Chinese stars Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin advanced to the women's and men's singles second round of the WTT China Smash respectively as the main draw kicked off on Sunday.

Wang Chuqin hits a return during the men's singles first round match between Wang Chuqin of China and Jang Woojin of South Korea at the 2025 World Table Tennis (WTT) China Smash in Beijing, China, Sept. 28, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Kaiyan)

In the opener, Sun recovered from a slow start to beat the world's 33rd-ranked Miu Hirano of Japan 3-1. After conceding the first two points, the top seed won seven points in a row to take the opening set 11-5. Hirano struck back in the second, racing to a 10-2 lead before closing it out 11-5.

Sun quickly regained control, sweeping the third set 11-2 and wrapping up the contest 11-7 in the fourth.

"Just like last year, I played the first match after the opening ceremony, and seeing so many fans cheering for me made me really happy," said Sun.

The two players are familiar with each other, having represented Shenzhen University in this year's Chinese Table Tennis Super League and pairing up in women's doubles.

"Hirano and I know each other well as teammates," Sun added. "She has a lot of experience, reads the game well, and rarely makes unforced errors. It was a high-level match for both of us."

"As a teammate, playing with Sun makes you feel at ease. But as an opponent, she is very dangerous. There is always so much to learn from her," Hirano said.

Later on Sunday, top-ranked Wang eased past South Korea's Jang Woo-jin 11-2, 11-9, 11-9 to move into the last 32.

"We just faced each other in WTT Champions Macao, so I am quite familiar with his playing styles. I think I was well-prepared for the challenges," said Wang.

"I'm really excited to be here. I'm grateful to the audience and my friends for coming to cheer me on today," he added.

Chen Xingtong, Wang Yidi, Chen Yi, Qian Tianyi, Zhu Sibing, Zhou Qihao and Xiang Peng of Team China also advanced to the round of 32 in the singles events.