The mixed doubles final is set for a thrilling finish after the two top seeds of the draw have been knocked out at the Singapore Open.
Sixth seeds J. Minniefield and L. Pham will play seventh seeds X. Wang-Beckvall and R. Stirling on Sunday. Both pairs won closely fought three-game matches in Saturday’s semifinals at The Sports Arena, Singapore Expo.
Minniefield and Pham beat second seeds Y. Long and L. Pascoe 9-11, 11-0, 11-8. They lost the first game but came back strongly, winning the next two with ease.
In the other match, Wang-Beckvall and Stirling beat fifth seeds K. Wheatley and H. Kit Wong 3-11, 11-5, 11-6. Wong is also trying to win his third straight PPA Tour Asia singles title this week. But that form did not carry over here. His team won the first game big, then lost the next two.
Both matches were played on Court CC on Saturday evening. The first match started at 5:29 PM local time. The second one started around an hour later, at 6:51 PM.
With both semifinals done, the mixed doubles title will go to a new pair. The top seeds, N. Tang and E. Kim, and the second seeds, Long and Pascoe, are both out. So no top-two seed is left in the race for gold.
This is the first time the PPA Tour Asia has held a 500-tier event in Singapore. The mixed doubles final will be one of the big matches on the last day, along with the bronze playoffs. The event is presented by Leapmotor. It carries a total prize of US$70,000 and 500 PPA ranking points across all categories.
Sunday’s final at The Sports Arena will decide who wins the gold medal points and prize money in mixed doubles. It will also mark the end of four days of pickleball at the city’s premier event space.
Written by Aradhya Mohan
