20 MATCHES, ZERO CHILL: QUARTERFINAL DAY BROUGHT THE HEAT TO HANOI

Twenty matches across five events. If you blinked, you missed something. Quarterfinal day at the MB Hanoi Cup 2026 packed in streaks broken, three-game thrillers and a hometown crowd that got exactly what it wanted.

The streak is over

Anna Leigh Waters and Anna Bright survived the biggest test of their tournament so far, edging past Brooke Buckner and Chao Yi Wang 11-4, 9-11, 11-8 in the Women’s Doubles quarterfinals.

Wang came into Hanoi with a perfect record in Women’s Doubles in Asia. Three events in 2025. Three golds. MB Vietnam Cup and Panas Malaysia Cup with Kaitlyn Christian, then the Vibrant Linping Hangzhou Open with Alix Truong. Nobody had beaten her in the event on this side of the world.

Buckner and Wang looked like they might extend that run. After dropping the first game they found their rhythm, took the second 11-9 and had the momentum heading into the third. It took everything Bright and Waters had to close it out 11-8 and end the streak.

For Bright, there’s a redemption thread here too. Her first Women’s Doubles appearance in Asia ended at the quarterfinals at the Panas Malaysia Cup 2025. Now she’s into the semis with the most decorated player in the game beside her.

Staksrud outlasts Wong in a classic

Federico Staksrud and Hong Kit Wong went to war in Men’s Singles. 7-11, 11-6, 12-10. Wong took the opener, Staksrud levelled, and the third was point for point until the very end. Cat and mouse at its best.

Staksrud is still chasing his first gold in Asia after taking bronze at the Vibrant Linping Hangzhou Open. He’s two wins away.

_{Federico Staksrud showed off his wheels in an epic quarterfinal singles clash.}

Vietnam on both sides of the draw

The Men’s Singles semifinal picture now has two Vietnamese players on opposite halves carrying the hometown flag. Hien Truong faces Staksrud. Hoang Nam Ly takes on Dylan Frazier. An all Vietnamese is still on the cards.

Truong picked up a silver and bronze in Men’s Singles across the 2025 season but hasn’t topped a singles podium yet. Once again he is right in the running. On the other side, Ly is the reigning Vibrant Linping Hangzhou Open champion and looking to go back-to-back. His quarterfinal was a statement of intent, dominating with an 11-3, 11-0 win over Tama Shimabukuro.

Mixed Doubles sticks to script

In Mixed Doubles, all four top seeds came through to the semifinals. Waters and Johns, Bright and Patriquin, Christian and Alshon, Black and Tardio. Chalk across the board.

Up next

Semifinal action kicks off at 8:00 AM (GMT+7) on Saturday, with singles first up on Championship Court.