Vietnam's top badminton player falls short in German Open final again

Yeo, 26, a former world number one in the junior rankings, was the top seed at the 2025 tournament. In their previous three encounters, Yeo won twice and lost once to Linh.

Despite strong support from the German crowd, Linh struggled from the start. Yeo's powerful and precise smashes quickly established a seven-point lead at 9-2 before closing the first set 21-16.

The second set followed a similar pattern. After an early 3-3 tie, Yeo pulled ahead 7-3 and later 9-5. Linh fought back to 15-17 but struggled with accuracy as fatigue set in. She also made several errors, allowing Yeo to close out the match at 21-16.

With the runner-up finish, Linh earned 5,950 ranking points from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and a prize of $9,120. She will continue her European tour in France, England and Spain, aiming to improve her world ranking.

The German Open is a BWF World Tour Super 300 event with a total prize pool of $240,000. In 2024, Linh also reached the final but lost to a Danish opponent.

Born in 1997, Linh turned professional at 14 and won the national championship for top players four years later. She has been Vietnam's top female badminton player since 2018, winning seven consecutive national singles titles and three Vietnam Open titles since 2022. She has also competed in both the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics.