Mima Ito has advanced to the quarterfinals of the women's singles at the 2025 WTT Ljubljana event, maintaining her hopes for a double crown.

On the 21st local time, in a third-round match of the women's singles at the 2025 WTT Star Challenge in Ljubljana, the world No. 6 and Japan's top female player, Mima Ito, defeated South Korea's world No. 32, Jeon Jihee, with a score of 3-2, securing a place in the quarterfinals.

Mima Ito, ranked sixth in the world,

Jeon Jihee and Mima Ito previously competed together on the Kanagawa team in the Japan T-League, with Mima holding a favorable international head-to-head record of 5 wins to 1 loss against Jeon. After losing their first encounter, Mima Ito went on to achieve an impressive five consecutive victories in their subsequent matches.

At the start of the match, Mima Ito took a 6-3 lead, but due to Jeon Jihee anticipating her serves multiple times, the momentum shifted, and Mima had to concede the first game 9-11.

In the first half of the second game, the two players were closely matched, with the score reaching 5-5. From this point, the match fell into Mima Ito's rhythm, as she scored six consecutive points to level the game. In the following third game, Mima held a 9-8 lead, but due to Jeon Jihee's strong defense and her own mistakes, Mima lost three points in a row, surrendering the game. In the fourth game, Mima took control from the middle, scoring five times in a row to win 11-9, forcing a decisive fifth game.

Jeon Jihee, ranked 32nd in the world,

In the final fifth game, Mima Ito opened with an 8-5 lead, but the determined Jeon Jihee fought back point by point, eventually tying the score at 10-10. At this moment, Mima Ito capitalized on her strategy against Jeon's backhand topspin (Chiquita shot), scoring two consecutive points to win the match 12-10.

Thus, as the top seed in the women's singles of this tournament, Mima Ito has reached the quarterfinals. She will face Chinese player Chen Yi in the quarterfinals. Chen Yi triumphed over Puerto Rican star Diaz with a score of 3-1 in another women's singles match.

In this tournament, the 17-year-old Mima Ito is competing in three events. In mixed doubles, she and her brother, Tomokazu Harimoto, were defeated by the strong Korean duo of Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin in the quarterfinals, missing out on the semifinals. In women's doubles, Mima teamed up with Satsuki Odo to reach the finals, where they will face the Korean pair of Shin Yu-bin and Choi Hyo-joo.

The Harimoto siblings were defeated by the strong Korean duo of Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin in the quarterfinals, missing out on the mixed doubles semifinals.

<2025 WTT Star Challenge Ljubljana Women's Singles Third Round>

Mima Ito 3-2 Jeon Jihee (South Korea)

9-11/11-5/9-11/11-9/12-10