2025-12-01,KUALA LUMPUR

Women's doubles Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are poised to become the first Malaysians to be top seeds at the season-ending World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou from Dec 17-21.

Under Badminton World Federation (BWF) regulations, the seedings are determined by the Nov 25 World Tour rankings, where Pearly-Thinaah sit at No. 1, ahead of China's top pair Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning, who are third.

Malaysia's previous highest seeds at the lucrative event were Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (No. 2) in 2020 and independent shuttler Lee Zii Jia (No. 8) in 2021.

Badminton great Datuk Razif Sidek hailed the achievement as another milestone for world No. 2 Pearly-Thinaah and believes it will spur them to challenge world No. 1 Sheng Shu-Tan Ning for the title.

"It is fantastic recognition for Pearly-Thinaah to become Malaysia's first top seeds at the WTF. It reflects their rising confidence and consistency on the World Tour," said Razif.

"Pearly-Thinaah have elevated their game to a point where no pair — not even the top Chinese pairs — can beat them at the moment.

"There isn't much separating them from the Chinese pairs, so they have a genuine chance of winning their biggest title in Hangzhou. They should go all out and aim for history."

Although the eight-pair group stage could still place Pearly-Thinaah and Sheng Shu-Tan Ning together, Razif is confident the Malaysians will reach the last four at the US$3 million (RM12.39 million) Finals.

"At their current level, they should make the semi-finals even if they are grouped with China," he added.

Razif also believes the lucrative prize money will further fuel their confidence, with the champions set to take home US$252,000 (RM1.04 million).