Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan–M Thinaah sealed their place in the Japan Masters 2025 final after surviving a nerve-shredding semi-final battle against home favourites Yuki Fukushima–Mayu Matsumoto at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium today.
The top seeds needed 57 minutes to pull off a 24-22, 23-21 victory over the Japanese third seeds, who mounted spirited comebacks in both games, including saving seven match points in the second. Pearly-Thinaah, however, held their composure in the crucial stages to avenge last year’s opening-round defeat to the same pair at this event.
The win also strengthened the world No. 2 duo’s dominance in the rivalry, extending their head-to-head record against Fukushima–Matsumoto to 5–1.
Pearly-Thinaah Bid For Third Title At Japan Masters
Today’s triumph marks Pearly-Thinaah’s seventh final appearance of the season and underscores their remarkable consistency throughout the 2025 World Tour. Earlier this week, they reached their 11th semi-final in 17 tournaments, surpassing the season’s semi-final tally of men’s national stars Aaron Chia–Soh Wooi Yik.
Pearly-Thinaah have already clinched two titles this year- the Thailand Open in May and the Arctic Open in Finland last month- and are now one win away from securing their third.
Standing between them and the Japan Masters crown is Japan’s fourth-seeded duo Rin Iwanaga–Kie Nakanishi, who stunned South Korea’s Kim Hye Jeong–Kong Hee Yong 21-16, 21-11 in the other semi-final. The Malaysians hold a healthy 6–2 head-to-head lead over the Japanese pair and will enter tomorrow’s final as favourites.
The World Championships runners-up currently top the women’s doubles race to the lucrative World Tour Finals in Hangzhou next month, and victory tomorrow would further cement their status as one of the most in-form pairs of the season.
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Men’s Doubles: Sze Fei–Nur Izzuddin Fall Short
There was no double joy for Malaysia as the nation’s men’s doubles representatives, second seeds Goh Sze Fei–Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, bowed out in the semi-finals.
The professional pair were outplayed 12-21, 17-21 by unseeded Japanese duo Hiroki Midorikawa–Kyohei Yamashita, who continued their inspired run by advancing to the final in just 38 minutes.
Sze Fei–Nur Izzuddin, winners of the India Open 2025 in January, were aiming for a second title this season but their campaign ended prematurely- a setback similar to their runner-up finish at the Japan Open in July, where they also fell to Korea’s Kim Won Ho–Seo Seung Jae.
Midorikawa–Yamashita will take on either Korean top seeds Kim Won Ho–Seo Seung Jae or Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh–Wang Chi Lin for the men’s doubles title.
