Ryu Hanna stuns Chien Tung-Chuan in Ljubljana qualifying upset

Opening day at WTT Star Contender Ljubljana 2026 was anything but routine. Sixteen matches went the distance at Hala Tivoli, and Ryu Hanna delivered the headline result by knocking out No. 3 seed Chien Tung-Chuan 3-2 in qualifying round two, a comeback that flipped the day’s balance from expected to volatile.

Ryu had to absorb the first three games before the match turned. Chien led 11-3, 11-8 and 11-9, but Ryu steadied in the final stretch and closed with 11-9 and 11-6 wins to complete the upset. In a qualifying round packed with five-game swings, that recovery stood out as the sharpest answer to early pressure and the clearest sign that Ljubljana was already producing main-draw intensity before the bracket had even settled.

The men’s doubles draw added to the sense that no lead was safe. Yoshiyama and Kobayashi edged Uda and Hamada 3-2, while Chua and Kwan handled Feng and Kuo 3-1 and Gauzy and Poret beat Ban and Gacina by the same margin. Those results showed the event’s depth immediately, with one five-game escape and two controlled finishes giving the field an early split between survival and separation.

Women’s doubles was just as unforgiving. Kaufmann and Winter defeated Shan and Wan 3-1, but Lutz and Pavade were pushed all the way before falling in five games to Polcanova and Yuan. Ser and Zeng then added another five-set win, holding off Ryu and Yoo in a match that underscored how quickly momentum shifted from point to point. The pair of narrow escapes and the upset loss to Ryu and Chien made the first day feel more like a pressure cooker than a prelude.

Men’s singles produced its own tight margins, with Filip Zeljko beating Li Tianyang 3-2 and Vladislav Ursu falling 1-3 to Chang Yu-An. Together with Ryu’s upset, those results gave Ljubljana an opening-day profile built on resilience, not seeding, and suggested the tournament’s early rounds were already demanding the kind of focus usually reserved for the finish.