Ser Lin Qian followed in the footsteps of Clarence Chew and Josh Chua as she became the second Singaporean to pull off a huge upset at Singapore Smash 2026 Presented By Resorts World Sentosa on Sunday, after the Wildcard knocked World No.58 Mo Zhang out in the round of 64 (11-5, 13-15, 9-11, 12-10, 12-10).

The story of this match was Ser’s resilience as the 19-year-old refused to be discouraged and constantly fought back after falling behind. Trailing 2-4 in the first, Ser scored nine of the next 10 points to take the opening game. 

Zhang then went 10-4 up in the second, but Ser scored seven on the bounce to save a stunning six Game Points and force one of her own. Although she failed to convert it, she went on to deny Zhang another three times before the Canadian could level the match. 

The 37-year-old Zhang saw a 7-2 lead crumble in Game Three, but eventually got over the line to lead 2-1 overall. The fourth game was much closer, but Ser again came back, hitting three winners in a row and saving Match Point to force a decider. 

Zhang dominated the early stages of Game Five, but it was Ser who got to Match Point first, but the veteran saved two to level the game at 10-10.

But no matter how hard Zhang fought, Ser, inspired by Chua and Chew as she heard her name ringing out from the crowd, knew the night was hers and roared with delight when she converted Match Point.