(by Steve Hopkins, photos by ITTFworld) Often there is a changing of the guard after an Olympics – a time when top players retire and move on to their next challenge.  In a normal cycle the Olympics would have occurred a year ago and the landscape of our sport would already have changed – but this […]

(by Steve Hopkins, photo by ITTFworld) If this event were a true Olympic Trials, the table tennis world might have just been turned on its collective ears. As each of the Chinese Olympic Team members fell to much lower ranked opponents – and if the winner made the team, a relatively unknown Zhou Qihao would […]

(by Steve Hopkins, photo by ITTFworld) The teams are already set, so the 5-day event is more of a warm-up than a true Olympic Trial.  That said, the goal of the Chinese was to have a competitive internal event that simulated the format of the Tokyo Olympics and prepared their top players for July.  What […]

(by Steve Hopkins) Sunny Culture & Sports Center is located at Scarborough, Sheppard, and Brimley Street in Scarborough – a city within the greater Toronto Metropolitan area.  The club is just off of the Ontario 401 Express, about 25 kilometers to the North of the Toronto city center and easily accessible via public transportation. The […]

(by Steve Hopkins) This is a Butterfly Favorite.  One of the strongest players through the Dusseldorf Masters Series a year ago was Egypt’s Omar Assar. This year in his first two appearances, he has already logged two Finals appearances (winning one).  The World’s No. 38 has an athletic and exciting style – amazing court coverage […]

(by Steve Hopkins) A week ago, the Dusseldorf Masters event was absent big names and dominated by younger players.  This Sunday was the fourth event (of seven) and it included Ovtcharov, Qiu, and Assar – but the younger players still grabbed many of the headlines. Egypt’s Omar Assar won today.  He played all three of the […]

(by Steve Hopkins) A week ago, the Dusseldorf Masters event was absent big names, and the younger players dominated – a real surprise.  This Sunday is the fourth event (of seven) and Ovtcharov tops a list of stars that includes Germany’s top player Dimitrij Ovtcharov, 2020 Dusseldorf Masters Champion Dang Qiu, Africa’s top player Omar Assar, […]

(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTFWorld) The third Dusseldorf Masters event was a real surprise.  The participants are a mix of seasoned pros and young players, so all of the names are not recognizable ones – but the surprise this week was bigger than most.  The winner of the third Dusseldorf Masters Event was Kay Stumper, an […]