(by Steve Hopkins) When was the last time that Timo Boll, one of the world’s most popular players, faced a crowd dominated by cheers for his opponent.  That was the case today in Houston as USA’s Kanak Jha.  Boll, currently World No. 11, has consistently been one of the top players in the World, and […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Wow.  Just freaking WOW. If you aren’t watching the World Table Tennis Championships, you should tune in to the livestream and catch the action on Saturday.  Here’s what you missed today: USA’s Kanak Jha is through to the Final 16.  Jha faced off against a very tough defensive player, Germany’s Ruwen Filus, […]

(by Steve Hopkins) The events in Houston have now been narrowed from a field of 128 to the top 16.  Thanksgiving Day was Day 3 of the World Table Tennis Championships and there was action in all five events. In Men’s Singles, Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin both pressed forward with 4-0 wins and now […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Thanksgiving Day had hardly started, and Lily Zhang had yet another reason to give thanks –  a Mixed Doubles win with partner Lin Gaoyuan that launched the pair into the Round of 16.  Zhang and Gaoyuan are one of the two China/USA pairings honoring the 50th Anniversary of Ping Pong Diplomacy, and […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Day 2 Highlights: USA’s Kanak Jha dominated Andrej Gacina to win his second match and advance to the Final 32.  Jha was the only American to make the Round of 64.  Jha may benefit from an upset today, as Korea’s Lee Sangsu fell to Belgium’s Martin Allegro – meaning Jha’s next match […]

(by Steve Hopkins) The opening day in Houston saw Round of 128 action in both Men’s and Women’s Singles. In Men’s Singles, Kanak Jha was the lone US player to advance (Nikhil Kumar fell 3-4 to Monteiro, and Kai Zhang fell 0-4 to Alto).  Jha topped  Korea’s World No. 43 An Jaehyun in a tight […]

(by Steve Hopkins) In a ceremony today in Houston, officials pulled names to set up the draw for the World Championships.  Fan Zhendong is the top seed in Men’s Singles, and he should have smooth sailing to the Round of 16.  However, from that point forward, things get interesting – Wang Chuqin could be on […]

(by Steve Hopkins) With their location on Main Street in Port Washington, the Gold Coast Table Tennis Club is easily accessible to Long Island, Queens, and the Bronx in New York.  The club is just a block from the Port Washington LIRR rail station, and easily accessible by other public transportation.   The club is 3500 […]

(by Steve Hopkins) We are now three days from the first day of the 2021 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals and the best players in the world are arriving in Houston. The players lists ( MEN  |  WOMEN ) don’t include every top player — China’s team is absent Xu Xin and Ma Long, […]

(By Steve Hopkins) Lima, Peru is host this week to the ITTF Pan American Championships.  The two top seeds won their respective singles event.  Brazil’s Hugo Calderano won Men’s Singles, and Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz won Women’s Singles. While the final result was somewhat expected, there were some surprises in both events.  Canada’s Ivy Liao […]