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Miwa Harimoto has been crowned Women’s Singles champion for the first time on the WTT Series at WTT Contender Tunis.
Miwa Harimoto won the Women's Singles title for the first time on the WTT Series after defeating Shin Yubin 4-2 (11-8, 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8) to cap up a spectacular week at WTT Contender Tunis 2023.
Harimoto, who narrowly missed winning the championship the previous year, went back to Tunis with a specific objective in mind and set out to change the history books.
Harimoto knew she was in for a tough day at the office when she faced third-seeded Shin for the first time because her Korean opponent had just recently won the WTT Contender event in Lagos.
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The 15-year-old Harimoto sped out of the gate faster and found her groove early on to establish a solid foundation in the final despite being three years younger than Shin and nine positions behind her in the ITTF Table Tennis World Rankings.
Matching Shin stride for stride, Harimoto wasn't afraid to get involved in the frantic rallies and emerged as the match's main force early on, soon accumulating a commanding 3-0 lead.
In the final of the previous year, Zhang Rui defeated Harimoto over the course of seven games, and it was suggested that the entire match length might be necessary in the final of 2023. However, Shin responded with back-to-back game victories to cut the deficit to 3-2.
However, Harimoto was a more seasoned player than she was a year prior, and she wasn't going to let the championship slip through her fingers for a second consecutive year. She rallied in game six to realize her goals.
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21:33 - 18.06.2023
Korea dominates WTT Lagos
Zhou Qihao and Shin Yu-Bin have emerged as the winners of the World Table Tennis Contender in Lagos, Nigeria, in men's and women's singles, respectively.
After a great campaign in Antalya, Harimoto celebrated her first WTT Series singles victory and her second Women's Singles victory of the year by clenching her fists in triumph.
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