Cai Yan Yan is currently ranked 107th in the world, far behind Thuy Linh (18th in the world). But on the journey to the final, Cai Yan Yan played excellently when they eliminated 5th seed Shriyanshi Valishetty in round 2, defeating 3rd seed Tanvi Sharma in the quarterfinals. The Chinese tennis player lost only 1 set on the way to the final, the result was even better than Nguyen Thuy Linh.
In addition, in the past, Cai Yan Yan ranked 14th in the world, won the bronze medal in women's singles at the 2019 Asian Championship, so her ability was very formidable.
The Vietnam Open 2025 final marked the first time Thuy Linh met Cai Yan Yan, so the two players played very cautiously. After a few minutes of exploration, Cai Yan Yan scored a 5-point lead for Thuy Linh 7-2, then 14-5.
Nguyen Thuy Linh played very hard, gradually shortening the gap, sometimes down to just 1 point (15-16). But in the final stage of set 1, Cai Yan Yan played better, to win 21-17.
Cai Yan Yan's victory in set 1 put Nguyen Thuy Linh in a difficult position in set 2. On the way to the final, Thuy Linh came back to beat Kisona Selvaduray of Malaysia in round 2. But compared to Kisona, Cai Yan Yan had a much harder time playing.
In set 2, Thuy Linh played better when leading the opponent 7-3, 11-6 and then 17-13 respectively. The experience from set 1 helped the number one female tennis player in Vietnam somewhat adapt to the playing style of her opponent. But Cai Yan Yan played very well in the final stage of the set when they equalized 17-17 and then 18-18, creating great pressure for Thuy Linh.
At this time, Cai Yan Yan's bravery was demonstrated. She missed 2 chances to finish the match, but the third time was successful, winning 23-21 against Thuy Linh.
In the end, Thuy Linh lost 0-2 to Cai Yan Yan Yan (17-21, 21-23), thereby missing the opportunity to win the Vietnam Open for the 4th consecutive time. Meanwhile, Cai Yan Yan won the championship completely worthy of their excellent form, losing only 1 set on the championship journey.
In some other events, Panitchaphon Teoraratsakul of Thailand won the men's singles championship. Jin Yong and Na Sung Seung of Korea won the men's doubles event. In the internal final of Chinese athletes in the women's doubles event, Luo Yi and Wang Ting Ge were crowned. In the men's doubles event, Indonesia's Marwan Faza and Aisya Putri Pranata won the championship.
