Miwa Harimoto Claims Sixth Straight Singles Victory with 2–1 Win Over Winter at Just 17 — A Rising Ace China Must Watch

On December 7 in Beijing time, the semifinals of the Chengdu Mixed Team World Cup delivered a high-energy showdown between Japan and Germany. In the second match of the tie, 17-year-old Miwa Harimoto faced Germany’s Sabine Winter in the women’s singles. With Japan already taking the opening match, Harimoto stepped onto the court with confidence and no added pressure—and the young Japanese star once again proved why she is the team’s most trusted player, securing a hard-fought 2–1 victory.

Before this semifinal, Harimoto had already built an impressive undefeated singles run in the tournament, winning all five of her previous matches. Ignoring doubles results, her dominance in the women’s singles made her the most reliable choice for Japan. Her earlier victories included:

• A 2–1 win over Lee Eun-hye (13–11, 11–9, 7–11)
• A commanding 3–0 win over Annett Kaufmann (11–5, 11–5, 12–10)
• A 2–1 victory against Zhu Chengzhu (13–15, 11–7, 11–8)
• A 3–0 sweep of Lea Rakovac (11–2, 11–8, 11–7)
• Another 3–0 win against Liu Yangzi (12–10, 11–2, 11–1)

From the opening game against Winter, Harimoto displayed her signature agility and explosive shot-making. By constantly shifting Winter’s balance and unleashing powerful attacks from both wings, she quickly wore down her opponent. Harimoto surged into the lead at 5–2, then widened the gap to 7–3 and 9–4. At 10–6, she earned four game points, but Winter fought back to save three of them. After a Japanese timeout, Harimoto stayed composed and closed the game 11–9.

The second game saw a strong response from Winter. She jumped ahead 3–1 and extended her advantage to 7–2. Refusing to back down, Harimoto began her comeback, narrowing the deficit to 4–7. Germany called a timeout, but the momentum had shifted. Harimoto continued to press forward, cutting the score to 5–7, then 6–7, before leveling it at 7–7. The battle intensified at 8–8 and 9–9. Winter reached game point first at 10–9, but Harimoto delivered under pressure, saving the point and completing a dramatic 12–10 comeback to take the match.

In the deciding third game, Harimoto once again seized early control, edging ahead 3–2 and then moving to 5–2. Winter struggled to keep up as Harimoto maintained her lead at 7–4 and 9–8. Winter showed great resilience, chasing the score to 9–9 and even turning the tables to reach match point at 10–9. Harimoto answered with icy composure to level it at 10–10, but Winter captured two crucial points in a row to win the game 12–10.

Although the match did not end in a straight-games sweep, the final result still belonged to Japan. At just 17 years old, Miwa Harimoto once again delivered when her team needed her most, reinforcing her status as Japan’s most dependable women’s singles player and continuing her remarkable rise on the world stage.