(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)
The top players in the world have converged this week in Singapore for the 2026 rendition of the Singapore Smash. Early action has begun in the Singles Main Draw with half of the Round of 64 matches played on Sunday and the other half scheduled for Monday.
USA’s Kanak Jha (World No. 24) won his opening round match in solid fashion with a 3-0 win over Tomislav Pucar (World No. 29). The 16 players who have advanced so far are an interesting mix of veterans and young talent. Wang Chuqin, Togami, Matsushima, Gerassimenko, Jonghoon, Gauzy, Qihao, and Felix Lebrun all advanced. Anders Lind outlasted an Ovtcharov comeback attempt to win 3-2, watching well-known German fall as a 20 year old German Andre Bertelsmeier advanced with a strong 3-1 win over Joao Geraldo. Moldova’s Vladislav Ursu advanced, as did Russia’s Vladimir Sidorenko.
China and France each have three players who have advanced already. For China, that is 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 its third to advance to the second round.
The Men’s and Women’s Singles Main Draws have 64 players each, and the three doubles events all begin in the Round of 32. That means there are a lot of matches to play in Singapore – with Finals scheduled a full week away (Sunday March 1). Tune in and we’ll keep you up to date as the action progresses.
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