Denmark Open: Straight Off the Road, Li Rocks Pusarla

Yvonne Li’s day began with a message and a decision.

Late on Monday evening, she was informed she had been promoted from the reserves list into the main draw of the VICTOR Denmark Open 2026. By sunrise, she was in her car, making the three-hour journey from Hamburg to Odense. A few hours later, she was standing on Court 2 having pulled off one of the biggest results of the opening round – the world No.45 stunned Pusarla V. Sindhu 13-21 25-23 21-19 in a 65-minute thriller.

“I got the message last night and drove to Odense this morning,” Li said. “After a three-hour drive, I just played. I can’t really believe it.”

After being outplayed in the opening game, Li gradually wrestled control from the Indian shuttler. She found greater variation at the net and slowed the tempo at crucial moments, forcing Pusarla out of her comfort zone.

“This match was a lot about control because it was very fast and she has a good attack,” Li said. “It was all about me trying to find the variation from the front court so she couldn’t easily attack all the time.”

Pusarla was left to rue a costly number of errors.

“My disappointment is not about the long match, it’s more about the unforced errors I made,” she said.

For Li, who won the Dutch Open in September before reaching the second round of last week’s Arctic Open, it’s an encouraging run.

“I changed my training environment around two years ago after the Olympics and that’s starting to bear fruit,” she said. “Now my coach is travelling a bit more with me and so far it’s been relatively successful.”

Li will next face Tanvi Sharma, who defeated Natsuki Nidaira 21-17 16-21 21-19 to book her place in the second round.