Comparing the First and Last ITTF Rankings of 2023

December 31, 2023

(by Steve Hopkins) As we entered 2023, China held the top three spots in the ITTF Rankings with Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, and Wang Chuqin leading the way. A year later, China holds the top four spots – with the same three at the top. Fan Zhendong will enter 2024 in first, with Wang Chuqin […]

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Alameda Ping Pong Gym

December 30, 2023

(by Steve Hopkins) The Alameda Ping Pong Gym is a club in the Bay Area. With its location on Lincoln Avenue, the Alameda Ping Pong Gym is conveniently located for players on the East side of San Francisco Bay. Alameda is a city on Alameda Island just one mile South of downtown Oakland. Lincoln Avenue has […]

$36,000 Mecano Sports Ping Pong World Cup – PREVIEW

December 30, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) Hardbat and Sandpaper and Wood, Oh My! That’s what’s coming up in Mexico City, Jan. 4-6, 2024 – the $36,000 Ping Pong World Cup. That’s no typo – $36,000 in American dollars, over 600,000 pesos. (That’s a lot of money for the game of ping pong!) Here is the entry form, with […]

2023 US Open: By The Numbers

December 24, 2023

(by Steve Hopkins) The two signature table tennis events in the US (the Open and the Nationals) are unique to our sport. Our sport is among the most inclusive of all sports reaching players of all ages and abilities, our sport has evolved from a simple game into demanding high speed / high endurance test, […]

Jinbao Ma and Amy Wang Claim Open Titles

December 23, 2023

(by Steve Hopkins) Americans dominated at the US Open this year with Jinbao Ma (Sunnyvale, CA) winning the Men’s Singles event and Amy Wang (Turnersville, NJ) winning the Women’s Singles event. Jinbao fought his way through the Men’s draw from the sixth position. His first two matches were 3-0 wins (over Aditya Godhwani and Lingxiao […]

Are You Too Backhand Oriented?

December 18, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) A common problem for players at all levels is being too backhand oriented. Backhand orientation (BO for short) means that you favor your backhand too much over your forehand, and try to cover too much of the table with the backhand. Some players are better on the backhand, and so should cover […]

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Song Jeho Table Tennis Club

December 17, 2023

(by Steve Hopkins) The Song Jeho Table Tennis Club (“SJHTTC”) is centrally located in Los Angeles. The club is located in Korea Town near the intersection of S Grand View St. and W 11th St. with easy access to the Santa Monica Freeway and the 110. The club’s namesake is “Jay” Song Jeho, a strong player […]

China Wins Both Titles at WTT Women’s in Nagoya

December 17, 2023

(by Steve Hopkins, photo by WTT) The WTT Finals Women Nagoya concluded today with World No. 1 Sun Yingsha defeating World No. 4 Wang Yidi 4-2 in the Final. Its sometimes hard to decipher the seeding between the top Chinese women, as China has 6 of the top 7 ranked players in the World. As […]

Lily Zhang Finishes Second at WTT Series Event in Biella

December 17, 2023

(by Steve Hopkins) USA’s Lily Zhang entered the Women’s Singles draw at the WTT Feeder Biella as the third seed. The top two seeds fell early – with top seed Egypt’s Hana Goda falling to Ukraine’s Margaryta Pesotska in the Round of 32, and Manika Batra of India losing to Katarzyna Wegrzyn of Poland in […]

Duda Takes Men’s Title in Biella

December 17, 2023

(by Steve Hopkins) Jonathan Groth, Sora Matsushima, and Chuang Chih-Yuan were the top seeds at the WTT Feeder Biella, but it was the fourth seed, Benedikt Duda, who claimed top honors at the last WTT Series Event of 2023. Top seed Groth fell to France’s Adrien Rassenfosse in the Round of 16. In the tumultuous […]