SINGAPORE -- The world's top table tennis players descended upon The Kallang in Singapore for the opening rounds of the WTT Singapore Smash 2026, and the tournament has already delivered a thrilling mix of dominant performances and jaw-dropping upsets.

Top-seeded Wang Chuqin set the tone on February 22 with a ruthless demolition of Australia's Finn Luu, needing just 23 minutes to dispatch his opponent 3-0 in the men's singles round of 64. The Chinese star barely broke a sweat and now faces Japan's Shunsuke Togami in the round of 32. On the women's side, World No. 1 Sun Yingsha opened her campaign with a four-game victory over Thailand's Orawan Paranang, winning 11-2, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6. After a brief wobble in the second game, Sun regrouped with clinical precision to close out the match.

The Chinese contingent continued to flex its collective muscle across both draws. Wang Manyu delivered the most emphatic statement of the opening rounds, steamrolling Singapore's Zeng Jian 11-3, 11-4, 11-1 in a display that left little room for debate about her form. Chen Xingtong provided a more dramatic narrative, edging South Korea's Yang Ha-eun 3-2 in a tense five-game thriller to notch her 100th career WTT victory -- a milestone moment that drew warm applause from the crowd.

In the men's draw, Lin Shidong outlasted Japan's Hiroto Shinozuka 3-1, surviving a nail-biting fourth game that went 14-12. Zhou Qihao showed resilience by recovering from a first-game deficit against Nigeria's experienced Quadri Aruna to win 3-1. Brazil's Hugo Calderano, the current world No. 2, also looked sharp, dismissing Germany's Ricardo Walther in straight sets in a brisk 29 minutes.

But the biggest stories of the weekend belonged to the host nation. Nineteen-year-old wildcard Ser Lin Qian, ranked a modest 126th in the world, produced the upset of the tournament so far by toppling Canada's Zhang Mo, the world No. 58, in a five-game epic. Ser fought back from 2-1 down, saving match points in the fourth and fifth games to win 11-5, 13-15, 9-11, 12-10, 12-10. The Kallang erupted as the teenager secured her place in the next round, and her composure under pressure suggested this is a name to watch in the years ahead.

The Singapore surprises did not end there. In the men's doubles, the home pairing of Clarence Chew and Josh Chua, ranked 104th as a team, stunned 18th-ranked Slovak duo Lubomir Pistej and Jakub Zelinka 3-2 in the round of 32. After falling behind early, the Singaporeans rallied with a decisive 11-6 fifth game to send the home fans into raptures once again.

Another notable result saw China's Chen Yuanyu edge Slovenia's 14th-seeded Darko Jorgic in a gripping five-game contest, winning 11-6, 8-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-8. The seesaw battle kept spectators on the edge of their seats and underlined the extraordinary depth of Chinese table tennis.

The Singapore Smash, which runs through March 1, is one of the marquee events on the WTT calendar and carries significant ranking points. With the round of 32 now taking shape, the stage is set for an enthralling week of action as the tournament heads toward its business end. If the opening rounds are anything to go by, fans are in for a spectacular ride.