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Nao Hibino Downs Lee Eun-hye to Win Incheon Open

  • Writer: Alastair Middleton
    Alastair Middleton
  • Sep 28
  • 3 min read

Top-seed Nao Hibino saw off a determined challenge from local hope Lee Eun-hye to claim a 7-5, 7-6 victory in the final of the ITF Incheon Open KMJ Art Gallery Cup (W100) in Korea on Sunday.


Nah Hibino in action in Incheon during her first-round win over Petra Hule.
Nah Hibino in action in Incheon during her first-round win over Petra Hule.

Lee came back from 1-4 down in the second set to force a tie-break but Hibino proved too strong at the last stretch, with the former world No. 56 claiming her first title since the Prague Open (WTA 250) in August 2023.


“It was a tough battle, especially second set she fought back from 1-4 down but I tried to make a positive attitude and I’m so happy to have closed it out in two sets,” Hibino told local broadcaster STN Sports after the final.


Hibino recorded straightforward victories over Australia’s Petra Hule and compatriot Eri Shimizu in the opening two rounds, before being taken to three sets by Korean number three Ku Yeon-woo in the quarters. She comfortably beat Sara Saito in the semifinals.


Unseeded Lee meanwhile didn’t drop a set on her way to the final. Not to be confused with the Olympic bronze medalist table tennis player with the same name, the 25-year-old Lee is poised to enter the top 300 for the first time off the back of her week’s work.


“She has good groundstrokes from the baseline,” Hibino said of Lee. “So I tried to stay strong and mix it up and use slices and speed balls to break her rhythm, and it worked today.”


Hibino, who was ranked at 200 in the WTA rankings at the start of the tournament, was pleased on both a professional and personal level to be back in the winner’s circle. “The last time I won a title was 2023 and my husband and I have been working together from this year, so this is our first title together so I’m super happy.” Her title win in Incheon puts her up to No. 165 in the world rankings.


Centre Court at the Yeorumul Tennis Centre during the first round of the ITF W100 event in Incheon.
Centre Court at the Yeorumul Tennis Centre during the first round of the ITF W100 event in Incheon.

The earlier doubles final was won 10-8 in a super tiebreak, with Korea’s Park So-hyun and Japan’s Saki Imamura defeating Hiroku Kuwata of Japan and Indonesia’s Priska Madelyn Nugroho.


Incheon, a sprawling city west of Seoul that is home to the country’s main international airport, hosted the Asian Games in 2014. The huge Yeorumul Tennis Centre, constructed for that event, is the venue for the tournament.


Somewhat bewilderingly, the glass railings in the stadiums, which were presumably designed and installed with the intention of ensuring unbroken sightlines, have never had their protective plastic film coverings removed, meaning that approximately 80% of seats on the centre and show courts have at least partially restricted views, and approximately 20% of seats, no view at all except for a square of glass covered in opaque plastic. The facility has been in use for twelve years now.


The restricted view from the stand at Yeorumul Tennis Centre's centre court.
The restricted view from the stand at Yeorumul Tennis Centre's centre court.

While it may not have attracted many spectators, the event did attract a title sponsor in the shape of Incheon’s KMJ Art Gallery, as well as a local broadcast partner in STN Sports.


Incheon was the final ITF tournament in Korea on the women’s side for 2025. There will be back-to-back M15 tournaments on the men’s side in the city of Gimcheon in late November.

 
 
 

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