HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2025 Day 1 Recap

HANGZHOU – The opening day of the prestigious HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2025 delivered a masterclass in resilience, delivering high-octane drama, injury scares, and the shattering of long-standing statistical curses. As the world’s elite gathered in Hangzhou to battle for the season-ending crown, the narrative was dominated by those who held their nerve under immense pressure. From the historic breakthrough of Malaysia’s “Pearlly” duo to the near-collapse of a French debutant, Day 1 set a blistering pace for the tournament.

Women’s Doubles: A Historic Breakthrough for Malaysia

The headline story of the day belonged to the Malaysian dynamic duo, Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan. Fresh off the momentum of a gold medal-winning performance at the SEA Games, the pair arrived in Hangzhou with high hopes but faced a daunting historical hurdle in their Group A opener. Across the net stood the formidable Chinese combination of Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian—a pair against whom the Malaysians held an unwelcome statistic.

In five previous encounters, Tan and Muralitharan had never bested the Chinese duo in a completed match, with their only statistical advantage coming from a retirement in their very first meeting. The weight of history, however, seemed to dissolve as the match progressed.

The encounter began as a tightly contested affair, with the first game proving to be a battle of attrition. However, it was in the second game that the Malaysians truly showcased their evolution. Surging ahead with aggressive net play and rock-solid defense, they dominated the exchanges to seal a emphatic 21-17, 21-11 victory.

The turning point of the match—and perhaps the defining moment of the day—came early in the second game. In a breathtaking display of stamina and focus, the two pairs engaged in a marathon 83-shot rally. It was Tan and Muralitharan who emerged victorious from the grueling exchange, seizing an 11-4 lead that broke the Chinese pair’s resistance.

“Definitely happy for this game because we were specially preparing for the World Tour Finals,” Muralitharan beamed in the post-match mix zone. “So it was about having no regrets on court, communicating well when things don’t go well, just talk it out, support each other.”

She attributed their success to a deepened sense of partnership on the court. “The trust that we have in each other helped. We tried to be calm and steady and focus and that helped a lot,” she added.

Men’s Singles: Agony and Ecstasy for Christo Popov

If the Women’s Doubles provided the feel-good story of the day, the Men’s Singles provided the heart-stopping drama. Christo Popov, making his debut at the season finale, found himself embroiled in a psychological thriller against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in Group A.

For the majority of the match, the Frenchman played a tactical masterclass. Employing a countering style that neutralized Antonsen’s usually explosive attack, Popov frustrated the Dane, offering him few openings and forcing errors. As the third game progressed, Popov built what seemed to be an unassailable lead, arriving at match point with the scoreboard reading 20-13.

Then, the nightmare scenario began to unfold.

Antonsen, refusing to yield, began to chip away at the deficit. A few quick rallies later, the gap had narrowed, and the pressure in the arena became palpable. At 20-17, disaster struck. While attempting to retrieve a tight net shot, Popov suffered a nasty fall, clutching his left leg in visible pain. The injury timeout that followed left the crowd wondering if a cruel twist of fate would force a retirement.

Popov, however, managed to shake it off. With Antonsen closing in to just a single point away, the Frenchman held his nerve to capture the final winning point, ending the match 21-13, 12-21, 21-19.

“I feel pain, but I have no idea what happened,” a visibly relieved Popov confessed. “I’ll have to stretch it and see how it feels tomorrow. It was very difficult, so I’m pretty happy to have made it… I made it tough for myself in closing the match after leading and having a big gap and so many match points, maybe I wouldn’t have slept if I hadn’t finished it. So yeah, it’s only shame on me.”

Despite the shaky finish, Popov took pride in his mental fortitude against an in-form Antonsen, who had recently triumphed at the Yonex French Open.

“It was more about me playing an okay match, and mentally being ready for having a very tough match from my side,” Popov analyzed. “It was like very weird rallies where both of us were making a lot of mistakes, but at the end, maybe I was also more solid and adapted a bit better today on court.”

In stark contrast to Popov’s marathon, Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn made short work of Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the other Group A clash. Vitidsarn was imperious, needing very little time to dismantle the Indonesian 21-10, 21-14, marking one of his quickest victories in their 14-match rivalry.

Men’s Doubles: Survival of the Fittest

The Men’s Doubles discipline saw several top pairs pushed to their absolute limits.

World Champions Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae were forced to dig deep against the relentless pairing of Chiu Hsiang-chieh and Wang Chi-lin. The match was a seesaw battle that saw the Koreans survive a stiff test before finally finding their rhythm after the mid-game interval of the decider. They eventually powered through to win 21-19, 23-25, 21-14.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik notched a crucial mental victory. Facing the Indonesian combination of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, the Malaysians capitalized on their opponents’ errors in the critical stages. It was their first win in three matches against this specific Indonesian pairing, edging them out in a razor-thin contest, 22-24, 21-18, 21-19.

The “Comeback Kings” of the day, however, were India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Facing home favorites Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, the Indians started sluggishly and found themselves staring down the barrel of a match point. However, known for their fighting spirit, they found their stride just in time, overturning the deficit to silence the home crowd with a 12-21, 22-20, 21-14 victory.

Mixed Doubles and Women’s Singles Highlights

Day 1 also saw significant upsets and assertions of dominance in other categories.

In Mixed Doubles, the top-seeded Thai pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran suffered a disappointing start to their campaign. They fell to the Japanese duo Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito, 21-19, 21-18. This marked the third time in five meetings that the Japanese pair has bested the Thais, signaling a worrying trend for the top seeds.

Over in Women’s Singles, experience triumphed over youth. World Champion Akane Yamaguchi faced a challenge from her younger compatriot, the rising star Tomoka Miyazaki. While Miyazaki showed flashes of brilliance, Yamaguchi’s veteran savvy and court coverage proved too much, as she held off the challenge with a comfortable 21-13, 21-13 scoreline.

As the dust settles on Day 1, the tone for the World Tour Finals has been set. With curses broken, injuries managed, and match points saved, the players have proven that in Hangzhou, nothing can be taken for granted until the final shuttle lands.