PEARLY-THINAAH CLAIM THAI OPEN CROWN

By Kenny Teng Khoon Hock

BANGKOK, May 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's top women’s doubles pair, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah clinched their first World Tour title of the year after defeating South Korea's Jeong Na Eun-Lee Yeon Woo in the final of the Thailand Open today.

The world number four Malaysian pair overcame the world number 105 Korean duo 21-16, 21-17 in 58  minutes to take home US$37,525 (RM161,191).

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Thinaah expressed her satisfaction with their performance, highlighting the importance of mutual support and guidance from their coach.

"We’re very happy with our performance today, especially the support we gave each other. Our coach also played a big role in keeping us focused.

"The support really helped us throughout the match, particularly against the Korean pair, who played a very good game," she told reporters after the match at the Nimibutr Stadium here.

The Thailand Open 2025 title adds to their previous triumphs at the Swiss Open (2021), the French Open (2022), and last year’s Hong Kong Open.

The match between Pearly-Thinaah and Jeong-Lee was closely contested, with both pairs exchanging points in the first set before the Malaysians pulled away to win 21-16.

In the second set, Pearly-Thinaah dominated from the early stages and secured victory with a 21-17 scoreline.

The Korean pair earned US$18,050 (RM77,535).

"This title means a lot to us, and it’s a big confidence booster. The Koreans were really strong, and it was hard to execute decisive shots against them.

"We kept reminding each other to stay patient and trust in ourselves, and that helped us win the game in straight sets," Pearly said.

Pearly-Thinaah are the first Malaysians to win the women's doubles title at the Thailand Open since its introduction in 1984.

-- BERNAMA