
Kuala Lumpur Cup Recap: Irvine, Tardio earn double gold as Khlif captures first PPA Asia title
PPA Asia’s Leapmotor Kuala Lumpur Cup reached its conclusion over the weekend with a highly entertaining Championship Sunday that showcased some of the sport’s best competing in the Malaysia capital.
Jessie Irvine and Gabe Tardio were the biggest winners of the weekend, as they both won two doubles titles each.
One of those golds came in mixed doubles, where Irvine/Tardio outlasted the Australian pairing of Danni-Elle Townsend/Joey Wild 5-11, 11-3, 12-10 in one of the week’s most thrilling matches.
Townsend/Wild got up 8-2 in the deciding game, but Irvine/Tardio pulled off the comeback to take the title in their first tournament together since 2025.
“It means a lot,” Tardio said afterwards. “Me and Jessie haven’t played for a long time, so it’s pretty special to be here with Jessie, play alongside her, and win with her. It’s a special moment.”
Elsewhere, Irvine teamed up with Alix Truong to claim the women’s doubles crown with a 5-11, 11-5, 11-6 win over Danni-Elle Townsend/Sahra Dennehy.
And in men’s doubles, Tardio partnered with Noe Khlif to take gold over Augie Ge/Len Yang, a win which gives Khlif his first career PPA title of any kind.
In singles, top seed Kaitlyn Christian defeated Brooke Buckner 9-11, 11-4, 11-5 to secure her fourth career international singles title, while 15-year-old Tama Shimabukuro beat Khlif 11-8, 11-5 in the men's final.
It will be a quick turnaround for Irvine, Khlif, Christian, and Buckner, who are scheduled to compete back in the U.S. at this week’s Veolia Arizona Open starting Tuesday.
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