Pearly Tan Withdraws From Malaysia Masters Due To Ongoing Back Injury
PETALING JAYA: World number two women’s doubles player Pearly Tan has officially withdrawn from the upcoming Malaysia Masters 2026 after her back injury was deemed not fully recovered.
The tournament is scheduled to begin tomorrow at Unifi Arena.
The withdrawal was confirmed by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), meaning Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair featuring Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah will miss the opportunity to compete on home soil.
Concerns over the player’s condition had already surfaced earlier after Pearly Tan was absent during the official court testing session held this morning ahead of the tournament.
National women’s doubles head coach Rosman Razak said the player still requires additional recovery time to avoid aggravating the injury further.
According to him, the same injury had previously forced Pearly Tan to skip the recent Uber Cup 2026 in order to focus entirely on rehabilitation and treatment.
“Pearly’s recovery process has shown very encouraging progress and she was eager to compete at this year’s Malaysia Masters.
“However, from a coaching perspective, I believe it is still too early for her to return to competitive action,” he said today.
Rosman Razak added that the decision was made following discussions with national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky.
He stressed that the coaching team did not want to take unnecessary risks considering several major tournaments remain ahead in the international calendar.
“We understand the fans’ desire to see Pearly-Thinaah compete at home, but this decision was made to ensure Pearly’s recovery reaches its best possible stage,” he said.
He also confirmed that the pair’s participation in the upcoming Singapore Open 2026 and Indonesia Open 2026 will depend entirely on her physical condition and recovery progress.
“We hope fans will continue supporting Pearly and pray for her full recovery before she returns to competition,” he added.
With the absence of the world number two pair, Malaysia’s women’s doubles challenge will now rely heavily on younger combinations.
Among the pairs expected to carry the national challenge are world number 25 duo Ong Xin Yee–Carmen Ting as well as Chong Jie Yu–Vanessa Ng.
Also competing are rising young pairs Low Zi Yu–Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan and Cheng Su Hui–Tan Zhing Hui.
The absence of Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah is expected to impact Malaysia’s medal hopes in the women’s doubles category, but it also provides an important opportunity for younger players to prove themselves on the international stage.
-wilayah.com.my
