DUC LEADS QUALIFIERS ON DAY 1 AT LEAPMOTOR SINGAPORE OPEN
| July 23, 2026
Vietnamese teenager Le Xuan Duc opened the Leapmotor Singapore Open 2026 in devastating fashion, dismantling Hsieh Chen-An 11-4, 11-0 on Championship Court in the Men’s Singles round of 32.
The 18-year-old had already put in a full day of work to earn the spot in the main draw, coming through two qualifying wins before the round of 32 nightcap. He didn’t look tired. The scoreline was ruthless with a bagel to close.
Duc’s win equals his best Men’s Singles result on the PPA Tour Asia, having also reached the round of 16 at both the MB Vietnam Open 2025 and the Hong Kong Open 2025. A push into the quarterfinals in Singapore would take him beyond it for the first time. Standing in his way is #8 seed Marco Leung.
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Duc wasn’t the only qualifier making a main draw statement. Philippines’ George Patrick Mendoza went past qualifying for the first time in his PPA Tour Asia career, seeing off India’s Aryaan Bhatia 12-10, 11-2 in the Men’s Singles main draw. Mendoza has a strong test in #7 seed Lucas Pascoe up next.
There was pressure on some of the bigger names too. Australia’s Harrison Brown had to work for his Men’s Singles main draw win over Nguyen Hung Anh, the Panas Kuala Lumpur Open 2026 Men’s Singles bronze medalist. Anh took the first game 11-8 before Brown, who finished fourth at the recent Capital Securities Beijing Open, found his rhythm 11-7, 11-2.
Brown couldn’t repeat the trick in Mixed Doubles.
Teaming up with Kaitlynn Hart, the all Aussie duo lined up against Kei Sawaki and Kenta Miyoshi in the round of 32, a straight rematch meeting at the Capital Securities Beijing Open in the same round just weeks ago. That first encounter, Hart and Brown crossed the finish line first, cruising through the Japanese pairing 12-10, 11-8. This time Sawaki and Miyoshi flipped the script, taking the first game 12-10, dropping the second 4-11, then holding their nerve in a tight decider to win 11-9. Reverse fixture, reversed result.
Waiting for Sawaki and Miyoshi are the top seeds and one of the tour’s most established Mixed Doubles pairing, Nok Yiu Tang and Eunggwon Kim.
Round of 16 action kicks off Friday, July 24 at 9:00 AM (GMT+8). While tickets for Championship Court are sold out, entry to watch all other courts is free, including access to Pickletown.
