(by Stephanie Sun)

Diaz visited Japan last year. At the 2022 World Table Tennis Championships in Chengdu, she also accomplished the feat of leading Puerto Rico to its first-ever appearance in the knockout stage as their ace. Despite coming from an environment that is not particularly conducive to table tennis players, Diaz revealed the secret to becoming a top player.

Additional option with Japanese subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx3W9HEKj3o&t=5s

Adriana Diaz, who achieved impressive results such as reaching the Best 16 in the Women’s Singles at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, and winning back-to-back titles at the 2021 and 2022 Pan American Championships, recorded her first-ever top 10 ranking (9th place) in the Women’s Singles world rankings in the 12th week of 2022, becoming the first Puerto Rican player to do so.