SHIMABUKURO AND BHATIA STRIKE DOUBLE GOLD IN MACAO

Tama Shimabukuro left the Macao Open 2026 with two gold medals and the answer to a question that had followed him across Asia. The 15-year-old American defeated #1 seed Hong Kit Wong 11-9, 11-9 in the Men’s Singles final to claim his first singles medal on PPA Tour Asia, then returned to win the Men’s Doubles title with Armaan Bhatia 12-10, 11-5 over Mitchell Hargreaves and Kenta Miyoshi.

Shimabukuro had been a two-time Men’s Singles quarterfinalist in Asia heading into this week. In Macao he went the whole way, holding his nerve in a tight final against the Hong Kong Open 2025 champion. Wong had already played two matches earlier in the day and pushed Shimabukuro close in both games, but the #2 seed was the steadier player when it mattered, finding the passing shots no matter how small the margins.

The Men’s Doubles gold completed the double crown. Bhatia and Shimabukuro had lost the Panas Kuala Lumpur Open final to Collin Johns and Len Yang 3-11, 6-11 just two weeks ago. They came back as the #1 seeds and delivered, with Bhatia in particular breaking through after three silver medals and one bronze in Men’s Doubles without a gold.

Bhatia doubles up in doubles

Batia was not done after the Men’s Doubles final. He came back alongside Kara Wheatley to beat Nok Yiu Tang and Eunggwon Kim 13-11, 11-7 in the Mixed Doubles final, completing a doubles double of his own. Two gold finals, two gold medals, all in the space of a few hours.

Tang and Kim had beaten Bhatia twice before in Mixed Doubles with different partners, but the third time belonged to Wheatley and Bhatia. It was Wheatley’s first PPA Tour Asia medal of any kind after never previously going beyond the Round of 16 in Mixed Doubles.

Fujiwara wins Women’s Singles gold

Rika Fujiwara capped a remarkable week by beating Ho Tam 11-4, 11-4 in the Women’s Singles final to claim her first gold on PPA Tour Asia. It was also the first Women’s Singles gold for a Japanese athlete on the tour. The former professional tennis player reached a career-high world No.13 in WTA doubles and was a 2002 French Open doubles semifinalist. With Roland Garros currently underway in Paris, the timing felt right for Fujiwara to add another title to her collection on a different court.

She also picked up a Women’s Doubles bronze earlier in the day with Kei Sawaki, beating #1 seeds Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall and Lingwei Kong 6-11, 11-4, 11-6. Two medals on Championship Sunday for the Japanese veteran.

Haas and Kao take Women’s Doubles gold

Jamie Haas and Pei-Chuan Kao beat Ho Tam and Mihae Kwon 11-6, 11-2 in the Women’s Doubles final. The #3 seeds had upset #1 seeds Wang-Beckvall and Kong in the semifinals and carried that momentum through to Championship Sunday.

It was a first Women’s Doubles gold for both players. Tam finished the day with two silver medals after losing both of her finals. But it was a breakthrough nonetheless. She arrived without a PPA Tour Asia medal to her name and leaves with two.

Hong Kong, China builds momentum toward the Slam

Kara Wheatley added a gold medal to Hong Kong, China’s growing haul, teaming with Armaan Bhatia to win the Mixed Doubles final. Tang, also from Hong Kong, China, took silver on the other side of the net. Two of their players in the same final.

Hong Kit Wong played three matches on Championship Sunday and walked away with three medals. The #1 Men’s Singles seed took silver after his final loss to Shimabukuro, added Men’s Doubles bronze alongside Kim and Mixed Doubles bronze with Yufei Long. Kim and Wong now have one silver and four bronze medals together in Men’s Doubles. The gold continues to elude them.

Between Wheatley’s gold, Wong’s three medals and Tang’s silver, Hong Kong, China players accounted for five medals across three disciplines in Macao. The two cities sit just across the Pearl River Delta from each other. With the Hong Kong Slam  closing out the 2026 season from October 19-25, Wheatley, Wong and Tang are building the kind of form that will carry plenty of expectation when the tour arrives on home soil.

The tour moves on to the Beijing Open from June 17-21. Check out all the results from the Macao Open 2026 here.