Jian Tongjuan reverses victory over Indian female player and advances to top 16 of women's singles at WTT Almaty Challenge

Jian Tongjuan defeated the Indian female player in the first round of women's singles and advanced to the top 16. (Taken from WTT official website)

[Reporter Xu Mingli/Comprehensive Report] Cathay Pacific female player Jian Tongjuan tonight overcame a 7:9 deficit in the decisive game in the first round of the women's singles at the 2026 WTT Almaty (Kazakhstan) Challenge, and defeated the Indian female player Chitali, ranked 67th in the world, 3:2. The top 16 will face Japan's top seed Hina Hayata.

Jian Tongjuan, ranked 51st in the world, defeated Qitali twice with strong playing style as a teenager. The two sides met again tonight after 9 years. Jian Tongjuan did not encounter much resistance in the first two games, winning 11:7, She won two games in a row at 11:5; Qitali, who advanced all the way to the top 32 in the qualifying round of the European Grand Slam last month, launched a counterattack from the third game, chasing two games in a row at 11:8 and 11:4 to equalize the game.

In the deciding game, Jian Tongjuan called a timeout after falling behind 0:3 at the beginning. After returning to the game, she launched a 7:2 counterattack to lead 7:5. Unexpectedly, she then made a mistake in receiving the serve and lost 4 points to her opponent. She was once again in danger of 7:9. At the critical moment, Jian Tongjuan made consecutive backhand and forehand attacks to tie the game at 9, and then made a surprise attack with a long serve, defeating her opponent's two serves in a row, and won a thrilling 11:9 victory.

Li Yuzhen, ranked 54th in the world, had a strong encounter with Hina Hayata, ranked 6th in the world, in the first round. He collapsed in the middle game for three consecutive games, especially in the second game, he missed the 6:1 lead at the beginning, and finally lost 7:11, 7:11, 6:11. Huang Yuxi, ranked 47th in the world, faced Diaz from Puerto Rico, ranked 19th in the world, in the first round. After the first three games, she led 11:6, 9:11, 14:12, but then lost two consecutive games at 5:11 and 7:11 and was reversed, and missed the chance to advance to the top 16.

In women's doubles, Li Yuzhen/Jian Tongjuan, ranked 15th in the world, reversed the landlord combination Akasheva/Mikadinova in the first round with 9:11, 11:9, 11:4, 11:9, and will face Russia's Terrakova/Gironova in the quarterfinals.