WTT Finals: Chen Yi beats Zhu Yuling in thrilling 7-game match on tournament’s opening day
Olympic champions Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha easily defeat India’s Manush Shah and Diya Chitale in mixed doubles group match
Chen Yi beat Zhu Yuling in a thrilling seven-game match to ease into the next round at the WTT Finals in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Chen battled past Macau’s Zhu 4-3 in the women’s singles round of 16, winning 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9, 4-11, 11-8.
The world No 9, who had lost her previous three meetings with Zhu, two heavily, said she went into the match with nothing to lose.
“I did not feel any pressure before the match,” she said. “My coach told me to approach it in challenger mode.
“We were both nervous playing at the finals. In that situation, you need to be mentally strong to ensure you can win and whoever dares to play the better quality of shots will win,” said Chen, 21, who was making her debut at the season finale.
Zhu, a former world No 1, returned to table tennis in 2024 after taking a four-year break from the sport because of illness and academic commitments.