Lin Shidong Leads China to Zagreb as Jorgic and Odo Win Skopje Singles Titles
Lin Shidong Leads China to Zagreb as Jorgic and Odo Win Skopje Singles Titles
On June 7 local time, the 2026 WTT Contender Skopje came to a close, with Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic and Japan’s Satsuki Odo taking the men’s and women’s singles titles respectively.
The men’s singles final was contested between Jorgic and American Kanak Jha. Both players had to battle hard to reach the final: Jorgic came back from 1-2 down to beat Kallberg, while Jha also went the full five games to narrowly eliminate Hiroto Shinozuka. The final finished 4-2 — although Jha was in good form, he lacked the decisive put-away shot that Jorgic possessed. After it reached 2-2, Jorgic gradually took control and claimed the win.
Japanese players dominated the women’s singles semifinals. Odo beat Hitomi Sato 3-1, while Honoka Hashimoto swept Sakura Yokoi in straight games. The final was one-sided: Odo, who had missed the team event at the London World Championships, completely took over with her sharp close-to-the-table attack, beating Hashimoto 4-0 to take the title.
The men’s doubles title went to the Korean pair of Lim Jonghoon and Oh Junsung, who beat Jorgic/Kozul 3-0 in the final and dropped just a single game on their entire run to the title, losing only to England’s Jarvis/Green. The women’s doubles title was won by Odo/Yokoi: after reaching the semifinals with two 3-0 wins, they faced a strong challenge from France’s Pavade/Lutz and came back from 1-2 down to win. In the final, Odo/Yokoi beat teammates Cocona Muramatsu/Sachi Aoki 3-0. The mixed doubles title went to Hiromu Kobayashi/Miyuu Kihara, who beat the cross-national pair of Dorr/Diaz 3-0 in the final.
With Skopje finished, the WTT Zagreb Contender gets under way tomorrow. China has 22 players competing.
China’s Roster
The men’s singles is led by Lin Shidong, who along with Wen Ruibo, Xiang Peng, Chen Yuanyu and Chen Junsong enters the main draw directly, while Huang Youzheng, Xue Fei, Yuan Licen and Li Tianyang must first come through qualifying. In the women’s singles, Chen Yi, Qin Yuxuan and He Zhuojia start in the main draw, while Zong Geman, Fan Shuhan, Yang Yiyun, Wang Xiaotong, Xu Yi, Zhu Ziyu, Han Feier and Zhu Sibing play qualifying.
In doubles, Lin Shidong/Huang Youzheng and Wen Ruibo/Yuan Licen go straight into the men’s doubles main draw, while Chen Junsong/Chen Yuanyu must play qualifying. The women’s doubles pairs Chen Yi/Kuai Man, Qin Yuxuan/Zong Geman and Han Feier/Shi Xunyao, along with the mixed doubles pairs Yuan Licen/Chen Yi and Wen Ruibo/Zong Geman, all enter the main draw directly without qualifying.