PARIS, 25 October 2026 — Malaysia's men's doubles pair Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun ended a 22-year French Open drought on Sunday, 25 October 2026, beating fellow Malaysians Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani 13-21, 21-15, 21-7 in an all-Malaysian final at the Grand Arena Paris. The victory gave Malaysia its first men's doubles crown at the tournament since 2004 and capped a comeback story built on reunion, recovery and resilience.
Illustration: Two badminton doubles players celebrating a championship point on an indoor arena court.
What Happened
The final began badly for the eventual champions. Goh and Nur Izzuddin took the opening game 21-13, imposing themselves early and leaving Man and Tee chasing the match. The world No. 11 pair regrouped in the second game, finding their rhythm and their range, and levelled the contest 21-15. In the decider, they held their nerve to close out a 21-7 win and claim the title, according to reports of the match by The Star, as carried by Archysport on 26 October 2026.
It was the pair's first championship since winning the Malaysian Masters in May, and it arrived after a difficult stretch. Just a week earlier, they had suffered a first-round exit at the Denmark Open. The Paris triumph therefore reversed the momentum of their season in a single afternoon, turning a frustrating autumn into a title-winning one.
The result carried extra significance because of what the partnership had been through. Man and Tee had only recently reunited after spending nearly five months apart, and the French Open was Wei Chong's first major title since returning from a knee injury. "We were the underdogs but we really wanted to perform well and bring home the title, and we did it," Wei Chong told The Star after the match, as reported by Archysport. Kai Wun added that the pair, who have played together for more than five years, hoped to maintain their momentum now that they were back together and winning again.
The final was the centrepiece of a busy day at the Grand Arena Paris. In the men's singles final, France's Christo Popov defeated Indonesia's Moh Zaki Ubaidillah 21-11, 14-21, 21-13. South Korea's An Se-young won the women's singles, overcoming India's P. V. Sindhu 16-21, 21-11, 21-12. Japan's Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto took the women's doubles, beating Malaysia's Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah 10-21, 21-17, 21-16, while China's Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping won the mixed doubles, defeating Malaysia's Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing 21-10, 21-13.
Background
Malaysia's wait for a French Open men's doubles title stretched back to 2004, when Gan Teik Chai and Koo Kien Keat were the last Malaysians to win the crown. Twenty-two years is a long time in a sport where Malaysia has regularly produced world-class doubles players, and the drought had become a talking point every time the tour arrived in Paris. The 2026 final guaranteed that the wait would end regardless of the result, since both finalist pairs were Malaysian — but it was Man and Tee who seized the moment.
The French Open is one of the long-standing stops on the Badminton World Federation World Tour, held each year in Paris and drawing the sport's leading players. Winning there carries prestige beyond ranking points: it places a pair's name on a roll of honour that stretches back decades, and for Malaysian badminton, which measures itself against its own rich doubles tradition, a Paris title has a particular resonance.
Illustration: A badminton doubles rally in a large indoor arena, with players lunging at the net.
The partnership itself has been tested. Five months apart is an eternity in doubles badminton, where success depends on instinctive understanding — knowing without looking where a partner will be, how they will cover, when they will attack. Rebuilding that understanding takes matches, and the pair's early results after reuniting were uneven, culminating in the Denmark Open disappointment. Paris showed that the understanding was back, and that the time apart had not broken the partnership but, in the end, sharpened its appetite.
Wei Chong's knee injury added another layer to the story. Returning from injury is as much a mental challenge as a physical one: trusting the body again at full stretch, lunging without hesitation, jumping without guarding the landing. A first major title since that return is a marker that the recovery is complete, not just in medical terms but in competitive ones.
Why It Matters
For Malaysian badminton, the title matters on several levels. First, it ends a specific, measurable drought — 22 years without a French Open men's doubles crown — and it does so with an all-Malaysian final, a demonstration of depth in the country's doubles programme. When two pairs from the same nation contest a major final, it signals that the pipeline behind them is healthy, not dependent on a single partnership.
Second, it validates the decision to reunite Man and Tee. Partnerships in doubles are fragile things, and a five-month separation could easily have become permanent. The Paris result suggests the reunion was the right call, and it gives the pair a foundation of confidence for the rest of the season and the tournaments that follow. A title changes how opponents prepare for a pair and how the pair prepares for itself.
Third, the result resonates beyond Malaysia. Badminton's centre of gravity has long been Asia, and the French Open is one of the sport's showcase events in Europe. A final contested entirely by Malaysians, played in front of a Paris crowd, underlines the sport's global reach and the strength of the Asian doubles tradition on a European stage. The other finals told a similar story of breadth: winners from France, South Korea, Japan and China, with finalists from Indonesia, India and Malaysia.
There is also a human dimension that explains why the story travelled. Comeback narratives — injury, separation, early exits, then a title — are the ones fans remember, because they mirror the uneven shape of most sporting careers. Few partnerships win every week; most endure fallow periods. Man and Tee's week in Paris is a reminder that form is temporary and that a season can be redefined in three games.
What Happens Next
The pair's stated aim, in Kai Wun's words after the final, is to maintain their momentum. That means carrying the Paris form into the next World Tour events, where ranking points and seedings for the season's remaining tournaments will be at stake. Consistency, rather than a single week, is what turns a title into a career step.
For their beaten final opponents, Goh and Nur Izzuddin, the final is both a disappointment and a proof of form: reaching a major final is itself a strong result, and the all-Malaysian nature of the contest means the country's doubles depth was on full display. Both pairs will expect to meet again, and the rivalry between them could become one of the engaging subplots of the season.
Illustration: Badminton players lifting a trophy together on a podium as confetti falls.
More broadly, the result will be noted by coaches and selectors across the sport. Malaysia's doubles programme has now produced a French Open title after more than two decades, and the manner of it — a comeback from a game down, after a first-round exit the week before, by a reunited pair — will be studied as much as celebrated. The next test is whether Paris becomes a turning point or a bright week in an otherwise mixed season. On the evidence of the final, Man and Tee intend it to be the former.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2026 French Open men's doubles title?
Malaysia's Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun won the title on 25 October 2026, beating fellow Malaysians Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani 13-21, 21-15, 21-7 in the final at the Grand Arena Paris.
Why was the victory described as ending a 22-year drought?
Malaysia had not won the French Open men's doubles title since 2004, when Gan Teik Chai and Koo Kien Keat claimed the crown. The 2026 win ended that 22-year wait.
What had the winning pair been through before Paris?
The pair had only recently reunited after nearly five months apart, had suffered a first-round exit at the Denmark Open the previous week, and Wei Chong was winning his first major title since returning from a knee injury.
Who won the other finals at the 2026 French Open?
Christo Popov of France won the men's singles, An Se-young of South Korea won the women's singles, Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto of Japan won the women's doubles, and Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping of China won the mixed doubles.
What did the champions say after the final?
Wei Chong told The Star that the pair were underdogs who really wanted to perform well and bring home the title, and did so. Kai Wun said the pair, together for more than five years, hoped to maintain their momentum after winning again.
Sources
- Archysport, "Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun win French Open ending 22 year Malaysian drought," 26 October 2026, reporting The Star's coverage of the final.
- The Star (Malaysia), French Open final coverage, 25 October 2026, as reported by Archysport.
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