Pearly-Thinaah told to tighten their defence after WTF setback

KUALA LUMPUR: While pleased with world No. 2 Pearly Tan–M. Thinaah's outstanding overall performance this year, national women's doubles head coach Rosman Razak is not without his concerns after their setback at this week's World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou, China.

A weary Pearly-Thinaah, playing in their 22nd tournament this year, lost 21-19, 21-13 to Japan's world No. 5 Mayu Matsumoto–Yuki Fukushima in the WTF women's doubles semi-finals.

Pearly-Thinaah were aiming to nail their first WTF crown, which offers US$252,000 (RM1.03 million) for the winners, but they had to settle for US$60,000 for reaching the last four.

In a stellar season, which saw them win three World Tour titles, a silver medal at the Paris World Championships and a gold at the Thailand SEA Games, Pearly-Thinaah felt they had a genuine shot at the WTF title, but it was not to be.

Rosman said they must fix their leaky defence that was exploited by Matsumoto-Fukushima.

"It has been quite a good year for them, but there are still many shortcomings to rectify to stay competitive.

"Pearly-Thinaah found it difficult to penetrate the opponents with their attacks, and their inconsistent defence made it even tougher at the WTF. These are things that we need to focus on.

"They were disappointed at the WTF but gave everything they had. We learnt a lot over these two weeks."

Pearly posted on social media: "What a tiring yet incredibly meaningful two weeks for us. We learned, broke through so many limits, and that's what matters most.

"Thank you to all the fans, the coaches, the support staff, and family members and friends who stood by us during our lowest moments.

"To my partner (Thinaah), thank you for always being with me as 2025 was truly outside of your comfort zone. Let's walk even stronger together into 2026."

Pearly-Thinaah, who will focus on strengthening their defence, have vowed to bounce back at the Malaysia Open at the Axiata Arena from Jan 6–11.