Pearly-Thinaah’s hopes of 2nd French Open title dashed

Pearly Tan-M Thinaah's aspirations of securing a second French Open women's doubles title were thwarted by her Japanese rival Mayu Matsumoto-Yuki Fukushima in today's final. Despite a strong opening, the world No 4 Malaysian duo were defeated by their third-ranked opponents 21-10, 17-21, 16-21 in a 63-minute match at the Arena Grand Paris.

Pearly-Thinaah hold the distinction of being the only Malaysian women's doubles pair to have reached the French Open final twice, with their victory in 2022 being their first at the tournament. The fierce rivalry between the two pairs escalated in 2024, with Fukushima leading the tally of wins with six out of the 11 encounters. Both pairs have had four final appearances this year, with Pearly-Thinaah claiming titles at the Indonesia Masters in January and the Denmark Open last week. They also secured the bronze medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games last month.