Abigail Yu Brings Home Four Medals from the ITTF-Americas Youth Championships

Paddle Palace athlete Abigail Yu put together an outstanding week for Team USA at the 2026 ITTF-Americas Youth Championships in Guatemala City, earning two gold medals and two silver medals across four events.

Image Courtesy of ITTF Americas.

What stands out is how Abigail’s tournament built from one event to the next. She began with the Cadet Girls’ Team event on August 23 and was still competing for medals when the Girls’ Singles final was played on August 30. It was eight days of high-level international table tennis, with Abigail contributing throughout.

A Gold Medal Start for Team USA

Abigail’s tournament began August 23 in the Cadet Girls’ Team event, where the United States opened group play against Costa Rica.

Abigail was tested immediately. Facing Jaydelinne Baker, she dropped the opening game 8-11 before coming back to win a tight second game 14-12. From there she took control, winning the next two 11-5 and 11-6 for a 3-1 victory. Team USA swept the match 3-0.

Later that day, the Americans faced Peru. Abigail defeated Viviana Infantas in straight games, 11-3, 11-3, 11-2, as the United States recorded another 3-0 team victory.

The team competition resumed with the medal rounds. In the August 25 semifinal against host Guatemala, Abigail opened against Marta Salazar. After dropping the first game 11-13, Abigail responded 12-10, 11-7, 11-3 to win 3-1. Team USA went on to sweep Guatemala 3-0 and advance to the championship match.

On August 26, the United States faced Brazil for the gold medal. Abigail delivered again, defeating Tainara Heidrich 11-5, 11-3, 11-6. Team USA won the final 3-0.

Gold medal No. 1 was secured.

Image courtesy of ITTF Americas.

Mixed Doubles Begins the Individual Events

There was little time to celebrate. On August 27, Abigail moved into the Cadet Mixed Doubles competition alongside Kyler Chen.

The American pair opened with a 3-1 victory over Guatemala’s Leo Hajin Kim and Genesis Ruiz. In the quarterfinals, they were impressive in a straight-game victory over Puerto Rico’s Angel Melendez and Brianna Rodriguez, 11-9, 11-2, 11-5.

Photo courtesy of ITTF Americas.

Their semifinal against Brazil’s Flavio De Sousa and Luiza Fontanive was another strong performance. Chen and Yu won 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 to reach the final.

There they met fellow Americans Lucas Wu and Irene Yeoh. Wu and Yeoh won a close three-game final, 11-8, 11-7, 14-12, giving Abigail and Kyler the silver medal.

After two events, Abigail already had a gold and a silver.

Gold with Irene Yeoh in Girls’ Doubles

The Cadet Girls’ Doubles event began August 28, and Abigail partnered with Irene Yeoh.

The American duo opened against Brazil’s Beatriz Choi and Tainara Heidrich and won decisively, 11-3, 11-5, 11-8.

Their run continued through the draw and carried them all the way to the championship. Abigail and Irene finished the event on top of the podium, giving Abigail her second gold medal of the championships.

Photo courtesy of ITTF Americas.

One More Run, This Time in Singles

By August 29, Abigail had already earned three medals in Guatemala City. Her final event of the championships was Cadet Girls’ Singles, and she put together one more run to the medal rounds.

Abigail opened the singles draw against Ecuador’s Annie Sobarzo and advanced with a 3-0 victory.

In the quarterfinals on August 30, she faced Canada’s Alexus Lee. This was Abigail’s toughest match on the way to the medal round. Lee pushed her to five games before Abigail came through with a 3-2 victory, earning her place in the semifinals.

There she met Guatemala’s Camila Perez. Abigail turned in another strong performance, winning 3-1 to advance to the championship match.

The final produced an all-American matchup between Abigail and Irene Yeoh. Irene won the title 3-1, giving Abigail the silver medal and completing an impressive eight-day championship.

Image courtesy of ITTF Americas.

Her final medal count:

• Gold: Cadet Girls’ Team
• Gold: Cadet Girls’ Doubles
• Silver: Cadet Mixed Doubles
• Silver: Cadet Girls’ Singles

Four events. Four medals.

An Outstanding Summer for Abigail

The results in Guatemala City add another chapter to what has been an outstanding summer for Abigail.

Tournament results tell part of the story, but what impressed us just as much was the consistency required to compete across team, doubles, mixed doubles and singles over the course of an eight-day championship. Different partners, different opponents and different tactical demands, yet Abigail kept finding her way deep into the draw.

We’re incredibly proud to have Abigail representing Paddle Palace and equally happy to recognize the work being done by her coach, Qi Wei. Performances like this don’t happen during one tournament. They come from the hours of training and preparation that take place long before anyone steps onto the medal podium.

Congratulations to Abigail, Coach Qi Wei and the entire Team USA delegation on an excellent championship in Guatemala City.

We can’t wait to see what comes next.