Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu survived a thrilling deciding-game fightback to advance to the women's singles second round at the French Open 2026 in Paris on Wednesday, defeating Thailand's Supanida Katethong 21-14, 8-21, 23-21 in a 64-minute opening-round encounter at the Arena Grand Paris, ANI reported, citing Olympics.com.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

Sindhu, ranked 10th, appeared to be cruising in the decider after building a commanding 19-8 lead. Katethong then won 11 consecutive points to draw level at 19-19, turning a routine finish into a nerve-racking battle, MyKhel reported. Sindhu recovered her composure to clinch the decider 23-21 and book her place in the second round.

Source: MyKhel

"Some matches you just have to find a way to win. Today was one of them," Sindhu wrote on X after the match, as reported by Tech Word News. "Not the prettiest, a lot to think about, but I'm glad we're over it... I needed that win. End of story."

Source: Tech Word News (Sindhu on X)

The victory was Sindhu's sixth win over Katethong in their 10 career meetings. She will next face Japan's Riko Gunji, who defeated India's Unnati Hooda 21-18, 12-21, 21-17 in another first-round match, ANI reported.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

Ayush Shetty stuns Srikanth

In the men's singles, Ayush Shetty registered a comeback victory over former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, winning 19-21, 21-16, 21-12 to advance to the second round. After Srikanth took an early lead in the decider, Shetty fought back to lead 11-9 at the change of ends and, leading 14-12, reeled off seven consecutive points to seal the match, DevDiscourse reported, citing Olympics.com.

Source: DevDiscourse (citing Olympics.com)