Doha: The curtain has descended on the WTT Star Contender Doha 2026, marking the second installment of a WTT Series double feature in the Qatari capital, which followed closely after last week’s WTT Champions Doha.
Across six demanding days at the Lusail Sports Arena, the inaugural WTT Star Contender of the year witnessed prominent players arriving in form, while new competitors entered with boldness, culminating in Doha crowning additional champions who earned every point through hard work.
At the forefront, Zhu Yuling concluded a remarkable fortnight in Qatar, reinforcing her WTT Champions Doha victory by once again securing the Women’s Singles title. In the Men’s Singles, Zhou Qihao navigated a tumultuous draw to achieve his first WTT Series victory since 2023 — and his inaugural WTT Star Contender title — marking a significant milestone under the Lusail lights.
The Women’s Singles final encapsulated the week’s narrative in a nutshell. Confronting Japan’s defensive stalwart Hitomi Sato, Zhu withstood the initial pressure, lost the first two games, and then dramatically reversed the match’s momentum. By reading the spin, adjusting the pace, and maintaining composure, Zhu won four consecutive games to secure a 4–2 (5-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5) victory. This demonstrated control under pressure; a signature trait of a player at the height of confidence, and it achieved a rare Doha double that affirmed her dominance in the season’s early phase.
Sato’s run to the final was one of the defining narratives of the event. She dismantled the draw with discipline and nerve, stunning top seed and defending champion Kuai Man in straight games in the Round of 16. Quarterfinals drama saw Adriana Diaz dig deep in a five-game battle to end third seed Chen Yi’s title hopes, while tight margins and fifth-game scraps became the norm as the Women’s Singles field cracked open. It was chaotic, it was uncompromising, and Zhu was the one left standing.
If the Women’s Singles was about control, the Men’s Singles was about survival. The draw blew wide open early and never settled. Dimitrij Ovtcharov rolled back the years with a commanding takedown of top seed Lin Shidong in the Round of 16, qualifiers sent shockwaves through the bracket, and former champions were forced into sudden exits. Amid the turbulence, Zhou Qihao quietly kept winning. His final against wildcard Wen Ruibo was a six-game grind that demanded patience and nerve.
Zhou dropped the opener, responded, absorbed another punch in the fifth, and then delivered when it mattered most, closing out a 4–2 (8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8) win that capped a run defined by resilience. After upsetting the fourth seed Liang Jingkun earlier in the Round of 32, Zhou’s title was no fluke; it was a player stepping forward when the door cracked open.
In Mixed Doubles, Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem finally claimed their first WTT Series title as a pairing, shaking off a slow start before overpowering Park Ganghyeon and Kim Nayeong in four games 3-1 (9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5). Crisp receives, relentless pressure at the net, and composure in the big moments carried the Hong Kong, China duo to a long-awaited breakthrough.
The Women’s Doubles crown stayed in familiar hands as Sakura Yokoi and Satsuki Odo defended their Doha title in style. Against fellow Japanese pair Hitomi Sato and Saki Shibata, the Yokoi / Odo navigated a tense opening game before asserting control, closing out the final in straight games 3-0 (12-10, 11-4, 11-9) to underline their status as one of the most reliable pairings on the circuit.
In the Men’s Doubles, the story came straight from the qualifiers. Jang Woojin and Cho Daeseong completed a dream run from the very first rounds, edging out Huang Youzheng and Wen Ruibo in a five-game final 3-2 (5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9) that swung back and forth to the final points. When it came down to nerve, the Korea Republic duo had just a little more, sealing a title earned the hard way.
As the dust settles in Doha, the WTT Series doesn’t slow down. The road now leads to WTT Contender Muscat 2026 from 19 to 24 January, before the spotlight shifts to WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026 from 10 to 15 February. And then comes the season’s first true landmark moment: Singapore Smash 2026 Presented By Resorts World Sentosa, from 19 February to 1 March, where the world’s best will collide on the sport’s biggest stage.
