Open Doors: Spin & Smash Table Tennis & Ping Pong Center

June 11, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) Spin & Smash Table Tennis & Ping Pong Center reopened on May 26 in Columbus, Ohio. This was the first date that gyms and fitness centers were allowed to open in Ohio, with the State’s Gyms Advisory Group providing a details list of guidelines and best practices to assist gyms and fitness […]

DÜSSELDORF MASTERS: Kanak Jha Videos

June 10, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) With competitive table tennis back in Germany a few weeks before sanctioned events can be played in the US, we thought our viewers might enjoy watching the American Champion in competition. Kanak Jha had respectable results in his first tournament since the layoff. The Dusseldorf Masters is a three tournament series. Jha […]

Ovtcharov and Jha in Action in Dusseldorf

June 10, 2020

by Steve Hopkins (These photos and the full article *in German* can be found at tischtennis.de) A week ago, Timo Boll won the first installment of the Dusseldorf Masters, a tournament series held at the team facility of Borussia Dusseldorf and with the support of the German Table Tennis Federation. The top players in Germany […]

Open Doors: A Cautionary Korean Tale

June 7, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins, photo from Yonhap News where caption notes this club in Western Seoul had a confirmed infection) South Korea reported 57 new cases of COVID-19 today, a day after reporting 50 new cases. This is two days in a row over a threshold of 50 – a government set limit on new cases […]

BUTTERFLY FAVORITES: Omar Assar v. Quadri Aruna 2018 Africa Cup

June 6, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) This is a Butterfly Favorite. To set the stage, Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna had won the Africa Cup two years in a row. The Africa Cup serves as that continent’s qualification event for the World Cup, and like North America, there aren’t a lot of athletes that qualify by World Ranking so winning […]

PongNow: Dell Sweeris, Connie Sweeris, David Sakai, Donna Sakai (and Steve Hopkins)

June 5, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The PongNow interview series discusses table tennis with some of the best players and personalities in the sport. In this edition we have, Dell Sweeris, Connie Sweeris, David Sakai, and Donna Sakai discussing their overlapping histories in the sport. They were each strong junior players, each had a successful and notable career, […]

OPEN DOORS: Rhode Island Table Tennis Reopens

June 5, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) The State of Rhode Island started a new COVID-19 recovery phase on June 1 allowing gyms and sports venues to open with new regulations in place for reporting, operation, cleaning, and social distancing. The Rhode Island Club will be opening beginning on June 8. Initially the club will be open for three […]

BUTTERFLY FAVORITES: Timo Boll v. Ma Long 2017 World Cup

June 4, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) This is a Butterfly Favorite. To set the stage, World No. 1 Ma Long entered the tournament as the top seed. Timo Boll was not the top European qualifier – that honor went to Dimitrij Ovtcharov. In fact, at the European Top 16 qualifying event, Shibaev had finished second and Gauzy had […]

Open Doors: USATT to Allow Sanctioned Tournaments in July

June 1, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) A USA Table Tennis announcement released today allows for the sanctioning of tournaments beginning July 1. This will end the March 13th order that suspended all events – a part of a broader series of suspensions and cancellations across all sports including ITTF and USOPC events. This is welcome news after so […]

It’s Time to Restock: We’ll See You at the Tables in June

May 31, 2020

(by Steve Hopkins) Some of the country has opened and most of the rest is on schedule to open in the next few weeks. Table tennis clubs will need time to comply with local rules and regulations, but very soon we are all going to have opportunities to return to the game that we love. […]