KUALA LUMPUR: New pairs usually will take time to make their way to the top but not Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto.
The Japanese women’s doubles stalwarts Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto proved that they can form a potent partnership after smashing into the Malaysian Open semi-finals by stunning South Korea’s world No. 2 Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee 21-14, 21-18 in the last eight at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Fukushima-Matsumoto only combined last November but finished runners-up to China’s world No. 1 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning in their first tournament together at the Japan Masters and went on to reach semis in the China Masters.
They are happy to have continued their good form in 2025
Said Matsumoto: “We are really excited by this partnership. We are looking forward to our next match after this win. Our main aim is improving our communication on court.
“We had some good discussions today (yesterday), we want to build on that in upcoming matches.”
Fukushima said: “We plan to finish this season as a pair. Our target is to stay focused in every match and most importantly, avoid injuries.”
The 31-year-old Fukushima and Matsumoto, 29 came together after their former partners Sayaka Hirota and Wakana Nagahara respectively retired from the sport after the Paris Olympics last August.
Matsumoto captured the world title twice with Nagahara in 2018 and 2019 while Fukushima and Hirota won silver in the World Championships in 2017 and also finished runners-up to their teammates in 2018 and 2019.
The Japanese duo will next face China’s world No. 7 Li Yijing-Luo Xumin for a place in the final.
The Chinese pair triumphed in their home Open last September and will present another tough challenge for Fukushima-Matsumoto but the latter are looking to continuing their good form.
