PETALING JAYA: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah captured the French Open title after stunning Japan's two-time world champions Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara 21-19, 18-21, 21-15 in a pulsating final in Paris on Sunday (Oct 30).
The Malaysians created history by becoming the first women's doubles pair in the country to win the title in France.
It was also Pearly-Thinaah's biggest title win in their career and second in World Tour competitions after lifting the Swiss Open in March last year.
The Malaysians were on top of their game throughout the tournament, claiming big wins over Indonesia's Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti (first round) and another Japanese pair, world No. 3 Chiharu Shida-Nami Matsuyama (quarter-finals).
In the final against Matsumoto-Nagahara, Pearly-Thinaah displayed great fighting spirit and composure against their more experienced opponents to come away with the well-deserved win.
Coach Hoon Thien How praised his charges' mental strength after the win.
"It was Pearly-Thinaah's first World Tour final of the year but mentally they were very strong. This is a really good win for them. Hopefully, they can get even better in tournaments after this," said Thien How.
