Liang and Zhu Advance to Mixed Doubles Final
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by Joshua Dyke
Doubles: Jishan Liang and Chengzhu Zhu advance to the Mixed Doubles Finals at the 2025 U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships. Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Las Vegas, Nev. December 17, 2025. (Photo by USATT/Rich London)
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Mixed Doubles was the highlight of Day 2 of the 2025 US Open Championships. By the end of the day, two teams had secured a place in the finals, which will be played on Day 3.
In the Open Mixed Doubles semifinals, Jishan Liang and Chengzhu Zhu advanced to the final with a commanding 3-0 (11-7, 11-3, 11-6) victory over Yan Guo and Wei-Hsun Tseng. The pair’s dominant showing continued a strong run in their first tournament competing together. Chengzhu Zhu’s impressive control allowed her to set up Jishan Liang’s massive forehand, helping them secure their win.
“It’s our first time playing, she’s representing Hong Kong and she’s a very good player,” said Liang. “After getting through our first match, we’re much more confident and getting better match by match. We’ve tried our best to earn an opportunity to win.”
On the opposite side of the bracket, Yiran Wu and Eunjung Ban secured their place in the final with a straight-games semifinal win over Nikhil Kumar and Sally Moyland. The duo showed resilience earlier in the day, completing a dramatic five-game comeback to defeat Koyo Kanamitsu and Angie Tan 3-2 (8-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9).
(1) Jishan Liang / Chengzhu Zhu
(7) Yiran Wu / Eunjung Ban
Table 1 – 1:45 p.m. PST
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Beyond the Mixed Doubles action, 26 new U.S. Open champions were crowned by the end of Day 2. Two-time Olympian (1992, 1996) Jimmy Butler stood out among the rest, capturing the 50 & Over Men’s Singles title. Butler also added 40 & Over and 50 & Over Men’s Doubles gold medals alongside Derek May.
Zach Picket earned his second U.S. Open gold medal by winning the 2025 Para Class 3–5 Singles title. In the other para events, Victor Karp claimed the Class 6–7 championship, while Jaswantth Pogula secured gold in Class 8–10.
Alex Cazacu captured the U2600 Ratings Event title, earning his first gold medal of the 2025 U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships. The 37-year-old Romanian, now based in Georgia, defeated Argentina’s Nicolas Callaba 3-1 (7-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9) in the final.
“It was a relief—it was tough,” Cazacu said after the match. “The event had many good players. Yesterday was more difficult physically, and today the opponents were tougher. It was just tough overall.”
Following his ratings event victory, Cazacu now turns his attention to the Open Men’s Singles, where he is seeded into the knockout rounds.
Looking further ahead into Day 3, age and ratings events will continue with more champions crowned, while the Championship Men’s and Women’s Singles events are set to intensify as the top 16 men and top 8 women will be determined as we move closer to the championship singles finals Saturday evening.
