Ubaidillah rallies past Brian Yang at Kumamoto Masters
The 19-year-old will face France’s Christo Popov in the last 16, having lost their two previous meetings.
Moh Zaki Ubaidillah advanced to the Kumamoto Masters 2026 last 16 on 11 November after overcoming Canada’s Brian Yang in three games. The first-round men’s singles contest lasted almost an hour and a half, with Ubaidillah winning 22-24, 28-26, 21-19.
The lead changed hands repeatedly in the opening game before Yang edged ahead to take it. Ubaidillah, also known as Ubed, led 5-2 in the second but was overtaken before recovering to force a deciding game. Another close contest followed, with Ubaidillah securing the final game and a place in the next round.
Ubaidillah said he initially struggled to control the court but kept trying to adjust. He attributed his recovery in the final two games to better anticipation of Yang’s patterns and successful speculative returns. The 19-year-old praised Yang’s performance while acknowledging that he needed more patience and had rushed his attacks.
World number 26 Ubaidillah next meets France’s Christo Popov for the third time, after losing both previous encounters. He said he hoped to be better prepared and would need to strengthen his mental approach against an opponent whose persistence made rallies difficult to finish.
