PARTNERS IN GOLD: IRVINE AND TARDIO CLEAN UP IN KL
| September 13, 2026
Jessie Irvine and Gabriel Tardio each walked off Championship Court at the Leapmotor Kuala Lumpur Cup 2026 with two gold medals, ruling a finals day that belonged to them.
Their shared triumph came in the Mixed Doubles, and it came the hard way. Irvine and Tardio trailed Danni-Elle Townsend and Joey Wild 7-2 in the deciding game before storming back, reeling off the points they needed to snatch it 5-11, 11-3, 12-10 and take the title.
From there they went their separate ways, and kept winning. Tardio partnered Noe Khlif to Men’s Doubles gold, beating second seeds Augustus Ge and Len Yang 11-9, 11-4 to complete his double on his first trip to Malaysia. Irvine teamed with Alix Truong for Women’s Doubles gold, coming from a game down to beat Sahra Dennehy and Townsend 5-11, 11-5, 11-6. Two players, four golds between them.
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There was gold too for the tournament’s youngest star. Tama Shimabukuro, 15, won the Men’s Singles final 11-8, 11-5 over Noe Khlif, adding a second Asia singles title to the Macao Open crown he claimed in May. It ended Khlif’s bid to cap a sensational Asia debut with a singles gold, though the newly crowned MLP champion did not leave empty-handed, having won the Men’s Doubles alongside Tardio.
In the Women’s Singles, top seed Kaitlyn Christian came from a game down to beat Brooke Buckner 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, a familiar script against an old rival. It was Christian’s third straight win over Buckner, echoing her comeback in the MB Hanoi Cup final earlier this year, and it delivered her the title in a country where she has now tasted gold twice.
The PPA Tour Asia now steps up to its biggest stage. Next is the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam, with the PPA Asia 1500 event running October 19-25 at Kai Tak Arena.
