Pickleball partner’s timely reminder sparks Wong’s win at Leapmotor Singapore Open
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Hong Kong’s Wong Hong Kit hitting a return in his 6-11, 11-7, 11-3 win over American Adam Harvey in the Leapmotor Singapore Open men’s singles final on July 26.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
- Wong Hong Kit won his third consecutive PPA 500 men’s singles title after his training partner gave crucial advice during the final to target his opponent’s backhand.
- China’s Long Yufei won the women’s singles and doubles golds, but said playing many matches was physically and mentally challenging.
- In the men’s doubles, Len Yang and Collin Johns won amid tough competition, while Americans Jaeda Minniefield and Luc Pham took home the mixed doubles gold.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Despite trailing 3-0 in the deciding game of the Leapmotor Singapore Open men’s singles final on July 26, Hong Kong’s pickleball ace Wong Hong Kit found a way to win – thanks to some timely advice from training partner Marco Leung.
Leung, who had lost to Wong in the semi-finals of the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour Asia 500 event a day earlier, had told him to go for his opponent’s backhand.
That tweak worked a treat as the world No. 14 reeled off 11 consecutive points to storm back and beat 19th-ranked American Adam Harvey 6-11, 11-7, 11-3 at The Sports Arina @ Expo, becoming the first player to win three consecutive men’s singles titles on the Tour after his triumphs in the Beijing and Tokyo tournaments.
Wong, who collapsed to the floor after his win, said Leung’s advice was the turning point for him.
“Marco and Kim Eung-gwon (his men’s doubles partner), they’re my best supporters,” he said.
“They are always by my side, watching my previous singles finals, and they probably saw some stuff that I wasn’t paying attention to when I was playing. I’m just really grateful that they helped me.
“He (Leung) was just repeating what we were talking about during the planning for this game.”
Wong, a former tennis player who reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 653, will next compete at the Ho Chi Minh City Open from Aug 6 to 9 and hopes to win a gold with Kim there.
He said: “We stopped at the semis every time, and now we’ve got like five bronzes this year…
“I think focusing on the men’s doubles is my priority, but I’ll always want to win the singles (category), no one wants to lose.”
In the women’s singles final, China’s world No. 15 Long Yufei came from 4-3 down in the first game to beat compatriot and 74th-ranked Anni Xie 11-4, 11-0 to clinch the gold.
She then teamed up with Hong Kong’s Kara Wheatley to claim the women’s doubles title, beating American Jamie Haas and China’s Kong Lingwei 11-7, 12-10.
China’s Long Yufei (left) and Kara Wheatley of Hong Kong with their trophies after winning the women's doubles final at the Leapmotor Singapore Open on July 26.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
Long, who partnered American Lucas Pascoe in the mixed doubles, in which they lost in the third-place play-off to Wheatley and Wong, said she was exhausted after racking up the “most number of matches that I played in a tournament”.
She added: “I feel really honoured and feel like it was a privilege to be able to make it so deep in the draw in every event.
“But it was also super challenging to the body, super challenging for the mental side of the game, so I think in the future I might keep it to singles and women’s doubles.”
After winning the first game 11-7, Long and Wheatley looked set to take the victory with a 10-5 lead in the second.
But an inspired Haas and Kong pushed them to 10-10, before conceding 12-10.
Wheatley said: “We were on the same page the whole match, we were very aggressive and complemented each other very well today.
“Jamie and Lingwei had a really good comeback when we were up 10-5 and we kind of lost our rhythm a little bit, but at the end we adjusted and we were able to figure things out.
“The crowd was going crazy, cheering for Lingwei and Jamie, but for me personally, I just tried to look at Yufei’s face, and I just wanted to hype each other up.”
Collin Johns (left) and Len Yang facing a tough test against Vietnam’s Hien Truong and Japan’s Kenta Miyoshi in the men’s doubles final at the Leapmotor Singapore Open on July 26, when the American duo eventually triumphed.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
In the men’s doubles final, second-seeded pair Len Yang and Collin Johns suffered a scare before beating Vietnam’s Hien Truong and Japan’s Kenta Miyoshi 11-4, 4-11, 11-5.
The Americans have already tasted success this season with gold at the May 13-17 Kuala Lumpur Open.
Yang, who will be getting bubble tea to celebrate, said: “We’ve trained a lot together and Collin is one of the smartest people in pickleball… He has really taken me under his wing this year, and I’ve learnt so much from him and am beyond grateful.”
Johns, who will be celebrating with a meal from Din Tai Fung, added: “Putting a partnership together that makes sense – not just on paper, but enjoying playing with that person, learning as a team, and always trying to get a little bit better.
“So it’s been a great ride and definitely had some success and that always propels us to even higher heights.”
In the mixed doubles final, Americans Jaeda Minniefield and Luc Pham defeated compatriot Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall and Australian Robert Stirling 11-9, 7-11, 11-5 for the gold.
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