KUALA LUMPUR: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah may be favourites on paper to win their first Indonesia Masters title, but national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky has warned the task in Jakarta will be far from straightforward.
Rexy said the immediate priority is to help the world No. 2 pair rediscover their confidence as the Super 500 tournament begins on Tuesday.
Pearly-Thinaah are coming off their third straight defeat to Japan's world No. 6 Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto, who beat them in straight games in the India Open semi-finals in New Delhi on Saturday.
The loss followed an early second-round exit at the Malaysia Open, where they were stunned by world No. 43 Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspitasari.
"We need to encourage Pearly-Thinaah to regain their confidence. That is the first step towards getting them back to their normal level," said Rexy.
"Other top 10 pairs are not playing at the Indonesia Masters, but we shouldn't look too far ahead."
The new season has started in a similar fashion to last year for Pearly-Thinaah.
In 2025, they exited in the first round of the Malaysia Open, reached the semi-finals in India and went on to finish runners-up at the Indonesia Masters.
Taiwan's world No. 13 Su Yin Hui-Lin Jhih Yun are the second highest-ranked pair in Jakarta after Pearly-Thinaah, and the Malaysians have rarely slipped up in such scenarios.
However, their recent struggles against Fukushima-Matsumoto, including two defeats at the World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou last month, are likely to leave them wary heading into the Istora Senayan.
Top seeds Pearly-Thinaah will open their campaign against Americans Francesca Corbett-Jennie Gai on Tuesday, a pair they beat in the China Masters last year.
World No. 25 Carmen Ting-Ong Xin Yee are the other Malaysians in action.
They face Japan's world No. 22 Kaho Osawa-Mai Tanabe in the opening round.
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