the pressure will ramp up from there, with the likes of Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Anders Lind potentially lying in wait in the Round of 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year\u2019s champion Lin Shidong has been seeded No.3 for the week, and will have his work cut out for him. Shidong has been placed in the same turbocharged half of the draw as Chuqin, meaning they could meet in the semifinals, with Felix Lebrun also in the mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sora Matsushima, who became a WTT Champions winner for the first time in the closing stages of last season, will be hoping to spoil the Singapore party with local hopeful Izaac Quek waiting in the Round of 64. Quek shocked the world with his historic run to the last 16 at Singapore Smash 2023, and will be leaning on the home support again as he chases that same magical feeling from three years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere, Europe Smash \u2013 Sweden 2025 champion Truls Moregard will have to wait a little longer to discover his first opponent of the week, with the Swede drawing a qualifier in the opening round. As for Tomokazu Harimoto, the WTT Finals Hong Kong 2025 winner collides with Chen Junsong for the first time since Chen\u2019s upset win over Harimoto at China Smash 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gaia Monfardini pulled off another huge win in qualifying for Singapore Smash, eliminating top qualifying seed Andreea Dragoman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[65],"class_list":["post-9690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-table-tennis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gaia-Monfardini.jpg",1920,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gaia-Monfardini-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gaia-Monfardini-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gaia-Monfardini-768x432.jpg",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gaia-Monfardini-1024x576.jpg",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gaia-Monfardini-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gaia-Monfardini.jpg",1920,1080,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gaia-Monfardini-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gaia-Monfardini-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Newsbeat<\/a>","tag_info":"Newsbeat","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gaia-Monfardini.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9692,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9690\/revisions\/9692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}