Latest news with #LongYufei
South China Morning Post
07-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Chinese pickleball player thwarted twice at Panas Malaysia Open but wins singles
Mainland Chinese pickleball player Long Yufei said she avoided the worst outcome after taking the women's singles title at the Panas Malaysia Open on Sunday. One of 12 players on the United Pickleball Association's inaugural Asia Trailblazers Programme, Long, from Shenzhen, started the day chasing multiple crowns in Kuala Lumpur, having reached the semi-finals of all three events. Long and partner Le Xuan Duc of Vietnam lost their mixed doubles semi to eventual winners Nicola Schoeman and Vanshik Kapadiam before forfeiting the third-place play-off. The women's doubles saw Long reach the final with South Korea's Kwon Mi-hae, but they were denied by Wang-Beckvall Xiaoyi of the United States and Wei Ting-chieh from Taiwan. That left the singles final, in which Long found herself facing that worst-case scenario when Schoeman had two championship points. But Long reeled off four points on the trot to steal the second game, then took the decider to win it 3-11, 12-10, 11-5. Hong Kong pickleball player Jack Wong in action in the men's singles. Photo: PPA Tour Asia She said it was 'blood, sweat and tears' after what was the opening event of the first PPA Tour Asia, which will also feature legs in Hong Kong, Japan and mainland China.
South China Morning Post
01-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- South China Morning Post
Promising Chinese player defers PhD programme to give pickleball career a shot
A Chinese pickleball player said it was worth deferring her PhD studies to pursue a professional career in the emerging sport. Advertisement Long Yufei, who was about to start a biomedical informatics course in the United States, was presented with the opportunity to become a part of the United Pickleball Association's inaugural Asia Trailblazers Programme. Under the scheme, 12 players across the region will undergo a three-month training stint in the US and, if they impress, will be given a contract as a UPA Asia Pro. The two-year deal includes playing in at least 10 events a year, predominantly in Asia but also in the US and Australia. Long, who holds a Master's degree in public health from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said the decision to defer her doctoral studies was difficult, but she had opted to embrace a less traditional route. 'I had invested months crafting potential research proposals and preparing applications,' said the Shenzhen native, who received acceptance letters from the University of Washington and from Washington University in St Louis shortly before the pickleball opportunity emerged. Long Yufei was an NCAA Division I tennis player at Vanderbilt University. Photo: Handout 'The sunk cost was high,' she said. 'I spent the whole of February evaluating the best option … I was choosing between two different life trajectories.'
