WTT Contender Almaty 2026 Sep 1-6

[JustANoob]

Togami vs Gauzi was enjoyable, but Gauzi wasnt able to technique his way out of the pure aggression.

 

[jonol]

I wouldn't be surprised if Hirano is now fighting with the Zyre, the most inportant thing is to maintain this level.

I was wondering if she had changed equipment myself. Her backhands were looking nasty.

 

[zeio]

WS F
Hayata WR6 (1) 1-4 Hirano WR38 (-9, 9, -7, -1, -8)
G1 89 Hirano served into the net, 810, 910 net for Hayata, 911
G2 30, 32, 52 net for Hayata, 53, 63, 65, 75, 78, 88, 89, 119
After G1, Hayata backed up from the table to open up the angle. From her constant stretching over the table and wiping "gesture", something still seems to bother Hayata's playing forearm.
G3 21, 24, 34, 37, 67 TO for Hirano, 610 net for Hirano, 710, 711
G4 02, 12, 17 yellow card to Hirano for stalling, 111
G5 10, 12, 32, 33, 53, 55, 65, 69, 79 TO for Hayata, 710, 810, 811
Cornered, Hayata turned to the reverse pendulum serve in G5.
First double crown (WS/WD) for Hirano.

CNT: Hayata for LA28!

Something is definitely wrong with Hayata's left forearm (and/or palm). And she told the press it was nearly/fully healed at WTT CS Yokohama 2026...

LIVE! | T1 | Day 4 | WTT Contender Almaty 2026 | Finals
After G1
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=10470
After G2
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=11074
During Hirano's TO in G3
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=11500
After G3
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=11689
After G4
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=12035
During Hayata's TO in G5
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=12479

 

[FIXPOINT]

WTT Contender Almaty 2026 WS Final

WTT Contender Almaty 2026 MS Final

WTT Contender Almaty 2026 WD Final

WTT Contender Almaty 2026 MD Final

WTT Contender Almaty 2026 XD Final

 

[Janard]

Something is definitely wrong with Hayata's left forearm (and/or palm). And she told the press it was nearly/fully healed at WTT CS Yokohama 2026...

LIVE! | T1 | Day 4 | WTT Contender Almaty 2026 | Finals
After G1
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=10470
After G2
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=11074
During Hirano's TO in G3
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=11500
After G3
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=11689
After G4
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=12035
During Hayata's TO in G5
https://youtu.be/0PBuVb9RxpA?t=12479

Honestly I don't even know why Hayata is playing Contender level events. Star Contender and upwards should give her more time to balance tournaments, recovery and training. She is just stretching herself thin at this rate? I mean I get it is hard to clinch gold at Champions/Smash events and everyone wants to remember the feeling of being top of podium.

 

[zeio]

Honestly I don't even know why Hayata is playing Contender level events. Star Contender and upwards should give her more time to balance tournaments, recovery and training. She is just stretching herself thin at this rate? I mean I get it is hard to clinch gold at Champions/Smash events and everyone wants to remember the feeling of being top of podium.

That's the price to pay when one wants everything.

She wanted the WS spot of Aichi-Nagoya 2026 and through "transgression" got it at the cost of team morale/spirit/unity yet the WR points top out at 500 and the last time she got 350 due to lazy governance on CNT's part, and so 175 is more realistic this time but insufficient to keep her locked in the 2nd place once her points from WTT SCT London 2025 and WTT CS Frankfurt 2025 expire in the next 2 months, and one good draw for Odo can flip the script.

 

[NextLevel]

Hirao beat 3 lefties in a row or something like that if memory serves me right.

Honestly I don't even know why Hayata is playing Contender level events. Star Contender and upwards should give her more time to balance tournaments, recovery and training. She is just stretching herself thin at this rate? I mean I get it is hard to clinch gold at Champions/Smash events and everyone wants to remember the feeling of being top of podium.

I think it is hard to to fit every athletes temperament and approach to competition into one box. Clearly everything we know about Hayata points to her feeling comfortable only when she is playing a volume that probably is not ideal for most people maybe even herself but she will probably feel unable to perform without that volume so we are at a point where only something really catastrophic will force her to revisit the issue, it might be way too late already.

The other problem is that given that Hayata is no longer the Japanese #1 and also unable to beat the Chinese, she will risk a lot if she sticks only to the top tier events. This event might have been a good choice given the Japanese contingent and she might as well have won it all if she did not face a resurgent Hirano. We will learn more as we see her calendar for the rest of the year.

 

[Kopp]

I wouldn't be surprised if Hirano is now fighting with the Zyre, the most inportant thing is to maintain this level.

Psychically, that's the strongest version of her so far. Her body looks very sturdy and she moved so quick.

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

The old hurricane; the version that defeated Ding Ning is back!

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Honestly I don't even know why Hayata is playing Contender level events. Star Contender and upwards should give her more time to balance tournaments, recovery and training. She is just stretching herself thin at this rate? I mean I get it is hard to clinch gold at Champions/Smash events and everyone wants to remember the feeling of being top of podium.

Have to agree. Even if she won the tournament, she could only get a net gain of 35 points because her current lowest top 8 results is 365 pts. My only guess would be she's treating this as a warm up tournament(?). Her first couple of rounds at Champions Macao don't look too bad (Pesotska, then winner of Diaz vs. Hashimoto). And the Macao tournament director was nice enough to schedule her first match on Thursday.

 

[NextLevel]

Have to agree. Even if she won the tournament, she could only get a net gain of 35 points because her current lowest top 8 results is 365 pts. My only guess would be she's treating this as a warm up tournament(?). Her first couple of rounds at Champions Macao don't look too bad (Pesotska, then winner of Diaz vs. Hashimoto). And the Macao tournament director was nice enough to schedule her first match on Thursday.

Yeah, other than Frankfurt and Star Contender London (the latter maybe is what she was trying to replace), all her ratings points are due to expire next year, so clearly there is no urgency until October.

 

[NextLevel]

Togami vs Gauzi was enjoyable, but Gauzi wasnt able to technique his way out of the pure aggression.

Worth noting is that this comes after a dominant TTBL and German Cup performance this year by Togami, losing only one match deuce in the 5th to Kubik and beating Fan. While he was the top seed, he beat everyone he had to comfortably. Robles was the only one who made it somewhat interesting as a lefty with spin variation and tricky serve returns.

The next step is to see whether this translates to a Champions event.

 

[NextLevel]

One of many beast mode points:

 

[oophyte]

One of many beast mode points:

Both BH fade and the BH chop at 1:2 in G1 convinced me that this Togami dude only has the full send mode and nothing else.

 

[NextLevel]

Both BH fade and the BH chop at 1:2 in G1 convinced me that this Togami dude only has the full send mode and nothing else.

He is to me easily the best athlete in TT who is yet to make the top 10. I suspect it won't last forever but of course...no one knowa the future.

 

[zeio]

小平野又要打回来吗 (Is Little Hirano making a comeback again?)
https://tieba.baidu.com/p/11001760018
君子爱财503 平野表示，姐是世界单打冠军，还有本事在中国主场一串三拿亚锦冠军，也不纯是泥捏的
IP属地:广东来自iPhone客户端2楼2026-09-06 17:55回复
(Hirano said, "Yours truly is world singles champion, also with the ability to skewer three in a row to win the ATTC in China, and not just made of clay.")

海之鹡鸰 东京周期一串三然后被打下去了 巴黎周期重获新生一串三 等一个洛奥周期的一串三 重获新生
IP属地:中国来自Android客户端7楼2026-09-06 23:04收起回复
(Three-in-a-row and then got ganged up in Tokyo cycle
Rose from the ashes with another three-in-a-row in Paris cycle
Waiting for yet another three-in-a-row and rising from the ashes in LA cycle)
gergep: 日乒真正的竞争从明年1月开始，只不过早田占据有利的签位
2026-9-6 23:10回复
(The real race for JNT begins next January, and Hayata merely has a favorable draw)

日本的平野美宇怎么感觉消失了一样。 (It seems like Hirano Miu of Japan has disappeared.)
https://tieba.baidu.com/p/10930030940
总裁2323 慢慢要退。还有早田也是废，一点危协都没有。
日本女单还是削球好点
IP属地:浙江来自Android客户端2楼2026-08-09 11:54收起回复
(Slowly retreating. Hayata is also useless, posing no threat whatsoever.
Defenders are still better for Japanese WS)

沧澜浮冰 她在多哈世乒赛输给拉科瓦奇以后就走下坡路了。今年已经下滑得没啥竞争力了，平野现在内战打大藤、佐藤、桥本几个，都是被零封横扫，一局球都摸不到，打韩国金娜英也是被横扫，确实不行了。
IP属地:河南来自Android客户端15楼2026-08-24 03:34回复
(She has been on a downward spiral since her loss to Rakovac at the WTTC Doha. This year, she has declined to the point of being uncompetitive. In civil wars against players like Odo, Sato, and Hashimoto, she has been swept aside without even getting a game. She was also swept aside by Kim Nayoung of South Korea. She is indeed no good anymore)

 

[Peter93]

I was wondering if she had changed equipment myself. Her backhands were looking nasty.

When she played her first T League match of the season she did use a Fan Zhendong ALC, but then immediately went back to the Viscaria. She is still using Dignics both sides as far as I can tell.

https://flic.kr/p/2szpQNu

https://flic.kr/p/2szpyBq

 

[zeio]

Hirano updated her Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/miu_hirano/p/Dc9vF2_iFMA/

Miu Hirano 平野美宇 on Instagram: "WTTコンテンダーアルマトイ🇰🇿シングルス・ダブルス共に優勝し二冠を達成することができました🏆 まずはきはみゆ、ダブルスを組んでくれてありがとう🫶そして、シングルスでもベンチに入ってくれて、練習してくれてありがとうございました✨☺️ そして、新しい環境での再出発を決断し、成果を出す事が出来、とても嬉しいです。それと同時にいつもサポートしてくださる方々への感謝の気持ちでいっぱいです。 大会は続くので、また成長できるように頑張ります

4,533 likes, 111 comments - miu_hirano on September 6, 2026: "WTTコンテンダーアルマトイ🇰🇿シングルス・ダブルス共に優勝し二冠を達成することができました🏆 まずはきはみゆ、ダブルスを組んでくれてありがとう🫶そして、シングルスでもベンチに入ってくれて、練習してくれてありがとうございました✨☺️ そして、新しい環境での再出発を決断し、成果を出す事が出来、とても嬉しいです。それと同時にいつもサポートしてくださる方々への感謝の気持ちでいっぱいです。 大会は続くので、また成長できるように頑張ります！！🔥".

www.instagram.com

miu_hirano
11h
WTTコンテンダーアルマトイ🇰🇿シングルス・ダブルス共に優勝し二冠を達成することができました🏆

まずはきはみゆ、ダブルスを組んでくれてありがとう🫶そして、シングルスでもベンチに入ってくれて、練習してくれてありがとうございました✨☺️

そして、新しい環境での再出発を決断し、成果を出す事が出来、とても嬉しいです。それと同時にいつもサポートしてくださる方々への感謝の気持ちでいっぱいです。

大会は続くので、また成長できるように頑張ります！！🔥
(I won both the singles and doubles titles at the WTT Contender Almaty 🇰🇿, achieving a double victory! 🏆

First of all, thank you Kihamiyu for partnering with me in doubles 🫶 And thank you for being on the bench and practicing with me during the singles matches ✨☺️

I'm so happy that I was able to achieve results after deciding to make a fresh start in a new environment. At the same time, I'm filled with gratitude to everyone who always supports me.

The tournaments continue, so I'll do my best to keep growing! 🔥)

 

[Kawa]

When she played her first T League match of the season she did use a Fan Zhendong ALC, but then immediately went back to the Viscaria. She is still using Dignics both sides as far as I can tell.

https://flic.kr/p/2szpQNu

https://flic.kr/p/2szpyBq

Wich Dignics?
Assuming its 09c + 05, but not sure.

 

[zeio]

Hirano used Viscaria/D09C in 2.1/D05 in 2.1 back at Zennihon in 1/2026, so probably still the same here.

P.S.
D09C?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wttglobal/55512064094/

https://flic.kr/p/2szpQDm

D05?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wttglobal/55508712392/

https://flic.kr/p/2sz7Eio

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wttglobal/55507241445/

https://flic.kr/p/2syZ83e