Macao table tennis player Zhu Yuling has continued her strong start to the 2026 season by winning the women’s singles title at the WTT Star Contender Doha, completing a rare Doha double after lifting the WTT Champions trophy at the same venue one week earlier.
In Sunday’s final at Lusail Sports Arena, Zhu overturned an early deficit to defeat Japan’s Hitomi Sato 4-2, with game scores of 5-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5. The result extended Zhu’s unbeaten record on the 2026 World Table Tennis (WTT) Series to 10 matches.
Sato entered the final in commanding form, having progressed through the tournament without dropping a game, and appeared on course for the title after taking the opening two games. Zhu, however, steadied her play from the third game onward, gradually shifting the match’s balance.
By increasing rally patience and applying sustained pressure against Sato’s defensive style, Zhu was able to take control of the exchanges. She closed out the contest by winning four consecutive games to secure her second title in Doha in as many weeks.
[See more: Macao’s Zhu Yuling rises to world no. 5 after her win at WTT Champions Doha 2026]
The Star Contender victory followed Zhu’s triumph at the WTT Champions Doha on 11 January, underlining her return to top form early in the season. With the Doha results, she remains ranked world No.5 in the women’s singles standings, trailing China’s Kuai Man in fourth place.
Zhu’s back-to-back titles mark one of the most consistent starts to the year on the WTT circuit and position the former world No.1 as a leading contender as the 2026 international calendar continues.
