Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M.Thinaah are getting into the Malaysia Masters next week, with more confidence as they seem to finally capture a major title home.
The world No.2 duo received a boost at the Super 500 tournament after China’s world No.1 pair Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning withdrew from the competition, which got Pearly and Thinaah to the top-seed spot.
The Chinese pair have been one of Malaysia’s toughest players in recent years, as they have defeated them in the finals of the 2025 World Championship in Paris, Japan Open and China Open.
However, Pearly and Thinaah have built a strong name for thriving under pressure whenever they enter tournaments.
Last year, the pair won Thailand Open and Kumamoto Masters as top seeds before continuing their impressive run this year by winning the Indonesian Masters title. They also won the Arctic Open trophy in Finland last year.
Despite their success internationally, the pair has not made a major breakthrough title in Malaysia. Their only victory at home is in 2019 when they won the Malaysia International Challenge.
Injury Concern Ahead of Tournament
One concern as the tournament gets close is Pearly’s back injury, which made her withdraw from the recent Uber Cup in Horsens, Denmark.
Pearly is still optimistic about competing at Malaysia Masters, while national doubles coach director Rexy Mainaky assured her condition is closely monitored.
Even though the Chinese top seed has withdrawn from the competition, strong competition is still expected as Japan’s Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi and Arisa Igarashi-Chiharu Shida.
Sources: NST
