FULL MATCH | Saki Shibata vs Zhu Yuling | WS QF | WTT Star Contender Doha 2026

And she starts with her trademark backhand. Back-to-back points for Chen Qingtong. It's a great start. This is something which Zhu Yilin is going to have to be very wary about here. I think variation is certainly the name of the game. But she can't afford to let Chen Qingtong know what she's going to do too soon. Devastating power. Zhu Yilin is a very crafty player though. She's a real thinker and she'll figure things out as this goes on. She will. She'll take notes. She'll adapt. She's more of an old-school style Zhu Yilin. Forehand orientated. Not quite as powerful. But she doesn't want to be. She's so selective and that really helped her there against the defensive dynamo Han Ying who dispatched Wang Manyu for the first time in six attempts. Wang Manyu coming into this as the most informed player in the world. Having won the China Smash, the finals, the China National Games as well. But Zhu Yilin with her first point of the match. Are we seeing any signs of tiredness from Zhu Yilin so far, Fraser? I'm not so sure. We will certainly see. I mean, she looks like she's really up for this. Wristy, spinny, flick, receive. I think they're both just sort of testing the waters early days here. Two, four. Best of seven, of course. That's a different dynamic. Float serve and the simplest of little backhand receives there from Zhu Yilin. It was a borderline punch, but there wasn't much power there. Sort of deadened the ball. Two, five. Joke of fortune there for the higher ranked star. Already she's adjusted her service position here, Zhu Yilin, to play it from the middle of the table. Which makes her less vulnerable against a switch to either corner from Tong Tong. So early doors here. Zhu Yilin has shown that she knows Tong Tong. What a finish there. She knows Tong Tong can get her either corner very quickly. Tong Tong does move a bit more dynamically. The other, of course, question marks over Zhu Yilin's tiredness levels after the semifinal. But we have to remember that Chen Qingtong was put through the ringer yesterday in the quarterfinal by Miu Harimoto. Exactly. That was arguably even more exhausting. And came out and produced a 4-0 win. Unbelievable. Against Kwai Man, the world number three, who reached the finals finals, who actually got to the World Cup final. Incredible result for Chen Qingtong. And that was a statement victory there because it was kind of becoming common consensus that, you know, Kwai Man had just got the warm-up over her. Three, seven. I did say that I think that Zhu Yilin would have probably deep down hoped that she'd be playing Tong Tong in the final. I think she would have found it more difficult against Kwai Man. But look at this start here from Tong Tong. Four ahead, four away from taking the opener. Well, Zhu Yilin comes out on top in a backhand to backhand down the diagonal battle. The most venomous backhand she's played all game. She shows she's got that in her locker as well. Look at that. A lot of approval from the opposition bench as well. Her weight was so forward. She took it beautifully. We're still clear. Great response from the number three seed. In the corner for Tong Tong. Played the backhand from middle but left that down the line exposed. And Tong Tong has been so clinical, surgical you could even say, at playing those parallels. That's the shorter side of the table compared to the cross table. Her technique, her timing, her lateral lunge and keeping the bat high has been instrumental technically. It's been a rapid start from Chen Qingtong. She's been filled with confidence after that demolition of Kuai Man earlier. Catches the net and she's denied the game points. Wide receive. She got so much dwell there here, Tong Tong. Beautiful brush up. That was such an awkward ball for Zhu Yilin to deal with but she just sponged it all up and caressed it back safely. Maybe Tong Tong was admiring her own shot because she didn't move enough to get in position for the forehand. Game points though. Clinical and ruthless. Chen Qingtong wraps up the opener 11 points to 5. I think she'll continue to try and change her service game. She's serving pendulum from backhand here. She'll serve the occasional serve from the middle of the table. She has to try and shut down the backhand of Tong Tong. She has to make a guess where the ball is going to go. I don't think we're going to see Zhu Yilin play much into the forehand of Chen Qingtong. I really don't. Although occasionally the players will try and catch their opponent off guard with a backhand switch down the line. Most of what we see is going to be between the backhand and the middle. But why would you go to Chen Qingtong's backhand? Because if Zhu Yilin plays the forehand Tong Tong can abbreviate and then play it cross table. And I don't think that Zhu Yilin is comfortable there retrieving the forehand that's come cross court. Also it's about safety. It's more risky to play the down the line. The shorter side, the shorter length to play. That's a fast serve from Chen Qingtong. Both of these women are very, very good at playing backhand when they're not fully behind the ball. But especially Chen Qingtong. We saw that point against Kwai Man, didn't we? Where she nearly had her back to the table. Yeah, it was her head and body facing completely different directions. It was just audacious. I think that gives her an advantage. She can afford to stand a little bit more centrally at the table. I think Zhu Yilin is going to have to play the parallels extraordinarily well. Zhu Yilin is just so solid in defense. Just took a tiny little step back there to give herself more space and time. It was important there that she wasn't too close because she wouldn't have had time to retrieve those zippy balls. It was such a confidence booster for Tong Tong to win that champion, Yokohama. She could have easily won the champions event before that in Incheon. And she failed to convert championship points against Wang Yidi. Wang Yidi has won three champions events. So Tong Tong trying to play catch up there with respect to that player. I seriously thought Kwai Man was the favorite after Wang Wenyu was beaten. Many people would have. I mean, the expectation of Chen Qingtong to be there or thereabouts towards the end, but you never kind of stick a pin in her name and say she's the one to watch. She does live a little bit in the shadows, doesn't she? And now Kwai Man, given that Kwai Man has replaced her as number three in the world. It's highly competitive. If you just want to sneak into that world championship squad for London, this would do her the world of good. Well, you could just hear by the noises that Chen Qingtong was making that Zhu Yuling had her in trouble. Just didn't know where Zhu Yuling was going to take it. The one before the winner, she took it a touch later and that made Tong Tong indecisive. The winning shot was taken more early into the backhand down the line. That is the recipe for success for Zhu Yuling. She has to really earn the right to play that good control early on in the point. Zhu Yuling turning the screw now. She's getting this party started. Nice variation from the backhand. Just prodding, probing, changing the rotation, the speed, the depth, the timing that she's actually contacting the ball and that just can throw off anybody. Three in a row. Is this the comeback? The guide flick there. So smooth, so silky, so delicate. Intelligent. Well, she has got a PhD, Fraser. It's amazing, isn't it, that she's been coaching as well. She's a busy woman and she takes the lead. What a comeback here from Zhu Yuling. But this is the experience coming through. This is a woman who's been world number one. And a young world number one. A young world cup champion. A young world championship finalist in 2017 in Dusseldorf. Only Ding Ding, the queen of hearts, could beat her. Chen Qingtong is not done yet though. Not an approval from the coach. He's been a talking point himself because he was recently coaching for Team China, but now he's coaching Zhu Yuling. Seven. And he switches back then to Zhu Yuling. We are set for a nervy finish to the second game, you sense. Bendy kind of serve. It was, it was the shovel serve here. Coming round the side of the ball, creating reverse spin. It's an easier serve to execute than a reverse pendulum and it does give the server more time to play a third ball. I think she was in two minds there, Zhu Yuling. I like the idea of playing a cheeky forehand flick, but didn't fully commit and you really have to. Well, 9-8. These are the high pressure moments. Not quite. Chen Qingtong stepping up when she needed to the most. The amount of rotation that Zhu Yuling was putting on the balls. Stunning. But that big break in the net just helped Qingtong and distracted Zhu Yuling. It broke the rhythm of the point. See coach Chen Jinliang sympathized with Zhu Yuling. She has masterminded her way to earning a game point here, Zhu Yuling. She's playing some tantalizing table tennis and it's making it tough here for Tongtong to play the power attack. And because she's the more powerful player, that's kind of frustrating her. Not getting to showcase that side of the game. How many tees did you say there? On too many. Table tennis is tough for Tongtong. Chen Qingtong digs deep. So much of what's happening here is down the middle of that table. Look at them both centrally. You just see Tongtong fancied that pivot. And I think that shift put pressure on Zhu Yuling to make a more quality attack into backhand. She tried there to catch Tongtong out deep into that backhand corner. Just tensed up a touch too much. Well, 11. It's another game point then for Zhu Yuling. And more tees tripping off your tongue, Fraser. Here we go. She has struggled to play that little chicken wing forehand because of the switch of Tongtong on that ball there. It's tough, isn't it? Because she's forcing Zhu Yuling to play down the middle, to play from the middle. So when it does go into that forehand side, there's not much space between Zhu Yuling and the ball. Brilliant tactical match. And a fantastic long, fast serve. Yeah, this is it. It's a psychological battle now to get this one rounded off. Zhu Yuling converts her game point. She was made to go about it the hard way, but she holds her nerve. That we could be in for a long, long roller coaster here. One with many twists and turns. One with some fantastic chapters of table tennis. We know to expect the unexpected there at the same time because of what we saw from Tongtong against Kwai Man. We've seen shocks, throws and spills the whole way as well. I mean, Wan Man Yu, Han Ying, Dimitrij Ovtcharov against Hugo Calderano. We've seen a few matches that have been worn in a way which nobody would have expected at this moment in time. What happened with the serve there? I think she put a little bit too much force through it. And when you do try to play a long serve, you have to make sure that your first bounce is as close to your back line as possible. It was too close. It was too close to the middle of the table. Went for a similar kind of serve. It's a little bit shorter. Tongtong with another touch of the net tape. Unbelievable from Zhu Yuling. The matrix movement, that is just mind boggling. I can't believe how good this point was. The switch, the backhand from the middle with side spin. Tongtong's coverage, not even fully behind it. Look at that one there. And then the wrap around the hook. Wow, yeah, exactly. So good. She's so good. Just irresistible at times. So what she's doing is now she's playing a heavy spin shot. And now she really wants to play the backhand as much as possible. Even from kind of forehand territory. We saw it in this point. Watch this. I guess that is more from the middle. But it's kind of into forehand that Tongtong's gone in. I guess she's just trying to save time. She wants to make herself less prone to a parallel. That was a gift for Shen Qingtong. She missed a serve earlier, didn't she, in this game? There she just completely miscuted, but it still went on. Hit her own edge of the table. I was saying you're going to make it close to your back line. Not that close. All those backhands of Shen Qingtong, just so clinical. She guarantees at least a two-point cushion here in this third game. And knowing how powerful that Tongtong backhand can be. As we saw in the first two points of the match. It's a bluff when she plays that softer one. When she's in position to play a powerful one. Crafty. You can see how much Zhu Yuling is shifting. The price she pays it. Yeah, you're leaving that wide backhand a bit more exposed. But she obviously feels like that's giving her the best chance. Just clipping the top of the net on the way over. This is turning into a masterclass from Shen Qingtong. She's just ushering Zhu Yuling at the moment. Bossing her about. She's got most areas of the table locked down. I'm not sure how she's going to be stocked if she continues with this. Oh, she swiped at that forehand Zhu Yuling. This is really smart play. Great match management from Shen Qingtong. So diligent. Really impressed with her spinny backhand. And she went for another pirouetting Xu Xin. Great final. As I'm sure this is turning into as well. But Shen Qingtong wasn't doing anything especially flashy or amazing in game three, was she, Fraser? So how did she take it by such a huge margin? She's just playing universally effective tactics against someone who she's a little bit quicker than. Someone who does have a bit more of a powerful backhand than. Let's talk about the difference between China and the rest of the world. What makes them the best? Ultimately, it's the fundamentals. We class special things as, you know, Europeans who romanticize the fancy things. You know, we class special things like a top blocker fanning backhand. They class special things as stability, consistency. That is ultimately what wins you things. Middle ground. Very similar styles in that respect between these two. Grounded. There aren't many team China players that will play the very fancy stuff in a match. You see it from Lin Shidong with his antics away from the table. You see it from Georgie Howe. He's a real showman in general. He won't resort to it unless it's sort of ride or die situations. Make it or break it scenarios where they've run out of other options. And now Tongtong definitely in control. Qiu Ling thinks otherwise. Pivoted there. Absolutely greasing this ball. And then a proactive step around. Maybe that's going to be what she tries differently here. Really, really heavy spin. So that all Chen can do is try and caress, guide, block. You see that wrist is a bit strapped up, isn't it? Qiu Ling, that right wrist. Wrist, left knee. Just the wristband at first, but it looks like she's had a bit of an injury on it. Is Tongtong the better player at the minute? Yeah, she is. Do you think that's because of that semi-final that Qiu Ling had earlier against Tan Ying? Part of it may be bleeding into this, but I wouldn't say that's the reason, the defining reason. Gets the attack in. And it's good. I just think tactically Tongtong is playing the better game at the moment. I don't know how sustainable it is for Qiu Ling to keep entertaining backhand to backhand middle kind of rallies. So we might have to see some wider serving, some more long serving, some stronger attacking early on. Trying to surprise Tongtong. That's the wide serve you're talking about. Yeah, she's got to keep things mixing. She's got to have a real blend of control and aggression. I don't think that she's gonna out backhand Chen Xintong. If she is, I think that she's gonna have to switch her out to wide forehand as soon as possible. Or this match could be curtains quite quickly. There we go. It's more like it, more driving, I guess. Less soft spinning from Qiu Ling. With a serve that just has a bit of sidespin and topspin. Drifts out. There we go. This was the game to make a change. How did she get that? Such a breath of fresh air. Turned and burnt. Kept the bat high. Squatting to the ground as she played it. And that clenched fist. Let's have this. That's a three-point advantage now. Double the advantage then for Qiu Ling. She's reached that magic number eight. She's getting that forehand in way more now. Holds it up and smokes it on that pivot down the line. Tongtong didn't expect this. I didn't expect this from Qiu Ling. Xintong gets the backhand in. A bit of fortune there at the end. But nevertheless, it's a great backhand. Did it come off the edge? She recovered the net. But yeah, this switch at the edge. And there's no dispute that it did. Struggle with the long serve. To the middle. We talk about tactics and we can try and generalize. But at the end of the day, as we see the momentum here for the sixth seed, it comes down to what the players are sensing in real time. And if they just see that the opponent's become a little bit more forehand biased on receive, that long serve to Miller can be an immediate shutdown. Chen Xintong trying something different. Looking for the immediate shutdown. No! She was on the floor! She nearly pulled off a Teemo ball against Ma Lin. The Qatar Open. I'm sure some of the fans remember that one. What a shot. What a picture to screenshot. Goes for the big forehand attack and misfires. Percentage-wise, Chen Xintong knows more than not, those aren't going to go on. So she's just sticking to her guns there. Get that brush up into the backhand. Zhu Yilin doing a phallic slip around. The opponent wasn't ready. Stepped around into the forehand. Got it in. Wraps it up. Levels up at two games all. Their last meeting, which was in the China Smash last year, finished 4-2 to Chen Xintong. Overall head-to-head between these two is two all. They first met 2017 Swedish Open. 4-1 win to Tongtong. Zhu Yilin won two in a row. 4-1 at the Grand Finals and then 4-0 at the Hungarian Open. They met six years later at last year's China Smash. Incredible. The fact that she is still playing at this level, beating some of the very, very best players, is just something which I can't think of another example of in world sport. I'm sure there have been some amazing returns, but after four years away from elite competition, really? Yeah, really, exactly. 3-0. It's unthinkable. And not just to come back and, you know, compete, but to come back and be in the top 10, winning titles, reaching finals. And it was how quick she went from making her return at the Champions Macau and struggling a little bit to then winning that United States Smash title in Vegas. Less than a year later. Yeah. Yeah, returned to action in September 2024, won the US Smash in July 2025. Victoria from the former world number one. It would be interesting to take a look at the rankings to see what this would mean if she manages to bag 1,000 today. I'll bring you that information in just a second. She goes 4-1 up. So then I've just had a look at the rankings, Rebecca. And I can tell you what could happen. Don't keep us in suspense. If she manages to beat Chen Qingtong here, she would, of course, get 1,000 ranking points. And that would take her back into, I think, the top five in the world. That is unbelievable. She'd overtake Miwa Harimoto, but I think she'd overtake Wang Yidi, which is crazy. So what would that put her at? Five? That would put her at number five. Wow. In fact, she could even overtake... Now, Tongtong gets... The finalist of the champions gets 700 ranking points. So I don't think, no matter what happens, she won't overtake Tongtong. But I think she could go to number five. Well, we talk about the Chinese dominance, especially in the women's side. Qi Ling is, well, at the minute, probably the greatest threat to that dominance. We talk about Miwa Harimoto as well, but she's not in this final. No, I still think, overall, as a table tennis mind, as a table tennis presence, Qi Ling is a stronger player than Miwa. Keeps the lead, but only just... Beats Chen with the backhand, though. Ominous, Qi Ling. Look how much it means to her. It's getting tense now. Produces the perfect serve. It's unreturnable. The first bounce of that serve is so, so good. Oh, rallies being... Well, not rallies, points being won here by medium speed top spins. I would say low speed, even, compared to what we've seen at times. Again, that kicker serve, barely bouncy. It's deceptive. We see the same again. But it is a clever shovel kicker serve. It's a different serve here, but it pays off well. She baits Qi Ling into that flick and takes her out to wider territory. Qi Ling couldn't get behind it. Well, she was 7-4 up, Qi Ling, and she is going to look to re-establish that advantage now with two serves of her own. Ching Ching Tong flips the top of the net. Advantage restored. They're both trying to slow down the game, aren't they? Who does the game, the slower game suit better? Normally, Zhu Yi Ling. I'd back her to win this game with these tactics. Oh, she went for it. She went for it. If I was her, I would have kept trying to play those slower spin shots. She went for the hammer slam forehand. It's like a game of hot potato, isn't it? You're wondering when the explosion's going to happen and who it'll blow up. But I do think that this particular game suits Zhu Yi Ling. I won't be surprised to see Tong Tong invite maybe a flick, try and drive, or maybe play a long serve and try and attack. She pushes it. She needs to increase the pace, Tong Tong. Somehow she can't increase the pace, but Zhu Yi Ling can. Respirating table tennis to bring up two game points for Zhu Yi Ling. Look at Ching Ching Tong with the sass, the hand on the hip. That was fantastic tactics from both of them. But I just felt as though Ching Ching Tong had to try to increase the pace. She's dancing with danger against Zhu Yi Ling. Yeah, that was a real show of dominance. Zhu Yi Ling stares her opponent down. Well, from a massive rally. But it's not the deciding change there from Zhu Yi Ling. There's still table tennis to be played here and she will fight for survival here. Cheng Ching Tong. There is still a considerable amount of distance to go here as the weight of history hangs in the air. Just dripping in finesse. Look where the bat finished here, above her head. Oh, that's just so, so good. Love it, absolutely love it. There was no giveaway there. You're kidding me. Off the top edge, it's on the table. She plays a drop shot and not a good one. Cheng Ching Tong, maybe even the best rally we've seen all week here in Doha. What can you say, man? To infinity and beyond and it came down with some snow on it. Last less than three or four shots. Usually you do see more rallies in the women's game because of that backhand to backhand close to the table factor. Usually a safer game. The balls are usually a little bit more recoverable. Let me just elaborate because I did say that Tong Tong would have been better off smacking it. You can understand why she did try and play the drop shot with Zhu Yuling so far back at the barrier. And those aren't easy, those drop shot attempts. We've seen even Fan Zhendong at the Star Contender Ljubljana miss it when he was right there next to it. Nice punch into the middle. It's a shot that Adriana Diaz is famous for. Diaz actually beat Zhu Yuling at the Champions Montpellier. Great win for the Puerto Rican against such a legend. Usually those kind of results are few and far between. She got her out to wide forehand, Zhu Yuling there. How much does a rally like that play on the mind of the loser of it, Fraser? I'm still thinking about it. So am I. It's Tong Tong. I think that rallies like that, generally speaking, take the tension out of the arena. And usually you see rallies like this emerge as a result of such an incredible point. Everybody's morale's just lifted. Even the player who probably lost it can admire it. I think Tong Tong, deep down, did give herself a fighting chance in this must-win sixth game. Targeting Zhu Yuling backhand side, Xinqin Tong. Quick contortion through that engaged call allows her to generate so much power and spin with such a short, compact silhouette. Can she get her forehand in just a little bit more rather than making this such a backhand affair? This is tense, especially for Xinqin Tong. As you said just a moment ago, Fraser, it's a must-win. What can she do at six all now to shake things up? I think that she has to rely on her forehand here in this high-pressure situation. I don't think she wants to play too many backhands. How can she set up that forehand? Maybe try to get it into the middle or the forehand of Zhu Yuling. She does it and it works. Works like a charm. Smacked it, Zhu Yuling. Sueing the ball. Taking turns. What a week it's been and we could be about to reach the final moment of the women's singles events. It's Zhu Yuling who has got the advantage here. Can she capitalise on this moment? I'll tell you what, she's been here and done it before at bigger events than a champions. Important serves coming up now. Well, eventually the pressure pays off. Finds a way through the defences. Each shot just echoing through the infinity arena. This is the very, very highest level of table tennis. They're going to go out blazing here. Going for the far corner for Zhu Yuling's wide forehand and misses. I can't stress enough how key the patience is. Top spin serve. Tong Tong read it fairly well. Zhu Yuling didn't try and make the first attack too strong. She bided her time. Rotation, rotation, rotation to the right location. I like that. She liked it and she's two away. Oh, smacked it straight into the body of Zhu Yuling. That looked personal. Ouch. Yeah. She got punished for something she didn't even do wrong. Zhu Yuling, where was the justice in that? Look at the power on that pivot to the deepest part of the table. And that was as good as a must win point. The number three seed just edging. The points won on serve statistic. The serves with the Chinese star now. Loops go up around the infinity arena. Chen Qingtong has turned the tide here. Are we destined for a decider? Tong Tong serving to stay in the championship. It caught the edge. That is so charming. Butts. Juice in the safe. We're talking a whisker. Oh, Tong Tong. She's got a feel for it there. Nothing she could do. One into the net. Chen Qingtong lives to fight another day. Game point. Number two for the number three seed to save the tournament. I think the fact that she got through that one against Miwa can help it here. She is up against a literal maestro. A mastermind of the sport. Scores return to juice. She is like a puppeteer pulling the strings. Jiuying. And this is championship point. She's done it. Jiuying is the champion. 13-11. She edges the 10th.