Pearly-Thinaah carry Denmark Open form into French Open

Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah head into the French Open with their first title won on court this season, after claiming the Denmark Open women’s doubles crown on Sunday. The world No. 5 pair begin their Super 750 campaign against Turkiye’s Bengisu Ercetin-Nazlican Inci when the tournament starts tomorrow.

Their 21-18, 21-11 win over Japan’s Hinata Suzuki-Nao Yamakita ended Malaysia’s 18-year wait for the Denmark Open women’s doubles title. It also gave Pearly-Thinaah a timely lift after several months of mixed results.

Back at a tournament with special meaning

The French Open was the scene of a breakthrough for Pearly-Thinaah in 2022, when they became Malaysia’s first women’s doubles champions at the tournament. Four years later, they return as second seeds hoping to build on their victory in Denmark.

That win was their first title since January, when they were awarded the Indonesia Masters crown following a walkover in the final. They had also won the Arctic Open and Kumamoto Masters late last year.

If Pearly-Thinaah win their opener, they could meet compatriots Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting in the second round. Bulgaria’s Gabriela and Stefanie Stoeva are possible quarter-final opponents, while Japan’s third seeds Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi could await in the semi-finals.

Aaron-Wooi Yik seek a different result

Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik arrive in France after finishing runners-up at the Denmark Open. The former world champions beat world No. 1 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae in the semi-finals but lost Sunday’s final 21-8, 21-11 to Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.

The fourth seeds have won four titles from 18 World Tour finals together. They have lost all three finals they have contested this season — at the Malaysia Open, All England and Denmark Open — and their last title came at the Singapore Open in June last year.

Opening matches and tournament outlook

Aaron-Wooi Yik face China’s He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu first. A quarter-final against Japan’s Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi or fellow Malaysians Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun is possible, with China’s reigning world champions Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang potential semi-final opponents.

Other Malaysian entrants include Arctic Open champions Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King, who open against Americans Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith. In singles, Leong Jun Hao faces Japan’s Koki Watanabe, while K. Letshanaa meets Thailand’s eighth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong.

The French Open remains scheduled to run until Sunday, despite unrest in France over the weekend. Protests turned violent in central Paris; the tournament venue, Arena Grand Paris in Tremblay-en-France, is about 17km northeast of Place de la République, one of the main flashpoints.