'2-0 → 2-2' Still Unshaken! Inaugural Champion Lee Da-eun Returns, Secures Second Women's Singles Title in KTTP Pro League

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Da-eun (21, Korea Racing Authority), the inaugural women's singles champion of the Pro Table Tennis League, has once again claimed the top spot. After finishing as runner-up in the previous Jecheon Series 3, Lee reached the finals for the second consecutive tournament and this time stood at the very top.

Lee defeated Shim Hyeon-ju (27, Mirae Asset Securities) 3-2 in games (12-10, 11-5, 4-11, 9-11, 6-1) in the women's singles final of the '2026 ILC Pro Table Tennis League SERIES 4 IN Jeju-si Jocheon-eup,' held on the 5th at the Jeju Jocheon Gymnasium, to claim the championship.

The start was promising. Lee controlled the pace with her characteristic intelligent match management, taking the first two games in a row.

However, Shim Hyeon-ju's determination was no less formidable, having endured a grueling schedule from the women's doubles final to the individual singles semifinals that day. Raising her offensive intensity from the third game, she recovered one game with an 11-4 score. In the fourth game, trailing 6-9, she fought back to tie at 9-9 before completing a comeback to win 11-9.

The match ultimately went to a decisive fifth game. Lee's stability shone in the final stretch. By mixing quick rallies with topspin, she blocked Shim's attacking lines and built an early lead. After reaching match point at 5-1, she secured the final point to clinch the victory 6-1.

Lee is the player who became the inaugural women's singles champion in Series 1 of the Pro League's inaugural year in 2025. Since then, she has consistently maintained a top-tier ranking but had not yet reached another championship.

The start to this season was also not easy. She skipped the first series due to a shoulder injury and stopped at the quarterfinals in Series 2. However, her runner-up finish in Series 3 brought her back into contention for the title, and she finally achieved her second victory at this tournament.

Lee's dominance as a strong competitor was evident throughout her path to this championship. After advancing through the round of 16 and quarterfinals without dropping a single game, Lee staged a major comeback in the semifinals, taking three consecutive games after losing the first two. In the final, she also emerged as the winner by securing the last game after being caught up from a 2-0 lead.

After the match, Lee revealed that, given her regret over finishing as runner-up in the previous series, she was determined to win this time. She expressed gratitude to her colleagues and coaches at the Korea Racing Authority who trained with and cheered for her, reflecting that even when she allowed Shim to chase her to a 2-2 tie in the final, "I believed I could do it."

Although she settled for second place, Shim Hyeon-ju also firmly established her presence at this tournament. A graduate of Daejeon Hosudon Girls' High School who is now in her ninth year as a professional player, Shim has primarily competed in team events and doubles rather than singles in the past, but she demonstrated competitiveness in individual singles at this series.

In particular, in the semifinals, she defeated Choi Hye-ju (27, Korean Air), who had won both of the two series she participated in this season, after a full-game battle to reach her first Pro League individual singles final. She also finished as runner-up in women's doubles, concluding the tournament with runner-up finishes in two events.

In the men's singles final held subsequently, Gil Min-seok (21, National COLONY Military Unit) defeated Jo Dae-sung (24, Hwaseong City Corporation) 3-1 (11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 14-12). Gil, who made his Pro League debut upon enlisting in the National COLONY Military Unit this season, had been eliminated in the preliminaries in the previous two series but reached the top of the adult individual singles stage for the first time on his third attempt.

The men's and women's singles champions each received a prize money of 3 million won, while the men's and women's doubles champions each received 1 million won. With the conclusion of the award ceremony that day, all schedules for Pro Table Tennis League Series 4 held in Jeju were completed.

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*This content was translated by AI.