Paris, France: Aaron Tai and Yap Roy King carried their recent momentum into the 2026 French Open on Tuesday, battling past United States pair Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith 21-18, 18-21, 21-12 to reach the men’s doubles round of 16.
The Malaysians needed 51 minutes at Arena Grand Paris to overcome the world No. 30 American combination, setting up a considerably tougher second-round assignment against world No. 1 and top seeds Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae of South Korea.
Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin also advanced after surviving a three-game battle against Denmark’s Christian Faust Kjaer and Rasmus Kjaer, giving Malaysian badminton two men’s doubles pairs in the last 16 of the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament.
Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King Survive Three-Game French Open Opener
Aaron and Yap entered Paris fresh from their breakthrough Arctic Open title earlier this month, but their opening French Open match proved far more difficult.
The Malaysians edged a competitive first game 21-18 before Chen and Smith responded by taking the second by the same three-point margin, 21-18.
With the match reduced to a decider, Aaron and Yap created a much wider gap and closed out the third game 21-12 to secure their place in the second round.
The victory continues an encouraging run for the relatively new Malaysian partnership, which has quickly climbed to world No. 95 after winning the Arctic Open Super 500 title.
Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae Next for Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King
Aaron and Yap will now face their biggest challenge of the tournament against South Korea’s Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae.
The world No. 1 pair made an emphatic start to their French Open campaign, defeating Japan’s Hiroki Okamura and Kyohei Yamashita 21-12, 21-9.
The second-round meeting gives Aaron and Yap an immediate opportunity to test their recent progress against the tournament’s top seeds and one of the leading men’s doubles combinations in international badminton.
Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Also Advance in Three Games
Sixth seeds Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin were also pushed to three games before reaching the last 16.
The world No. 5 Malaysians defeated Christian Faust Kjaer and Rasmus Kjaer 21-17, 19-21, 21-17 in another 51-minute opening-round contest.
Sze Fei and Izzuddin took the first game before the Danish pair forced a decider. The Malaysians then regained the advantage in the third to complete the victory.
They will next meet another Danish pair, Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard.
Lundgaard and Vestergaard survived one of the most dramatic opening-round matches in Paris, defeating Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan 21-18, 30-29.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin Chase First Malaysian Men’s Doubles French Open Title Since 2004
Sze Fei and Izzuddin will be looking to improve on their quarterfinal appearance at last year’s French Open, when their campaign was ended by Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.
Malaysia’s last men’s doubles title at the French Open came in 2004, when Gan Teik Chai and Koo Kien Keat won the event.
A deep run this week would therefore give Sze Fei and Izzuddin an opportunity to end a long Malaysian wait in the men’s doubles event.
Leong Jun Hao Suffers Another First-Round Exit
Malaysia’s men’s singles challenge ended early after Leong Jun Hao lost to Japan’s Koki Watanabe 15-21, 11-21.
The 39-minute defeat marked Jun Hao’s third consecutive loss to Watanabe in 2026.
Watanabe had previously beaten the Malaysian 21-9, 21-13 in the All England round of 16 in March before defeating him again at last week’s Denmark Open.
Despite those three consecutive defeats, their overall career head-to-head record now stands at 4-4.
The result was also Jun Hao’s ninth opening-round defeat of the 2026 season, continuing a difficult year for the Malaysian men’s singles player.
K. Letshanaa Falls to Pornpawee Chochuwong
Malaysia’s women’s singles representative K. Letshanaa was also eliminated in the opening round after a competitive match against Thailand’s eighth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong.
Letshanaa pushed the opening game beyond 21 points before Pornpawee edged it 23-21.
The Thai player then completed the straight-game victory by taking the second 21-15.
Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien Exit Mixed Doubles
There was also an early exit for Malaysian professional mixed doubles pair Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien.
They were defeated 21-12, 21-10 by Chinese Taipei’s Wu Guan Xun and Lee Chia Hsin in their opening match.
With Aaron Tai/Yap Roy King and Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin safely through, Malaysia’s strongest results from the opening day came in men’s doubles, where both pairs now face significant second-round tests in Paris.
Malaysian Results at the 2026 French Open
Men’s Doubles
Aaron Tai/Yap Roy King (Malaysia) defeated Chen Zhi Yi/Presley Smith (United States), 21-18, 18-21, 21-12.
Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin (Malaysia) defeated Christian Faust Kjaer/Rasmus Kjaer (Denmark), 21-17, 19-21, 21-17.
Men’s Singles
Koki Watanabe (Japan) defeated Leong Jun Hao (Malaysia), 21-15, 21-11.
Women’s Singles
Pornpawee Chochuwong (Thailand) defeated K. Letshanaa (Malaysia), 23-21, 21-15.
Mixed Doubles
Wu Guan Xun/Lee Chia Hsin (Chinese Taipei) defeated Wong Tien Ci/Lim Chiew Sien (Malaysia), 21-12, 21-10.