The host nation owned qualifying day in Ho Chi Minh City, and Friday's main draw opens with an all-Vietnamese Men's Singles match to match the mood.
Thursday's qualifying results
The Mehta siblings both came through Mixed Doubles qualifying, from opposite sections of the draw. Harsh Mehta (IND), playing with Jamie Haas (USA), booked a main-draw place with wins that included one over Sahra Dennehy (AUS) and Kenta Miyoshi (JPN). Naimi Mehta (IND) and Freddie Powell (GBR) survived Thursday too. The siblings could meet as early as the semifinals.
Vietnam took three of the four Men's Singles qualifying places. Aditya Ruhela (IND) was the only outsider, beating qualifying top seed Colin Wong (MAS) 11-9, 11-2 and then Powell 8-11, 11-7, 11-5 to reach the round of 16. In Women's Doubles, 43-year-old Rika Fujiwara and 15-year-old Kei Sawaki (JPN) won 11-6, 7-11, 11-8 over Miyu Hazawa (JPN) and Anna Clarice Patrimonio (PHI) to reach the main draw.
Event | Qualified for the main draw |
|---|---|
Men's Singles | Aditya Ruhela (IND); LE Xuan Duc (VIE); Nguyen Tien (VIE); Pham Xuanvu (VIE) |
Women's Singles | Aiko Yoshitomi (JPN); Connie Lee (KOR); Mihika Yadav (IND); Rika Fujiwara (JPN) |
Men's Doubles | Khuong Huynh (VIE) / Nguyen Thang (VIE); Ngoc Trieu Tran (VIE) / Tiến Đạt Lê (VIE); Nguyễn Việt Hoàng (VIE) / Minh Nhật (VIE); Phuc Huynh (VIE) / Mitchell Hargreaves (AUS) |
Women's Doubles | Katie Morris (GBR) / Naimi Mehta (IND); Kwan Wun Man (HKG) / Nok Yiu Tang (HKG); Loi Tran (VIE) / Trang Tran (VIE); Rika Fujiwara (JPN) / Kei Sawaki (JPN) |
Mixed Doubles | Connie Lee (KOR) / Hoang Nam Ly (VIE); Jamie Haas (USA) / Harsh Mehta (IND); Naimi Mehta (IND) / Freddie Powell (GBR); Rika Fujiwara (JPN) / Harrison Brown (AUS) |
Friday order of play
Friday's morning session runs the Singles round of 16 and quarterfinals, with Mixed Doubles in the afternoon. Malaysia Open champion Giang Trinh (VIE) opens against compatriot Le Xuan Duc. Jimmy Liong (MAS) plays Hien Truong (VIE) in the round of 16.
In Mixed Doubles, top seeds AJ Koller and Meghan Dizon (USA) open against qualifiers Mehta, a self-described doubles specialist, and Haas. Second seeds Jonathan and Alix Truong (USA), who have leaned into their Vietnamese heritage for local support, meet Harrison Brown (AUS) and Fujiwara. Women's Singles offers a UPA Asia Trailblazer meeting between local favourite Ho Tam (VIE) and Fukuoka bronze medalist Ting Chieh Wei (TPE).
Next on the tour
Doubles rounds and singles semifinals fill Saturday before Championship Sunday. The tour then returns to Malaysia for the Panas Malaysia Cup, September 24 to 28. Schedules are on events.thepicklebase.com.