While Chinese Taipei’s stronghold on the competition strengthened today, as the field at the MAXX North Harbour International 2025 whittled down from 80 to 20, plenty of other players turned heads and proved why it would be a mistake to count them out.
Early in the day, the men’s singles took to the court. While most matches unfolded as the seeding report predicted, the second match of the day on court three shook things up.
Paris 2024 Olympian, Le Duc Phat (VIE) entered the tournament as the fourth seed. After cruising through the first two rounds of the tournament, Le met his match in the round of 16.
Lu Wei Hsuan (TPE) caused issues for his opponent right from the beginning. With precise shots and aggressive tactics, Lu stretched to an early lead and took the first game. But, this was where Le’s experience began to show. As he settled into the match, the Vietnamese player found a rhythm. Slowly, he chipped away at Lu to take back the second. The third game was close, but in the final few rallies of the match, Lu pressed Le to his physical limit. After 62 gruelling minutes, the player from Chinese Taipei emerged victorious.
The final score was 21-18, 21-16, 21-17.
Following from her standout performance yesterday, 13-year-old Amy Wang (NZL) was tested by India’s Imad Farooqui Samiya from the jump. Yet, Wang carried herself with strength and confidence beyond her years. She matched Samiya shot for shot in the first section of the game, but as time went on, experience seemed to tip the scales in the player from India’s favour. Samiya won the match 21-17, 21-10.
Many notable Oceania players exited the competition at this stage, including Edward Lau, Pramudya Kusumawardana/Jack Yu, and Raphael Chris Deloy/Adam Jeffrey.
Quarterfinals
Australia’s Laudya Chelsea Griselda/Nozomi Shimizu nearly turned the competition on its head in a close battle with number one seeds Chen Su Yu/Yi En Hsieh (TPE) in the women’s doubles. The new partnership from down under were relentless against the top seeds, launching attack after attack. However, they could not close out the match, and Chen/Hsieh survived to book a spot in the semifinals. The final score was 21-17, 18-21, 21-14.
The small contingent from the Philippines in the quarterfinals made their mark, with both their women’s singles and men’s doubles progressing to the next round.
Mikaela Joy De Guzman continued her dominant campaign taking down Chinese Taipei’s Yi An Yan in straight sets. On the next court, compatriots Solomon Jr. Padiz and Julius Villabrille were off to a slow start against second seeds Chang Ko-Chi and Po Li-Wei (TPE).
As the game progressed, the pair found their footing. Constantly checking in with one another, they believe their communication led them to take the eventual win, with a score of 11-21, 21-16, 21-15.
“We did not expect to win, so we just did our best to play the game. It was very important for us to talk [to each other] after every point.”
It will be an all-Chinese-Taipei semifinal tomorrow for the men’s singles, after the number one seed, Wang Po-Wei, knocked Minoru Koga out (JPN) of the tournament. Huan Kai Hern (MAS) also exits the competition today after a loss to second seed, Ting Yen-Chen (TPE)
Nozomi Shimizu returned to the court with Anika Ramadiansyah (AUS) to take on Hung Ming Chen/Yun Jung Chang (TPE) in the mixed doubles. The Australian pair showcased a commanding performance, sealing their path to the semifinals in just under half an hour. The pair, who are third seeds in the tournament, looked composed even when Chen/Chang challenged in the second game. The final score was 21-13, 21-18.
