Mima Hirano defeats Hina Hayata to win WTT women’s singles title after three years

Mima Hirano ended a three-year wait for another WTT women’s singles title by defeating top seed Hina Hayata 4-1 in an all-Japanese final at the 2026 WTT Almaty Contender.

Ranked 38th in the world, Hirano had reached the final by overturning a 3-1 deficit against world No. 18 Miyu Nagasaki. Sixth-ranked Hayata beat Puerto Rico’s top player, Diaz, by the same score. Hirano and Hayata, both born in 2000, had split their previous 16 international meetings. Hayata won their most recent encounter, a 3-2 semifinal at the 2024 Zagreb Contender.

Hirano took the opening game 11-9 after trailing 7-6 and scoring the next three points. Hayata responded in the second, producing three straight points from 9-8 down to level the match. The third game proved decisive. After Hirano saw a 7-3 lead cut to one point, she called a timeout and returned with three points built around aggressive forehand attacks and backhand flicks against Hayata’s serves. She won 11-7.

Hirano then dominated the fourth game, scoring nine straight points after leading 2-1 to win 11-1. Hayata led 5-3 in the fifth, but Hirano answered with a 6-1 run and went on to win 11-8.

Hirano also captured the women’s doubles title with Miyu Kihara, beating India’s Das and S. Mukherjee 11-2, 11-5, 20-18. She left the tournament with two titles. In the men’s final, Japan’s world No. 14 Shunsuke Togami beat France’s Alexis Lebrun 12-10, 11-8, 11-3, 11-7 to retain his title and claim his second men’s singles championship of the year.