Pearly Targets Super 1000 Title This Season

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 (Bernama) -- National women’s doubles number one Pearly Tan has set her sights on capturing a Super 1000 World Tour title in the new season, which is set to begin with the Malaysia Open 2026 at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil here from tomorrow until Jan 11.

Pearly, who partners M. Thinaah, said they must carry forward the momentum from last year, which saw them rise to world number two and finish as runners-up at the 2025 World Championships in Paris, if they are to achieve greater success this season.

The 25-year-old said they are also aware of the high expectations placed on them to deliver a strong showing at the Malaysia Open 2026 following an impressive 2025 campaign that included titles at the Thailand Open, Arctic Open and Japan Masters.

“Of course, expectations will be there and we are also the second seeds. I just hope we can turn those expectations into motivation to perform well at the Malaysia Open 2026.

“We hope to avoid too many ups and downs, maintain consistency and continue to improve throughout the 2026 season,” she told reporters after a court-testing session here today.

Pearly-Thinaah’s best result at a Super 1000 tournament so far was finishing runners-up at the 2025 Indonesia Open, where they lost to China’s Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning 23-25, 12-21, 19-21.

Pearly also hopes she and Thinaah can put an end to a run of three consecutive early exits from the Malaysia Open between 2023 and last year by advancing further in this edition.

However, she said they would not take lightly their opening-round challenge against world number 53 Indian pair Rutaparna Panda-Swetaparna Panda in the Super 1000 tournament.

-- BERNAMA