Beijing Open begins with home doubles wins and seed-shaking upset

Thomas Yu turned the first day of the Capital Securities Beijing Open into a home-court statement, winning twice before the tournament’s headline seeds even stepped on court. In a doubles-heavy opening round at the National Tennis Center, Beijing’s early rhythm belonged to the local side, and Yu made sure the city’s first PPA Tour Asia event felt like more than a stage for the favorites waiting in the wings.

Yu and USA partner Len Yang had to survive qualifying before grinding past Vietnam’s Ho Hoan and Nguyen Hung Anh 13-11, 11-6 in the men’s doubles opener. The result kept alive a partnership that had already played nine tournaments together and owned an 18-9 record, according to PickleWave, and it set up a tougher test against No. 3 seeds Kenta Miyoshi and Robert Stirling. Yu then came back in mixed doubles with Yufei Long and delivered the day’s sharpest local result, beating Sophia Huynh and Hien Truong 11-5, 11-4 to knock out a major women’s singles name from the mixed bracket.

That second win carried extra weight because Long has already built a profile as one of Asia’s most dangerous singles players. She won the first-ever PPA Tour Asia women’s singles title at the Panas Malaysia Open in July 2025, and Beijing added another reminder that her game travels well across formats. For Yu, the double duty showed how quickly a Beijing crowd can latch onto a player who is winning in different draws and against different types of opposition.

The setting made the opening even more significant. The Beijing Open runs June 17-21 at the National Tennis Center in Chaoyang, with US$70,000 in pro prize money and 500 PPA ranking points on the line. PPA Tour Asia called it its first tournament ever in China’s capital, and Beijing officials said the field would include players from more than 30 countries and regions. Tickets went on sale May 26, with free admission on June 17 and 18 for grandstand seats at Capital Diamond Court and the outer courts.

The bigger names are still coming. Chao Yi Wang entered as the No. 1 seed in women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles, while Sahra Dennehy held the No. 2 spot in all three events after beating Wang 11-7, 11-2 in last December’s Hangzhou final. Zane Ford arrived for his PPA Tour Asia debut ranked No. 10 in men’s singles, and Hong Kit Wong and Eunggwon Kim came in as one of the circuit’s steadiest doubles pairs, still chasing their first gold together despite a 1 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze record across 12 tournaments. Beijing’s opening day still belonged to the locals, and the bracket now has to catch up.