It was a day to remember for Benjamin Lau and Sie Cai Yin as both players captured their first-ever titles on the WTT Youth Series stage, making headlines at the WTT Youth Contender Fremont. Lau triumphed in the U15 Boys’ Singles, while Cai Yin dominated the U11 Girls’ Singles.

Lau, 15, who has long been tipped as a rising star, finally turned promise into podium success. Just five days after sharing the bronze with teammate Benaiah Seah in the same event in San Francisco, this time, there was no stopping him.

Displaying composure and determination throughout a challenging draw, he clinched his breakthrough title with a dramatic 3-2 victory over India’s Aditya Das in the final. In a back-and-forth battle, Lau held his nerve to edge out his opponent 11–13, 11–9, 11–8, 9–11, 13–11.

Seah and Tristen Yee, who will join Lau on Team Singapore for the upcoming Asian Youth Games in Bahrain this October, both secured bronze medals after falling in the semifinals. Yee put up a valiant fight against Lau but narrowly lost 2-3 (9–11, 11–3, 11–9, 9–11, 8–11), while Seah also went down in a hard-fought 2-3 battle against Aditya Das, despite staging an impressive mid-match comeback (6–11, 5–11, 11–7, 11–5, 6–11).

In the U11 Girls’ Singles, Sie led a Singaporean sweep of the podium with a hard-fought comeback victory over compatriot Chloe Lim in a thrilling five-set final, winning 3–2 (10–12, 8–11, 11–7, 11–8, 11–6). Sie had come agonisingly close to glory just days earlier in San Francisco, where she fell short in the final. But in her second consecutive title match, sheer determination carried her across the finish line.

Teammates Krystal Huang and Ding Xiaoyu completed the all-Singaporean podium, each earning bronze. Sie secured her place in the final with a composed 3–1 win over Huang (11–7, 11–6, 12–14, 11–5), while Lim battled past Ding in a dramatic five-set thriller, edging it 3–2 (9–11, 2–11, 11–8, 11–9, 17–15).

A fruitful outing in USA for Singapore’s junior paddlers, as they claimed a total of 4 Golds, 7 Silvers and 13 Bronze across two competitions – WTT Youth Contender San Francisco III and WTT Youth Contender Fremont.

The future is bright!