Zhang Benmei and Chen Yi reversed to win the women's singles title of the 2026 WTT Macau Championship
Quick Look
In the women's singles final of the 2026 WTT Macau Championship, 18-year-old Japanese player Miwa Harimoto overcame a set deficit and finally defeated Chinese player Chen Yi 4:3, winning her third championship title this year, tying Sun Yingsha's record.
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Why It Matters
Zhang Benmeihe has won the championship in Chongqing and Yokohama before. This victory in Macau tied Sun Yingsha's record of finishing three consecutive championships set in 2024.
The 18-year-old Japan's No. 1 sister Zhang Benmei tonight in the women's singles final of the 2026 WTT Macau Championship, overcame a 2:3 deficit in the game and a 6:9 disadvantage in the sixth game, chasing two consecutive games, and finally defeated the Chinese team's last hope Chen Yi 4:3. After Chongqing and Yokohama, she won the third championship title this year, and also tied the world's queen of tennis Sun Yingsha's record of three consecutive championships in women's singles set in 2024.
World No. 3 Miwa Harimoto defeated Chinese star Chen Xingtong, No. 7 in the world, 4:1 in the semi-finals, reaching the finals for three consecutive championships. Chen Yi, No. 12 in the world, defeated Japanese No. 6 Hina Hayata 4:3.
Zhang Benmeihe lost the first six matches against Chen Yi in her career, but they were all in her teenage years. Since she defeated Chen Yi for the first time at the Duha Star Challenge in 2022, her last six matches were only lost 2:3 at the Ljubljana Star Challenge last year. In this year's Yokohama Championship and the European Grand Slam, Zhang Benmei had the last laugh.
Today we met again. Zhang Benmei quickly established a lead in the first two games and won 11:7 and 11:7. In the third game, Zhang Benmei was behind at 2:9 at the beginning and once caught up to 8:9, but finally gave up at 9:11; In the crucial fourth game, Zhang Ben cautiously called a timeout after losing 3 points in a row with a 5:1 lead at the beginning. After returning to the game, he once tied the game from 6:8 behind, but then Chen Yi succeeded in consecutive backhand attacks and lost another game at 8:11.
The situation in the 5th game was ups and downs. Miwa Harimoto scored 3 points in a row after falling behind at 7:8, and took the lead at 10:8. However, she made a mistake in receiving the serve at the critical moment. After Chen Yi resolved two game points in a row, she fell at 11:13. In the 6th game, she lost 4 points in a row after 3 draws, widening the gap. However, Miwa Harimoto showed a strong heart and succeeded in consecutive attacks under the adversity of 6:9, scoring 5 points in a row and evening the game at 11:9.
The decisive game climaxed one after another. Zhang Benmeihe scored 4 points in a row when trailing 3:4, overtook 7:4, and took the lead in forcing the final point at 10:8. Chen Yi also showed resilience and grasped two of his own serves to resolve the two final points. The point reached 10 levels. At the critical moment, Zhang Ben boldly served a long ball and succeeded in a forehand attack. Then Chen Yi's forehand attack was perfectly predicted by Zhang Ben, and the backhand counterattack was successful. They narrowly won 12:10 in the roaring waves.
