CHEN Yu Fei takes revenge against YAMAGUCHI

We last saw them in the final of the World Championships in Paris on 31 August. On that day, Akane YAMAGUCHI won her third world title (after 2021 and 2022) in two sets and 37 minutes of play: 21/9 21/13. It was a quick match, to say the least, due to CHEN Yu Fei's right ankle injury the day before against AN Se Young. The Chinese player struggled to move around the court and was unable to defend her title. 

Almost two months later, the Hangzhou native still bears the scars of this injury, with her ankle bandaged. But she is now back to 100% fitness. Trading blows with a very high level of play for this first match of the day (11/10), the Japanese player suddenly made a series of errors, hitting the net and misjudging her opponent's shots (13/19). Without faltering, the Chinese player concluded the first set in 16 minutes with a score of 21/14. 

As in the previous set, the two athletes shared the points (9–8) before a gap began to emerge. Playing cleaner and more consistently, YAMAGUCHI took the upper hand technically and physically (18–12). Although CHEN Yu Fei did not give up easily (16/19), she ultimately lost 16/21. 

The final set was a quick affair, with the world number 5 coming out on top. Imperious in defence and at the net, the Chinese player raced to a decisive 7-0 lead (5/3 then 12/3). Overwhelmed, the Kastuyama native never managed to catch up, realising that this 36th encounter would not go her way. She was never able to close the gap. CHEN Yu Fei won 21-14, 16-21, 21-10 to claim her 14th victory after 1 hour and 1 minute of play.  

On Saturday, in the semi-finals, CHEN Yu Fei will face the tournament favourite, AN Se Young (No. 1, Korea). For the moment, the Chinese player has the upper hand in their head-to-head matches, with 14 wins to 13.