French Open finals: Pearly-Thinaah and Pang Ron-Pei Jing settle for silver after strong Paris runs
Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah lost to Japan's Fukushima-Matsumoto and Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing fell to China's top seeds in Sunday's French Open finals.
Malaysia left Paris with one French Open title and two runner-up finishes, and the two silver medals say as much about where Malaysian badminton is heading as the men's doubles crown. Women's doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah and mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing both reached Sunday's finals at Arena Grand Paris, extending excellent fortnights in Europe, before falling to Japanese and Chinese opponents respectively.
Pearly-Thinaah: a strong start that slipped away
Pearly and Thinaah, seeded second, looked in full control early in the women's doubles final against Japan's Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto, taking the first game 21-10. The Japanese pair steadied, won the second 21-17 and closed out the decider 21-16. Bernama described the winners as defending champions.
The defeat ended a fine fortnight in Europe. A week earlier, on 18 October, the Malaysians won the Denmark Open, ending an 18-year wait for a Malaysian women's doubles champion at that tournament. In Paris they had beaten Bulgaria's Stoeva sisters in the quarter-finals and Japan's Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in the semi-finals, recovering from a difficult second game to get there.
Pearly and Thinaah already have French Open history. In 2022 they became the first Malaysian women's doubles pair to win the title, beating Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara in a three-game final.
Pang Ron-Pei Jing: a first for Malaysian mixed doubles
For Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing, simply reaching the final was a milestone. Free Malaysia Today reported that it was the first time a Malaysian pair had reached the French Open mixed doubles final.
Their semi-final was the most convincing performance of their week: a 21-13, 21-9 win over China's sixth seeds Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui. Before that, they needed three games to get past Germany's Marvin Seidel and Thuc Phuong Nguyen in the quarter-finals.
The final against China's top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping was one-sided, finishing 21-10, 21-13. The Chinese pair had been runners-up at the Denmark Open, where Pang Ron and Pei Jing reached the semi-finals, so the Malaysians have now produced back-to-back deep runs in Super 750 events.
The bigger picture for Malaysia
Taken together, it was a productive week for Malaysia in Paris. Three of the five finals featured Malaysians, and the men's doubles title was guaranteed once Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin both won their semi-finals. Wei Chong and Kai Wun then won the all-Malaysian final 13-21, 21-15, 21-7.
The two losing finals show where the gap remains. Pearly and Thinaah, fresh from a title in Denmark, could not hold off an experienced Japanese partnership once momentum shifted after the first game. Pang Ron and Pei Jing, meanwhile, were well beaten by the world's leading mixed pair and will need more matches at this level to close that gap.
What comes next
The BWF World Tour moves straight on to the Hylo Open, a Super 500 event in Saarbrücken, Germany, which is the next tournament on the 2026 calendar. Malaysia's line-up for that event had not been confirmed in the sources checked for this article. Players will also be keeping an eye on the World Tour Finals standings as the season enters its final stretch.
Key takeaways
- Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah lost the French Open women's doubles final 21-10, 17-21, 16-21 to Japan's Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto.
- They had won the Denmark Open title only a week earlier, on 18 October.
- Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing became the first Malaysian pair to reach the French Open mixed doubles final.
- They lost 10-21, 13-21 to China's top seeds Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dongping.
- Malaysia reached three of the five finals in Paris and won the men's doubles.
FAQ
Who beat Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah in the French Open final? Japan's Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto, who came from a game down to win 10-21, 21-17, 21-16 on Sunday, 25 October.
Have Pearly and Thinaah won the French Open before? Yes. They won the title in 2022, becoming the first Malaysian women's doubles pair to do so.
Why was Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing's run significant? It was the first time a Malaysian pair had reached the French Open mixed doubles final, and it followed a semi-final finish at the Denmark Open the week before.
Sources: Bernama, Badminton Planet, The Star, Free Malaysia Today, Stadium Astro, Wikipedia