Nicole Albo and Lea Inlayo made a dream debut at the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2025, delivering a dominant 21-12, 21-7 victory over the United Arab Emirates’ Mysha Omer Khan and Taabia Khan in the women’s singles Round of 64.
The milestone win came Monday evening (Philippine time) at the Adidas Arena in Paris, France.
The former UAAP standouts wasted no time establishing control, racing to a 7-0 lead in the second game and never letting up.
Their relentless pace and sharp shot-making ensured that the Philippines reached the second round of the tournament for the second consecutive edition.
Albo and Inlayo maintained high-level aggressiveness throughout, punctuating rallies with powerful smashes to build a commanding 12-2 cushion.
The Khans briefly showed resistance, saving two match points, but an errant return off an Albo shot ended the contest in just 20 minutes.
In the opening game, the Filipinas broke away with a five-point burst to seize an 11-5 lead at the first interval, using their speed and court awareness to neutralize the Emiratis’ attempts to rally.
That momentum then carried them to a comfortable 21-12 win in the first set.
Up next for Albo and Inlayo is Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Yin-Hui and Lin Jhih Yun as they aim to surpass the Round of 32 finish of Alvin Morada and Christian Bernardo in the 2023 tournament in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Meanwhile, Solomon Padiz Jr. and Julius Villabrille will open their men’s doubles campaign in the Round of 64 later at 1:45 AM against Algeria’s Koceila Mammeri and Youcef Sabri Medel.
