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(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)
The world’s best players converged on Singapore this week for the 2026 staging of the Singapore Smash. The first action in the singles main draw has begun, with half of the Round of 64 matches to be played on Sunday and the other half scheduled for Monday.
American Kanak Jha (world number 24) won his opening round match in solid fashion with a 3-0 victory over Tomislav Pucar (world number 29). The 16 players who have progressed so far form an interesting mix of veterans and young talent. Wang Chuqin, Togami, Matsushima, Gerassimenko, Jonghoon, Gauzy, Qihao and Felix Lebrun all improved. Anders Lind survived a comeback attempt from Ovtcharov to win 3-2, while he saw the famous German fall as 20-year-old German Andre Bertelsmeier advanced with a strong 3-1 victory over Joao Geraldo. Vladislav Ursu from Moldova advanced, as did Vladimir Sidorenko from Russia.
China and France each have three players who are further along. For China these are Wang Chuqin, Lin Shidong and Zhou Qihao. For France, Felix Lebrun and Simon Gauzy each advanced as expected, and Flavien Coton’s upset win over Benedikt Duda gave France third place to advance to the second round.
The main draws for men’s and women’s singles feature 64 players each, and the three doubles events all start in the round of 32. That means there are plenty of matches to be played in Singapore – with the finals scheduled over a full week (Sunday, March 1). Watch and we will keep you informed of the progress of the promotion.
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