Nguyen Thuy Linh faces opponent ranked 9 places higher in opening match of Orleans Masters 2026

A match promising difficulty for Vietnam's current top-ranked badminton player.

Vietnam's top-ranked badminton player, Nguyen Thuy Linh, will participate in the Super 300 Orleans Masters held in France from March 17th to March 22nd.

The organizers of this year's Orleans Masters have announced the tournament brackets for participating players; Thuy Linh's opponent in her opening match will be a very familiar face - Lin Hsiang-ti.

Lin Hsiang-ti, born in 1998, is a player currently ranked 17th in the world women's singles badminton standings, nine places above Thuy Linh. In her career, Lin has won two championships: the Slovenia International 2022 and the Ruichang China Masters 2023.

2025 witnessed a strong advancement in the career of the Chinese Taipei player. She reached the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open and Macau Open, defeating top-tier opponents such as Han Yue, Nozomi Okuhara, Supanida Katethong, and Tomoka Miyazaki, among others.

Last week, Lin participated in the Super 300 Swiss Open, where she advanced to the semifinals and only lost to Supanida after three games. Thuy Linh also participated in this tournament, she reversed the course to defeat Yvonne Li in her opening match before losing to the young star Miyazaki.

Lin Hsiang-ti is not an unfamiliar name to Nguyen Thuy Linh; the two have met four times - with Thuy Linh holding the advantage with three "victorious songs." In their most recent encounter in the first round of the Indonesia Masters earlier this January, the "Vietnamese Badminton Beauty" excellently overcame her opponent with a convincing 2-0 victory.

If she surpasses Lin, the player from Phu Tho province is expected to meet a "soft" opponent in the 1/8 round before having the opportunity to face former world number one Nozomi Okuhara in the quarterfinals.

The match between Nguyen Thuy Linh and Lin Hsiang-ti within the framework of the 1/16 round of Orleans Masters 2026 is scheduled to take place on March 18th Vietnam time, with the specific time yet to be determined.