Switzerland, 12 March 2026 – Vietnam’s top women’s badminton player Nguyen Thuy Linh staged a comeback to defeat Yvonne Li of Germany 2–1 in her opening match at the 2026 Swiss Open on the evening of March 11.
After an early exit at the All England Open, Thuy Linh dropped to 26th in the world rankings. As a result, she traveled to Switzerland early to prepare for the Swiss Open, a BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament, aiming to collect valuable ranking points and improve her position. Her first-round opponent was Yvonne Li, a German player of Chinese descent who has won multiple bronze medals on the BWF tour. The 27-year-old is currently Germany’s number one player and ranked 52nd in the world.
Since the two players had never met before, Thuy Linh initially struggled to read Li’s playing style. Combined with a slow start and several unforced errors, the Vietnamese shuttler quickly fell behind 11–3 and then 13–3 in the opening game. Li dominated the rallies and maintained the pressure throughout the set, eventually winning 21–11.
Having endured a difficult journey to Europe due to flight disruptions caused by instability in the Middle East, Thuy Linh was clearly determined not to leave the tournament empty-handed. She responded strongly in the second game, showing greater intensity and control. With quick footwork and smart net play, the 29-year-old from Phu Tho began dictating the pace of the match and consistently stayed ahead on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Li’s performance began to decline as she rushed her shots and committed several errors. Thuy Linh took advantage of these mistakes to secure the second game 21–15, leveling the match.
In the decisive third game, Thuy Linh continued to maintain a slight lead. Both players showed signs of fatigue and exchanged multiple unforced errors. However, at the crucial moments, the Vietnamese player demonstrated her composure and experience. Mixing clever placements with powerful smashes, she gradually pulled away and sealed the game 21–17, completing the comeback victory after 56 minutes of play and advancing to the second round.
The 2026 Swiss Open, part of the BWF World Tour Super 300 series, is being held from March 10 to March 15 at St. Jakobshalle Arena in Basel, Switzerland. The tournament features many strong international players and offers a total prize pool of USD 250,000.
Born on November 20, 1997, in Phu Tho, Nguyen Thuy Linh began her professional badminton career at the age of 14. Four years later, she won the 2015 National Champions Tournament. Since 2018, she has been Vietnam’s top female badminton player, winning the National Individual Championship seven consecutive times. She also claimed the Vietnam Open title three years in a row from 2022, and represented Vietnam at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
At the Super 300 level, Thuy Linh has also finished runner-up four times, including at the German Open 2024 and 2025, the Canada Open 2025, and the Korea Masters 2025.
In the next round, Thuy Linh will face Hina Akechi of Japan, currently ranked 29th in the world.
VSN/RPT
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