Panas Malaysia Cup 2025: Smiling Stops and Play Begins as Johns, Bright Get Down to Business

During Wednesday’s well-attended intro session, the big pros from the US were all smiles as they entertained the crowd playing fun games packed with trick shots and peppered with laughter.

Having always seen Anna Bright look so serious on the court in competition, it was great to see her happy, smiling, and enjoying the occasion.

But today was different. It was down to business, and as she stepped on the court to play her first points in the PPA Tour Asia, the smile was gone, and the stern-looking Anna we always see when she plays in the US had replaced the smiley version we saw the other day.

The pros are here to win, and watching them gives us a chance to see just how far ahead of the Asian players they are.

The Panas Malaysia Cup 2025 is still in its early rounds, but some of Asia’s top talent got the chance to pit their skills against the world’s best players.

For one, we were treated to the pairings of Johns and Christian Alshon in Men’s Doubles and Johns and Bright in Mixed Doubles.

So, what exactly did we learn?

Some of the shots from the GOAT himself drew gasps from the crowd, poaching across 90% of the court, lightning fast reactions to speed ups, and flying Ernies complete with body misdirection and slight of hand to change the shot direction whilst in mid-air. It’s a level of talent that takes on a whole new perspective when you get to see it live.

And for Anna, we have witnessed over YouTube her near superhuman ability to reset, reset, and reset again against the most attacking play, and that ability was on full display in Day 1 of the tournament— along with her fast low drives that keep skimming the net time and again.

The quality of play was clear, and for fans that rarely get to see these top players in the flesh, it is a genuine treat to see.

And on the whole, this elevated playing ability manifested in the scores we saw, with Johns and Bright winning their Round of 16 match, 11-6, 11-0

Anna and her partner Roos van Reek, meanwhile, won their Round of 16 match, 11-0, 11-1.

Then onto Ben Johns and Christian Alshon, who came on to thunderous applause to start their Round of 16 Men’s Doubles match. They started as expected, winning the first game, 11-0, and totally dominating play.

But someone had not informed their Vietnamese opponents about the script, and the second game didn’t go to plan, with Hien Truong and Quan Do taking the next game, 11-9, and turning a one-sided affair into a battle that threatened to spoil the party.

The Vietnamese pair kept the pressure in the deciding game, taking an 8-7 lead and putting the crowd into the ironic position of wanting to see the local team pull off an upset, but then realising that a stunner would mean we won’t get to see more of Johns and Alshon in the future rounds. (On a side note, I suspect many who bought tickets for Finals Sunday must have been thinking about whether that money had been wasted.)

The closeness of the game seemed to come from Alshon having somewhat of a nightmare outing, hitting too many errors and getting caught out on too many speed ups. But at 8-8, Johns stepped up and dominated play, fittingly winning the match with a spellbinding ATP.

For us at PNA, we loved the outcome. Truong and Do have now made a name for themselves, and they have also proven that they can play at world level. At the same time, more fans will get to see Johns and Alshon grace the courts for the upcoming rounds, hopefully culminating in a competitive Final on Sunday!