2025 AST | Wong Po Yui Kirstie & Darren Pragasam claim WA Open titles

Hong Kong’s Wong Po Yui Kirstie has continued her dominant form, securing her second consecutive title with a hard-fought victory at the 2025 WA Open International. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Darren Pragasam emerged victorious in the men’s draw.

The 21-year-old Wong, fresh off her win at the 2025 Northern Star Resources Ltd Golden Open in Kalgoorlie, entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Her path to the final was aided by an early upset, as top seed Akari Midorikawa fell in the quarter-finals to Kaitlyn Watts. Watts, however, was later defeated in the semi-finals by Malaysia’s Goh Zhi Xuan, while Wong battled back from a 2-1 deficit to overcome Japan’s Erisa Sano Herring 3-2 (8-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5).

The final against Xuan marked their first-ever PSA Tour meeting and the Malaysian’s debut in a Challenger event final. However, Xuan struggled to contain Wong’s momentum, losing the opening game 11-4 in under five minutes. Wong extended her lead with an 11-7 second-game win, and though Xuan briefly delayed the inevitable by taking the third, Wong closed out the match emphatically, replicating her first-game scoreline to win 3-1 (11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 11-4).

In the men’s final, Pragasam delivered a thrilling 3-1 (13-11, 6-11, 11-5, 14-12) win over Shady Sherbiny, ensuring Malaysian success on finals day. Pragasam edged a tight first game in a tiebreak after saving two game balls at 10-8 down. The pair then exchanged wins in the next two games, setting up a tense fourth.

Trailing 8-6 and later 10-9, Pragasam appeared headed for a decisive fifth game. However, the Malaysian dug deep, before finally clinching the title 14-12 on his second championship point.