The Super 1000 label attached to the tournament sets it apart from previous weeks of action.

Gemke repeats victory over Naraoka
In an incredible repeat of last year’s events, Rasmus Gemke defeated World Championships silver medallist and World No. 8 Kodai Naraoka. Exactly one year ago, the two faced each other in the first round of the KAPAL API Indonesia Open 2024 — also on Court 1 — where Gemke secured a two-game win. That match took 54 minutes. This time, it took the Dane 55 minutes.

A strong win for Gemke, and hopefully the only story from last year’s Indonesia Open that repeats for him. In 2024, he was eliminated in the round of 16 by Toma Junior Popov. This time, he will face China’s Wang Zheng Xing — a familiar opponent whom he beat in three games at this year’s Orléans Masters.

Anders Antonsen
Anders Antonsen started the week strong with a solid two-game victory — a welcome turnaround after a disappointing first-round loss at last week’s KFF Singapore Open, where he admitted he “had an off day, one of those days where you wished you stayed in bed [...] Christo played well.” - Antonsen stated on his Youtube Channel

Next up for the Dane is Alwi Farhan. The two met recently at this year’s Sudirman Cup, where Farhan came out on top. Antonsen will be hoping to turn the tables this time.

Thom Giquel/Delphine Delrue are back!
Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue were in one of the most thrilling matches of the day, winning against Indonesia’s Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja in a hour-and-fifteen-minute clash. After losing the opening game 17-21, the French duo bounced back with an improved second game, winning 21-15 to force a decider. The final game was extremely close, with Gicquel/Delrue winning 24-22 to book their spot in the second round.

European losses of the day
It wasn’t the same outcome for the other Europeans. Scotland’s Julie Macpherson/Ciara Torrance couldn’t get past their first-round opponents, and Dane Line Kjærsfeldt faced a tough opponent, Akane Yamaguchi, in her opener. Polish Women's duo Paulina Hankiewicz/Kornelia Marczak also lost their match. In men’s doubles, France’s Eloi Adam/Leo Rossi also saw their tournament run come to an end after withdrawing from their match against Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif/Roy King Yap.

Tomorrows European matches
We’re having a strong start tomorrow. One of the day’s first matches will be a brothers battle: Toma Junior Popov against Christo Popov. The brothers are tied 1-1 in their head-to-head, with their last meeting being at the HYLO Open in November. Who will come out on top this time?

There’s many more Europeans playing their first round matches tomorrow. Click here to check the full order of play.