By James Sablan
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Variety News Staff
NMI’s Carol Youngsuh Lee continues to prove she is a force to be reckoned with on the professional circuit after a deep run at the W75 Manama Tournament 2026, falling just short against world No. 212 Alina Korneeva in the semifinals held Jan. 19–25 in Bahrain.
Last Saturday, Lee faced Korneeva in a grueling three-set semifinal in the women’s singles event.
Lee opened the match with clinical precision, immediately putting Korneeva’s serve under pressure and denying multiple break-point opportunities in the opening game of the first set. Despite a see-saw battle, Lee secured an early break to take a 4–2 lead, absorbing the pace and countering with depth to close out the set, 6–3, as an upset appeared to be in the making.
Momentum shifted in the second set as Korneeva steadied her game, cutting down on the unforced errors that plagued her early and racing out to a 4–0 lead. Although Lee battled back to win four games, she struggled to keep Korneeva at bay as the Russian served out the set, 6–4, to level the match.
The final set showcased both stamina and mental fortitude, with neither player giving an inch. Lee dropped an early break and fell behind after losing the first three games, but showed resilience by clawing her way back to within 4–3. She remained competitive at 4–5 while serving to stay in the match, but Korneeva found a late break to seal the victory, 6–4.
Lee’s journey to the semifinals in Manama was nothing short of impressive. She outlasted Jessika Ponchet of France in a three-set quarterfinal thriller, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4, and advanced earlier in the tournament after Maria Timofeeva of Uzbekistan retired while Lee led 6–2, 1–0.
The strong showing further solidified Lee’s status as a rising star, as she pushed a top-tier opponent to the limit on the international stage.
In doubles action, Lee partnered with Great Britain’s Mingge Xu, but their run ended in the opening round against the experienced pairing of Viktoria Hruncakova and Anastasia Tikhonova, 6–4, 4–6, 10–7.
James Sablan has been a sports reporter for Variety since 2013. He was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College and covers all local sports.
