Xiang Peng came back from behind to beat Hugo 4-3 and will face Wang Chuqin; China secures three men’s singles semifinal spots

On October 4th Beijing time, as the WTT China Grand Slam reached its second-to-last day, China’s men’s singles team won all matches against foreign players in two encounters. Migu Video offers exclusive full broadcast of all exciting WTT China Grand Slam events. The opening men’s singles match saw Xiang Peng meet Hugo Calderano. The two had met three times previously: at the 2022 WTT Budapest Champions, the 2023 WTT Doha Challenge, and the 2025 WTT Incheon Champions. Xiang’s record stood at 1 win and 2 losses, but in their most recent meeting in Incheon, Xiang defeated Hugo 4-1. He then went on to beat Franziska and Lee Sangsu to claim his first singles title at a Champions event. Thanks to the 1000 ranking points from that victory, Xiang’s world ranking quickly rose to 9th, making him the fourth highest-ranked player within the Chinese national team.

(Xiang Peng)

However, before participating in the China Grand Slam, Xiang Peng’s form was not ideal. He lost to Tomokazu Harimoto in the quarterfinals at the WTT Yokohama Champions; at the Sweden Grand Slam, he was defeated 1-3 by German veteran Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the first round; and at the Macau Champions, he lost 2-3 to Franziska again in the opening round. Arriving at the China Grand Slam, Xiang finally escaped early exits by defeating Adrian Larsson, Lin Wenzheng, and Flavian Courtenay, dropping only one game to Courtenay. Hugo, on the other hand, beat Shinozuka Daito 3-1, then Simon Gauzy by the same score, and followed with a 3-0 win over Zhou Qihao to secure a quarterfinal spot. Beyond the matches, Hugo has been frequently mentioned for an interview where he commented on the recent fluctuations of the Chinese team, saying: “I think the Chinese table tennis team might be in a transitional phase now. Previously, players like Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, and Xu Xin were outstanding, but now it seems to be a period of change. The new generation of Chinese players is doing very well, but some younger players don’t have the same dominance as before.” However, his match against Xiang might change that view. After a seven-game battle, Xiang Peng reversed the score to win 4-3, blocking Hugo from reaching the semifinals. The set scores were 3-11, 11-3, 11-7, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7, and 11-6. In the decisive game, Xiang gained momentum, starting 4-1 ahead, extending to 10-5. Although Hugo saved a match point, Xiang did not allow any more chances, closing the match 11-6.

(Wang Chuqin)

The other men’s singles semifinal featured Wang Chuqin against Matsushima Teruaki. In their previous round of 16 match, Wang had defeated South Korea’s An Jaehyun 3-0, extending his head-to-head record to seven wins without a loss. Matsushima had beaten Liang Jingkun 3-2 to reach the quarterfinals. Before this, the two had met twice in WTT events, with Wang undefeated. Their latest encounter was at the Macau Champions in September this year, where Wang won 3-1 in the round of 32 and eventually took the title. In this rematch, Wang took the first three games 11-7, 11-8, 11-3. Although Matsushima claimed the fourth game, Wang closed out the match 4-1 without giving his opponent many chances. With this result, the men’s singles semifinal lineup for the China Grand Slam is complete: China holds three spots while the only foreign player is Lebrun. Wang Chuqin will face Xiang Peng in the upper half, and Lin Shidong will meet Lebrun in the lower half. Watch all the exciting WTT China Grand Slam matches exclusively on Migu Video.