HK Slam: Fujiwara, Haas next up for Waters, Bright in round of 16

HONG KONG — Rika Fujiwara reached the semifinals of the French Open in women's doubles in 2002, before Anna Leigh Waters was born. On Oct. 22, the 45-year-old from Japan gets to play her.

Fujiwara and American partner Jamie Haas beat Sophia Nhi Huynh and Ho Tam of Vietnam 11-3, 9-11, 11-3 in the round of 32 of women's doubles at Kai Tak Arena today. That puts the unseeded pair against top seeds Waters and Bright, the world's top two women, in the round of 16.

It was Fujiwara's second win of the morning. About two hours earlier she beat China's Zhe Chen 11-1, 11-3 in the round of 32 of women's singles, losing four points in two games, according to the official PPA Tour Asia scoring feed.

Fujiwara is the No. 7 seed in singles. The 1500-level event is the richest professional pickleball tournament ever staged in Asia, with up to $1.1 million in prize money and payouts.

The doubles win had some history behind it. Fujiwara beat Tam 11-4, 11-4 in the women's singles final at the Macao Open in May. That was her first PPA Tour Asia title and the first women's singles gold for a Japanese player on the tour.

Wednesday's match was close only in the middle. Fujiwara and Haas took the first game 11-3. The Vietnamese pair won the second 11-9, but the third went 11-3 the other way.

The next opponents are a big step up. Waters, 19, is ranked No. 1 in the world and has won 202 PPA Tour titles, according to the tour. Bright is No. 2. The pair had a bye through the round of 32 and have not yet played a women's doubles match in Hong Kong. Fujiwara is ranked No. 60 in the world and Haas No. 53, according to PPA Tour rankings.

Fujiwara reached No. 13 in the WTA doubles rankings in 2002, the year she and Ai Sugiyama made the French Open semifinals. She retired from tennis in 2020, took up pickleball afterward and turned pro this year. She won the women's singles in Tokyo in July, coming back from 10-5 down in the deciding game. She also coaches with Japan's "Pickleball X" development project.

Haas, 33, is a left-hander from Kailua, Hawaii, known on tour as "Lefty Hawaiian." She is a former college tennis coach at Fresno State and a mother of three. She played her first pro event three months after the birth of her third child.

Fujiwara has a busy Thursday ahead. Her women's singles round-of-16 match against Mari Humberg of Brazil is on the morning schedule, followed by the women's doubles match against Waters and Bright later in the day.